April 27, 2012
I stopped in here after hearing such great things about the store and being in the area for the weekend. The store is definitely focused on wine, as it takes up the vast majority store. The beer section is just a few cooler doors. While the beer section is small, there are certainly some great offerings. I had a hard time limiting myself to the rather impressive purchases I made (easily could have spent much more money). Offerings from Drie Fonteinen, HaandBryggeriet, Cantillon, Valley, and plenty of other great breweries. The prices are pretty much standard, and while some items are pricey (like Drie Fonteinen Schaarbeekse Kriek at $40 for a 750), they are reasonable for the most part. I would easily recommend this place to anyone and I would definitely stop in again.

February 21, 2012
Good selection of beers and other spirits. Nice ambiance for a liquor store as well.

December 2, 2011
Visited this place the day before Thanksgiving 2011 and they were doing a brisk business. First thing I noticed about their beer selection is that there is no packaged beer available (eg. no 6 or 12 packs, ect.). However, what this store provides is a rich variety of single bottles (almost all refrigerated) that you wont find anywhere else. And, their beer manager is extremely knowledgeable and helpful in directing you to beers you want to try. He turned me onto some beers from a couple of small local brewers I’d never heard of (Almanac, High Water). Although wine takes up the majority of the store, K&L still has the best beer selection I’ve ever seen in the area.

January 2, 2011
If you are a beer geek do not miss this place. German pub down the street.

July 23, 2010 [ Updated November 8, 2010 ]
Oh, K&L. If only you’d let your beer buyer Bryan run your store. Let me just say first that Bryan is the best beer buyer I’ve ever worked with at a beer store. I’ve only met him a few times, but I really like how the guy is straightforward with you and works his ass off to get the best selections in. He won’t tell you that 3-4 month old Pliny is best (and tell people Vinnie himself said that). Instead, he only has the freshest Pliny and is one of the first stores in the Bay Area to get the latest batch, sometimes even landing bottles the same day they were brewed. The problem, unfortunately, is that some of the other employees don’t understand beer like Bryan does. They’ll throw months old Pliny into your box and occasionally mix up beers (Stone IRS instead of Stone 14th, which actually ended up being a fortunate mistake!). You HAVE to check your box carefully before picking up an online order! Speaking of which, ordering online makes it WAY too easy to blow your whole paycheck here! The more wine-focused employees will also make (intentional or not) disparaging comments to people who come for beer, like, "These are some good brewskis, chief!" or "3 liters? Man, I want to party with you guys!" These quotes are from a friend, but I have had them show disdain when I suggested expanding their small (but awesome) beer selection. Besides the wine snobbery, I love this place though. Great prices for the bay area. This place should really change their name to "K&L Beer & Wine Merchants" and focus more on beer. It’s my go-to store, and would be more so if they dropped the wine bullshit!

April 3, 2010
Easily among the top beer stores in the Bay Area, and the best in the Peninsula-South Bay area. All beer is kept cold, and the selection is a great mix of local, American Craft, and eclectic imports from Canada, Italy, Belgium, The UK, Japan, Scandinavia and beyond. Everything is sold as a single, and prices are generally the best around. Brian, the beer manager, is great to his customers and works hard to bring in interesting stuff from around the world that you won’t find anywhere else in the area. Not an absolutely massive selection, but that only guarantees that stuff doesn’t sit around forever.

October 27, 2009
Really nice wine shop with 3 doors of good beer. Not much waisted space.

March 4, 2009 [ Updated November 2, 2009 ]
Update again. Even MORE beer. Four coolers and counting. This place is just getting into having beer. What they have is top end stuff and a few I have not seen before, they had a couple of the blends of De Proef Flemish Primitive for example. Saw Russian River and some Du Ciel beers as well. Talking to the staff it looks like the inventory will be expanding. Small but way better than average selection for the peninsula. Prices were very reasonable. Lots of weird and strange stuff from Shelton Bros. This place is starting to become a must stop.