June 10, 2009
The store itself is pretty small for now but you’d never know it if you saw their selection. The Four Firkens has more different microbrews than all the other liquor stores I’ve been to combined and that’s not exaggerating. Alvey is a super nice guy who goes beyond the call of duty to help you with your beer needs. If you want to try something new that your friends have never heard of, the guys at this store can set you up. This store is a must visit for any real fan of beer.

April 7, 2009
I have visited many beer stores over time when I have been in town (currently living in WI now). I usually don’t provide reviews but felt it was necessary on this place due to the press it has been getting. I do have to say that I was pretty excited to make the voyage (based on the press). The location is very small, (maybe 300 - 400 sq ft.)and set in an old strip center. The store is set by style, which is fine if you shop by style, but I shop by brewery. The product selection is not close to the other big beer stores (Heritage, Blue Max, Zipps Dennis Bros.), and in most cases not as good. Pricing is another issue. Many things I looked at were much higher than at other stores (but I suppose that since he’s not full-service) - he has to make it up somewhere. All said... it was a big disappointment and I probably won’t make that trip again. If I’m on that side of cities, US Wines may be the ticket. I wish him well as he is a pleasant fellow.

January 26, 2009
Just discovered The Four Firkins for myself in January 2009. Very nice selection of beers well-organized within the small shop. The owner is very friendly, knowledgable, and efficiently helped me locate exactly what I was looking for. We got a few free tasters, fun conversation, and left with a bunch of beers for a little home sampling session. Great place!

November 27, 2008
Stopped here while in Minnesota. Very tiny shop. If you farted in there, everyone would die due to the small size of the store. The selection was varied, but average and highly priced. The make-your-own six pack section was full of beers that had me uninterested. They did have a large amount of glassware that was decently priced. I’ve heard such great things about the guy that works there, but I don’t recall him even looking in my general direction the whole time I was there. Eh, not worth the stop.

November 26, 2008
Although this is by no means the place to buy beer on the cheap, it’s a great store for the budding enthusiast, and those who are looking for rare beers. Not only is it a clean, comfy (though tiny) store, but there is a very nice selection of all sorts of beers. There are quite a few beers missing, but I feel that would be like saying there are some of the artists tracks missing from a single disc "best of" album; you can’t cram it all in there and still have it be the tops. What makes The Four Firkins truly worthwhile is the owner of the shop. He’s a friendly, knowledgable man, who is very willing to help you find just what you’re looking for. I often buy a couple make-your-own six packs for my parties and this is the first place where someone really helped me select a wide variety of quality beers that would easily suit a range of tastes, but offend none. He helped me complete my shopping very quickly, did it gracefully, and told me a little bit about why he w

November 1, 2008
A very nice store, like the way the beer is organized..... selection leaves something to be desired.... seems to be a little pricey in my opinion. Nice Guy and he definitely knows his beer.

August 16, 2008
A very nice store. Lots of beery decoration throughout. Maybe the best glassware selection in Minnesota. Very small, but good selection. You can build your own six pack for $10, which isn’t a bargain considering what they have to choose from on the singles table. Prices are high, probably the highest I have seen in the Twin Cities. This make some sense considering the location, but this shopper very often buys the beer that is a bargain. Staff or owner, I’m not sure which, was very friendly and offered me fresh Furious from his growler. Good selection, a few things I haven’t seen in MN, or haven’t seen for a long time. I will be back.

July 28, 2008 [ Updated March 21, 2009 ]
I’ve been in a couple of times now, and have seen the stock already rotating. He’s been getting some very interesting stuff in and it often disappears very quickly (recent shipment of 1809 Berliner Weisse went in a couple of hours). It is a very small store, but well laid out, and I’ve had very good luck in my two visits to get assistance with selecting some unusual beers. The second time I visited, I had a list and the girl who helped me was very nice too bad only half of the items on my list were still in stock! His prices may be a bit on the high side, but some of the more rare stuff he’s selling is difficult to get ahold of. I’m very excited by what I’ve seen so far this place has the potential to become a must-see destination for beer drinkers. And it’s a lot closer than the Blue Max.

July 12, 2008
Had some time on my hands this week so I thought I’d check out the new Four Firkins store. This store is located in small strip mall by a laundrymat on Minnetonka Blvd. Because it’s not well marked and I almost missed it and had to whip a quick U turn. On entering, I was quickly surprised at the smallness of the place (400 sq. feet?) As a new store, the decorating is fresh and provided a warm feeling while I shopped. The beers are organized by style and generally, one case worth of product occupies each shelf section. The selection is adequate (considering the size of the store) but I really didn’t see anything different from other selections I’ve seen that were much larger and more inclusive. With that said... I’ll be honest in saying that I was fairly surprised at the pricing levels here. One would guess that due to the store’s small size, the rent here would be reasonable. Therefore, I cannot figure why he would be charging (as an example) $45.00 for Dark Island Reserve when I have seen it for up to $15 or more less at other stores. In addition, his mixed six pack feature was $9.99 and didn’t offer anything different than say Cellars, Heritage, etc. This is several dollars high which seemed to be representative of most things I was interested in. Regarding service, the gentleman did say hello to me but spent most of the time on my visit on the phone. Therefore, I was unable to chat with him. In closing, I as a beer enthusiast appreciate his attempt to open a beer only store. I wish him luck in his endeavor but he should consider that by offering more fair pricing, and a more full-service selection that he will not only be a better neighbor in the Minnesota Beer industry but also have a greater chance at success. I will visit here again (maybe 6 months from now) to see if corrections have been made.

June 13, 2008
The place is tiny, but well stocked in some things, lacking in others. In all fairness, the things I could not find, like Fantome, are on the way next week. This could easily become one of the best in the Metro as he treats the beer well with safe lighting and cool temperature. There is a fairly average build-your-own 6 pack table, but hard to see the labels as they are all bunched together on a table top. I hate to think of how crowded it will get at tomorrow’s grand opening with the local brewers and samples. There is no room for it. Overall, very nice, classy, good selection, but small place.