American Beer Distributors

February 19, 2008
This place rules. Not much in the way of ambiance, but with the clout of NYC comes great selection. every brewery wants to have their best stuff on the best shelves in a big town. Hell, they’ve got stuff from the west coast we can’t get...on the west coast. But the real reason to go here is for the tremendous regional bottles from all the great breweries out east. Great prices too, all things considered.

September 8, 2007
When I walked into this place I didn’t know where to start, so I walked around the place twice before I decided what I wanted, and I probably missed so many beers. A great place to go to if your in Brooklyn, and not over priced.

May 2, 2007
Medium-size beer store with a large beer store selection. Lots of space to move around makes the shopping a pleasant experience. Although focussing mainly on the US beers they nonetheless have a decent International selection. We can feel the owners know their stuff as there aren’t many duds to be found there. Just one interesting bottle after the other. The problem is the prices. Probably the most expensive beer-store I’ve visited in the US. If you are in beer-hunting in NY I suggest you hit New Beer Distributors in Manhattan first and buy everything you find interesting there (prices are about 25% to 30% less at NBD). Then you hit American Beer Distributors and buy what wasn’t at NBD.

April 9, 2007 [ Updated April 10, 2007 ]
My first place rating, which seems appropriate since this is basically my biggest beer source. Great overall selection, from several shelves devoted exclusively to Belgian and Brit, to two full aisles of American micros. And yes, they have Busch 30 packs in the cooler. They have new releases coming in every few weeks or so. Has growler service, but only for two or so limited selections (often sixpoint). Can buy brewery glasses as well. Only major complaint is the annoying lack of price tags, especially for the new stuff, which can result in sticker shock at the register. Also a little too bright, and they tend to keep unsold beers on the shelves way too long--Octoberfest until the following spring, summer beers into Thanksgiving, etc. Nonetheless, I feel lucky to have this place nearby.

February 25, 2007
I keep hearing the guys in the New York Metro mentioning this place, so I decided to take a trip in yesterday (Saturday). I drove 190 miles roundtrip, and it was worth it! The staff were very helpful and friendly. I manged to pick up some Heavyweight beers I haven’t been able to locate anywhere else. The place is well lit, there is a great selection of beers, and the stock looks like it rotates pretty regularly. I ended up spending over $150 on beer and I will definitely make the pilgrimage back again in the Spring.

November 7, 2006
Excellent selection here!! Lots of rare bottles, hard-to-find breweries, all cleanly laid out throughout the store. This is the kind of store for which you have to dig around somewhat because there are some beers everywhere. They’re easy to find, but you have to remember to look everywhere. The large convenience store atmosphere isn’t nearly as enticing as Half Time’s (for example), but it remains agreeable. The only downfall of this place is its very high prices on rare items, especially if compared to New Beer Distributors in Manhattan. They are often 3$ to 5$ more expensive than New Beer for the same 750ml bottles. Even Half Time isn’t that expensive. I don’t even want to know how Happy Deli charges for the same bottles!

November 2, 2006 [ Updated September 21, 2008 ]
After ignoring this place for a few months I headed back here recently. Same ambience (which is to say, none). The beers have no prices indicated and when you ask they have gone up dramatically from where they were a few months ago. It’s okay, but the prices are outrageous and they need to put some more effort into upkeep and labeling. Checked this place out (finally). Selection was decent but nowhere near as good as NBD, at least not on the day I was there. Prices may have been a bit less, but not so much. The store was a total mess though, with boxes and random bottles everywhere. Not sure if I was there on a bad day or not, but I was a little underwhelmed. Still, the selection is really good, just not as good as I was expecting. I should add though that any beer store that has a bathroom in it is okay by me.

September 5, 2006
I always make it a must that i check this place out once a month. Good selection of beer for a reasonable price. I love the location of this place it really brings out a good NY feet to it. Make sure you take youre time looking around, sometimes you miss the really good stuff when you get caught up with other things.

August 21, 2006
Harder to get to than NBD from Manhattan, but arguably a better store. I found some stuff there that I’ve been looking for for some time. Much better beer environment than NBD. Decent Prices, some of the stuff is expensive.

July 31, 2006
Again, great selection, friendly people.