Big Z Beverage

7/2/2008 6:30:29 PM, wednesday, july 02, 2008 [ Updated sunday, august 03, 2008 ]
Best beer store in Huntington (closely tailed by Shoreline). Great prices compared to other stores in the area, very good American micro section (Green Flash, Alesmith, Captain Lawrence, Goose Island, Hair of the Dog, Southern Tier, and tons of others), growlers (5 taps: usually 1 Smuttynose, 1 Six Point, and occassionally Southampton, Captain Lawrence, Allagash, Sly Fox), and the mix-a-6 section has tons of beers to choose from. The owner, Mark, is very friendly and very open to suggestions. New beers are always coming in, so it’s worth a visit every now and then. The tap station is definitely something to check out. For imports, it’s better to go to Shoreline, but you’ve gotta check this place out anyway.

3/22/2008 5:38:14 PM, saturday, march 22, 2008
Stopped by today as I was looking for something specific (they didn’t have it, but no one does right now) Very nice people working there,helpful, and pretty knowledgeable. The micro selection was pretty good, nothing too unusual, but some good stuff. Need some work on the imports though. Maybe 12 or 15 belgians. My buddy won something as he was paying, and it was half off of their singles rack 6 pack price, normally $10. Thought that was a nice touch. Definitely a good local spot, and the growlers will make it more of a destination for sure.

3/14/2008 12:07:19 PM, friday, march 14, 2008
Big Z’s has come back to life as a destination for quality beer. Mark, the owner is doing a fantastic job of elevating the quality of this store. He is always happy to help, talk about beer, tell about the new beers that he has in stock and also tell about the upcoming beers that we will be getting. Big Z’ is going to have 6 tap growler station sometime in the next month. Mark says that only quality beers that are not bottled will be on tap. Real nice selection of micros(Alesmith, Goose Island, Southern Tier, Southampton, Oskar Blues(Ten Fidy!!!), etc). The quality of the imports is OK and could improve a little but I am sure that Mark wiil make sure that is done. Highly recommend this place.

3/8/2008 12:46:27 PM, saturday, march 08, 2008
i went to this place because i have been reading all the new reviews and i was very disapointed. The owner was not in when i went in there but the guy behind the counter was nice( didnt know muchabout what i wanted to know but nice) the selection is basically what you would find in any beer store that wants to sell good beer and the size of the store is not all that impressive not to mention that i almost got creamed by jericho tpke traffic trying to get into the tiny parking lot. The store was clean and deffinitly kept up with but its didnt give me that big beer store ambiance... they had a mix a six shelf but the variety was fairly limited and not always the best value. I alsoo noticed that they close very early so i was lucky i got there early. All and all not a horrible alternative to superstar or even shoreline for that matter but dirve the extra 2 min up the road to superstar and you will be much more impressed.

3/7/2008 9:00:24 PM, friday, march 07, 2008
I’ve got to echo the other raters here this place is great - the 50% off table and mix-a-six (which is pretty much the size of most normal store’s entire beer selection) alone are worth a stop - the owner wasn’t in on my visit, but the guy working was super helpful, and energetic none-the-less - the import selection has a way to go to compare to Shoreline, but as far as American micros, they have pretty much everything they can possibly get - he seems to have more shelving than he has beer, so I hope he’s looking to fill that shelving - their e-mail list with weekly updates sounds promising - I was impressed, and will probably keep coming back here - hell, once their growler station is running I’ll probably come here over any other store on the Island.

3/6/2008 4:55:14 AM, thursday, march 06, 2008
I used to visit this place 9 or 10 years ago when it was under different ownership and it was the best place to get beer on LI at that time. Over the years it deteriorated and I stopped going. The place is under new ownership now and Mark is super enthusiastic about beer. I’ve been there several times now and he’s always bringing in new beers and seems genuinely interested in talking about beer. He recently installed new storage shelves and the place is spacious compared to most beverage stores. I especially like his pick-a-six section for $9.95. Often times I don’t want a to buy a six pack just to try a beer, and this is a great alternative. This is now one of the two bottle shops I routinely visit, the other being Dave’s in Bellport, who is another great guy to talk beer with.

3/5/2008 10:14:50 PM, wednesday, march 05, 2008 [ Updated wednesday, march 05, 2008 ]
I too will exalt the owner’s service and friendliness. This place is much more spacious than almost any beverage place on LI. The selection is on par with the other good shops, maybe at the moment a step below Shoreline but cleaner and less old stock. Prices are usually about a dollar more than usual (still on par with the other LI stores). However, they have a constantly changing mix-a-6 for 10 bucks that often includes beers that are worth a lot more than that. Also, they seems to want to reduce old stock by having sales (50% off). Special brands include Captain Lawrence and Alesmith, gets stuff as fast if not faster than the other stores. I really see no reason why this wont soon become my only stop in LI for out of town beer.

12/23/2007 11:26:43 PM, sunday, december 23, 2007
Mark, the owner is exceptionally friendly and helpful. He goes out of his way to find beers for you when you request them, and if you ask he’ll hold special bottles for you (like Stone Double Bastard). He also has a bunch of shelves with a decent selection to make up your own mixed six pack. Increase the selection and the the popularity of this place will go up as well.

12/19/2007 9:41:23 PM, wednesday, december 19, 2007
Great new owner who is very responsive to suggestions and requests. Always something new and interesting to sample.

6/16/2007 6:38:15 AM, saturday, june 16, 2007
Last night, I was invited to see the revitalized Big Z with another consultant and I was pleasantly surprised to see a good selection of imports and American craft beers. As we walked around, the neatly arranged store came into full view as a growing business that was complimented by the new owner’s cheerful "can-do" attitude. I saw some interesting sizes of brands I had not seen before, such as Westmalle 750’s. While the selection has a way to go to matching the depth and quality of Shoreline’s, the new Big Z has made a good start to becoming a worthy competitor.