Big Z Beverage

October 10, 2009 [ Updated October 11, 2009 ]
~ What can I say about this place? When I first walked through its doors some time ago, I was greeted by the owner, Mark. You could tell in his eyes that beer was not only his hobby, but his passion. Mark has transformed this place from a run-of-the-mill beer distributor into a beer lover’s paradise! Big Z carries a huge selection, with hard to find beers that other stores simply do not carry. If you don’t see what you’re looking for (and that’s a rarity here), just ask one of the experienced staff, and they’ll do their best to try and order it for you. Currently there are eleven (yes that’s 11) beers on tap at the growler station. Local favorites are mixed in with hard to find gems. Besides tasting great, the beers on tap are always fresh! The prices are competitive and the customer service is top notch. I could go on and on for pages on how great this place is, but you’re just going to have to see it to believe it. If you’re ever in the area, stop in, you will not be disappointed. ~

March 8, 2009
Great place. Lots of different and hard to find styles. The proprietor is awesome. He is very knowledgable and enthusiastic about beer. This place frequently hosts beer tastings, and there are growler stations. Wide selection of beers I don’t often see. And, I get e-mails with upcomong events. I wish this place was a little closer to my house.

January 30, 2009
Great store! Best on Long Island...Big Z has a great selection of American Micros and some very hard to find stuff. I’m not big into the Euros so I couldn’t comment on his selection there. No dusty bottles everything is really fresh due to the volume of business he does. Mark, the owner, is very attentive and knowledgeable; he always recommends beers that he knows will suit my tastes but doesn’t have an ego if you decide to go with something else. There are usually in-store beer tasting events a couple times a month (usually Saturdays) and the growler station is great. Good work Big Z!

January 29, 2009 [ Updated January 31, 2009 ]
This is a great store! I have been here numerous times. It’s a toss up as to who has the best selection around this area, Big Z or Shoreline, I really can’t say. It’s usually pretty well organized, and easy to navigate. I would give this place a higher rating for service if it was more consistent. When the owner Mark is there, service is excellent, but he does come off as a bit too phony sometimes. I feel like he is too much of a salesman. When he is not there, it’s hit or miss. Overall it is a great store, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone that is disappointed by this place. He get’s stuff that I have not seen anywhere else in Suffolk County. I don’t know where he gets it, but other beer distributors have told me that some of these beers are not even distributed in Suffolk. Kudo’s to Mark! Even though it is not my favorite store on the island, I make it a point to come here anytime I am in the area. I always find something different. His Growler beers are also a reason to stop in.

September 29, 2008
This place has one of the best selections on L.I., and easily has the best service! Mark is very emphatic, knowledgeable, and helpful. I had a long and informative conversation with him from both the craft beer loving, and business aspect of beer. He gets some cool stuff that I haven’t seen anywhere else on the Island, and he’s always very interested in finding what you want. Mark is a great guy and aspires to provide the best beerstore. Great place! (If I can give a 20-out-of-10 for service, I would!)

September 8, 2008
Visited this store on sept. 4th 08. One of the best selections i have ever seen.they may have less than some other big stores but they seem to order only the good stuff. Mark was very helpfull and knowledgeable. Awesome place! A must if you are in the area.

July 2, 2008 [ Updated October 3, 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. He is very pro-active in bringing new beers to LI. 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.

March 22, 2008 [ Updated November 19, 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.

March 14, 2008 [ Updated April 1, 2009 ]
FURTHER UPDATE-4/1/2009-Things are continuing to get even better at Big Z’s. They have regular tastings on Saturdays. Some of the breweries that have come are Captain Lawrence, Brooklyn, Blue Point, and Ithaca. Also, sometime in the next week or two, Big Z’s will be doubling their growler station taps from 5 to 10. Mark continues to make improvements to an already superb store.UPDATE-10/22/08-Big Z’s has only gotten even better since my initial review. Tremendous selection of micros and Mark has done a great job of upgrading the quality of the imports selection in the last few months. Has a 5 tap growler system and always has quality beers on tap. Also, of note, Big Z’s now offer growlers in 32oz jugs in addition to the standard 64oz jugs. INITIAL REVIEW- 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

March 8, 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.