Whole Foods Market - Lexington

No Longer In Business

Visited around breakfast time on a Saturday. The bar part wasn't actually opened yet, but the beer aisles were. Lots of refrigerated beers available. A small build your own section. Ended up with a six pack of some Prairie beer. I would check the place out again if I was in the area.

It's a solid enough bar. I would drink there again. Maybe not my home bar, but I'd go back.

Dedicated parking right in front. Store is quite a bit smaller than other nicer Whole Foods I have been to. Bottles are in the back right. There are about half a dozen taps in the back right, nothing that interested me. There was nobody around the bottled beer to ask questions. Selection was quite limited in number and quality. Pricing was typical Whole Foods. I bought some green tea. I wouldn’t go out of my way for this place.

All of the Whole Foods. Markets I’ve been to have had an impressive craft beer selection. Lexington’s, for some undetermined reason, excites me more than the others. Perhaps it’s because of the obscure beers they have that I just don’t ever see or hear of in my area. I always end up spending more here than any other beer store or Whole Foods. Plus, it’s just a fun place in which to roam around, sample, and learn.

One of the smallest Whole Foods locations I have ever seen, but they use the space fairly well. The layout forces the place to seem a bit haphazard but for the beer hunter that makes it more fun. Be thorough! I found beer in 4 different locations, NOT counting case stacks. The beer selection is pretty awesome. 6 beers on tap, no slackers, both local stuff and small batches from the likes of Brooklyn and Smuttynose. Tons of bottles, local, US and international, with some rarer selections. Did not try the food. Prices are about average. Some of the nicest employees I have run into at any Whole Foods anywhere. Located in a mall area, there is plenty of parking.

While not as good a beer selection as other Whole Foods, this one still has a solid six pack and bomber section (need more bomber/750s). Small single section (enhance!). Kentucky beer is also back by the deli and cheese area. At the cheese area is a growler station with, I think, six taps. They are putting more and more Kentucky beer on tap lately. For south side of town, a solid place to do a growler fill of Against the Grain, Country Boy, Three Floyds, and other nice beers.

Beer was split into three separate sections: 1) six packs, bombers and twelve packs all the way to the right 2) small BYO 6-pack between section 1 and the cash registers and 3) 6 taps in the deli/cheese section. OK selection with 6 KY beers ( 2 West Sixth and 4 Lore brewing), 4 FFF (including the Barley Wine), typical ales for the region (Stone, DFH, etc.) and an emphasis on New Holland. I was in an out. Prices seemed a little steep.

I’m glad I stumbled on this store. This is the place to buy beer in Lexington. The only other contenders are the Liquor Barn and The Beer Trappe. Whole Foods is superior to Liquor Barn because though they have less beer overall, the quality is better, e.g. more Three Floyds, more New Albanian. The beer at Whole Foods apparently turns over more regularly as everything I looked at was within date. The Beer Trappe probably has a slightly higher quality selection, but it’s more expensive on the 6 packs and none of it is refrigerated. Also I found 6 West IPA only at Whole Foods. I’ll be back here when I’m in town.