Big Top Beverage Mart

I just found Big Top, after driving by it for years. (They just started advertising on the local Comcast channels.) If you like obscure beer, this is the place for you! I was shocked to see the case and half case selection of craft beers from all over! Plus they can actually hold a conversation with you about the beers they are selling.. WOW And if you happen to be the alcoholic that I just might be, they have 50 refrigerated kegs, half kegs and yes quarter kegs of craft beer that will fit in your keginator! So, perhaps not the lowest prices around town, but for the selection, I am willing to pay a buck more per case. Check it out!

I regularly drive by two other beer distributors to get here. Their craft brew and Belgium selections are second to none in the area.

great place with a great selection. prices are a bit high, but worth it. check out joe’s mixed cases and his friday tastings.

Warehouse style case shop. Nice rows so it’s easy to get around. Lot’s of good stuff. Tons of Founders, Weyerbacher, Duck Rabbit, and Bell’s to be had. Every major PA brewery is represented. They even have some Russian River, Lost Abbey, Alesmith, and Cigar City stuff. The nice thing about the place is they have prices near every case you might find, making it easy to pick out if you’re on a budget. The website/price charts indicate that they get some of the more rare one offs (KBS, Nemesis, and other limited releases) but those are only in stock once they come in. Really nice case store.

Obviously the main problem with this place is that it is a beer distro. In any case, I have been going here for years. From the time I would get cases of PBR and beer bubbles to today when I pick up variety packs of craft brews, this place has been my go to in the area. One thing that goes on here is that they actually sell a few singles through some weird loophole. At the front they have singles of Lindemans, Port Brewing, and BrewWorks. Not a huge selection, but it sure is nice to see. Anyway, they have a great collection of cases. They have 5 or 6 different Russian River cases, a few from Port Brewing, and Cigar City. They have pretty much everything from PA area microbrewers, such as Victory, Philadelphia Brewing Company, Troegs, Weyerbacher, Yards, Sly Fox and Lancaster Brewing Company. Basically great selection if you don’t mind buying things in case form. Their sampler packs are problematic because they usually consist of beers that have sat for too long. If you look like you are looking for something, someone will come out and try to lend a hand.

One of the better distributors in our little town. Although the whole warehouse layout probably isn’t too salubrious to the beer. But they have a nice selection of PA and NJ craft beer. They make their own variety pack which is nice because its usually stocked with seasonals. They have an alright selection of imports and west coast beers. Service is always helpful and friendly. And of course if you feel the need there are pretzels and lottery tickets.

I haven’t been to Big Top Beverage in years and stopped on a friend’s reccomendation. I’m happy I made it back, this is one of the best stocked beer distributors in the Northern Suburbs of Philadelphia. Just down the road from Willow Grove Mall. Big Top has a large selection of micros, macros, imports and returnables. Add in friendly service, lottery, soft pretzels, mixed cases and beer specials and I see no need to drive to Shangy’s for speciality beer. Don’t worry Beer Yard you still have the most diverse mico/speciality cases in the area. But Big Top caters to both the macro and micro customers. Plenty of variety cases too, and the prices were reasonable. If you’re a beer hunter in the Philadelphia area Big Top is a must stop.

A warehouse. Not sure there is proper ventilation for the summer time, or if they have slow turnover of micro\craft\import beers, but in either case the beer seems to suffer. I have bought 3-4 cases there of craft beer that were skunked. It’s dissappointing because they do have a fairly good (not great but over average) selection. I usually go 1-2 blocks down to another distributor that is close by and have never had a problem with skunked brew there.

As this is in Pennsylvania, it is a "beer distributor". For those not acquainted with the concept, in PA the law says for cases and kegs, you have to go to a distributor, 12s and bombers are sold at bars and delis. Big Top has been around since I was a kid, and has recently expanded their selection of craft beer. Cases of PA/NJ beers take center stage, but plenty of imports, including some belgians, are available. Again, cases and kegs only, but a good selection overall.