Where do you buy your beer?

Where do you buy your beer? Do you shop at your favorite package store exclusively, or do you pick up the occasional 12 pack at your local grocery as well?

I prefer to hit my local package store because they have a pretty diverse selection, and a couple of knowledgeable guys to help me select something new every now and then. But the beer aisle happens to be adjacent to the bread and diary aisle, typically my final stop as I complete my weekly grocery shopping excursion. It's always at this point that I find myself in a quandary.

Do I pick up a few beers from the meager selection Shaw's has to offer, or do I stop by CT Beverage Mart on the way home? The extra stop will equate to a better beer selection, but also leaves my diary and meat products in the hot trunk a little bit longer than I like. There's also the added benefit of saving money at Shaw's. For example, I picked up a 12-pack of Sam Adams Boston Ale tonight as I finished my grocery shopping because it was on sale, about $4 off the normal price. And, if I include my beer purchases in the grocery bill, the Alewife offers less scrutiny regarding my beer budget, lets just say, the beer gets lost in the shuffle, somewhere between the Kashi cereal and deli meat.

So, its a matter of selection versus convenience and affordability. My local Shaw's market has all the usual suspects from AB, they also have some Sam Adams and Harpoon offerings as well as Sierra Nevada, Magic Hat, Long Trail and the like. But no local brews! I actually bumped into a beer distributor a week or so ago as he stocked the shelves and I asked him why there were no local brews on the shelf. His answer was that Shaw's doesn't see the profitability in it, and most micros can't afford to sell their brews at the low rates the macros can direct to the chain. My hope is that one day the big grocery chains see the light and at least try to embrace craft beer a bit more, along the same lines as Ruby Tuesday's.

Let's talk selection and variety. Next time your at the market, take a look at their beer selection and then come back and leave a comment, let me know where you shop and give me an idea of what beer they have to offer.