December 30, 2008
The name of this place is the stuff of Dubuque area legends. I*ve been going here since before I could buy anything and it was the first serious beer-wine-liquor store I had ever been too, so it holds a place in my heart. Let me lay it on the line though, it*s a freaking warehouse dolled up in minimal fashion and they are very focused on liquor and wine. Beer tends to take a back seat but they do care about what they*re doing in the beer dept. There is a decent import selection, particularly for me when I was just starting out, they*ve got you covered on the basics for sure. Their micro stuff rotates a lot, but it’s a fairly good selection and I like that it rotates. There is always something worth picking up here.

March 18, 2008 [ Updated March 23, 2008 ]
For being in the middle of no where this place is pretty damn good. A good amount of import, (Chimay, Orval, Sam Smith) to mention a very few, along with a good amount of American favorites, (North Coast, Ballast Point, Goose Island BCS and IIPA, Great Divide, Rogue, Avery, I think FFF but the selection was really small and I am guessing that they aren’t going to carry it anymore) Definately a lot more than I was expecting when I heard about it. Also a huge plus is that everything they have you can pick up singles of, they don’t care if you break up a sixer. Five percent discount if you make your own six pack. The biggest draw back is that everything they have is sitting out in the open, unrefrigerated, but the place is honestly probably the best selection for 50 miles in any direction. Service is non existent, the only time you get attention is when you pay, but that is cool with me, I don’t like being bothered anyway. Definately worth a stop if you are in the area.

January 7, 2008
Pours pitch black with a thick...oh wait. Family beer and liquor, gotta love the name. This place is pretty nice. Very big alcohol selection, and beer gets a good chunk of real estate as well. You can mix and match anything they have out, and you get 10% off from anything that is in a six pack. Cool. Selection is pretty good, but newer stuff filters in pretty slow. If you go once and stock up on everything, you pretty much are set for a month or two before you should bother coming back. Staff seems friendly enough, they always offer to carry my stuff out to the car (which i decline at 25) but that might help a few of the older rate beerians out (just kidding).

May 20, 2006
Wow! I felt a little uneasy going into a beer and liquor store with the moniker "Family" prominently displayed across the threshold (but such is the advertising in the Midwest, even alcohol is seen as as a wholesome activity), but it dissipated soon after entering the store. Aisles full of an extremely large selection of beer from all over the world. A side note: Whenever I want to find a beer that no one else has rated on beerpal or any of the other beer websites, I head to the midwest, specifically around eastern Iowa. Anyway, I found many that I had not yet tried, and walked away happy.

January 9, 2006 [ Updated December 25, 2006 ]
Been here many time as I grew up across the river in Dubuque. Best beer selection in the area and they allow mixed six packs. They have selections from Avery, Sand Creek, New Holland, Tommyknocker, Grand Teton, Goose Island, and many more. The bad news is that on my most recent visit (Christmas Eve ’06), I noticed an announcement that Bell’s would no longer be distributed in Illinois. Drag.

July 18, 2005 [ Updated October 7, 2008 ]
Still a solid beer store. I have been here a few times. Short of going to Chicago or Madison, this is a pretty good beer store. I am able to get a fair number fo new beers with each trip. They allow you to break up any six pack for singles. Just keep your eye on the cases on the floor, they don’t always put everything on the shelf. I go to get Founder’s, special edition Flying Dogs, and Mendocino. All beers that we don’t get in Iowa. Decent selection of oddball German and English beer. Short on Belgians.