Party Pak Liquors

September 18, 2008
I used to live just up the road from here I can’t believe that I never visited this place! From the exterior it looks like any other Indy liquor store, with the exception of the sign which promises Biggest Specialty Beer Selection. Inside, the place is packed and cramped, floor to ceiling. After a few more years of beer drinking several of their aisles will be impassable to me. The lady behind the counter was most helpful, even recommending a nearby place where I could find a cheap glass to go with my fancy beer purchases. There is a baffling array of beer here, but much of it appears to be quite old. There were a lot of Christmas beers from the Christmas that was 10 months ago...not things that were meant to be aged. Caveat emptor on that one - don’t buy any beer with more than a light dusting (of dust). Still a cool place - I will likely revisit next time I’m in town.

September 8, 2008
This place is packed with beer from all over the world. If it’s available in IN then they probably have it. I have gotten some old over the hill brews on occasion, but for the most part pretty good. Great place to mix and match a sixer of a little of anything.

June 26, 2008
Stopped here during a motorcycle ride. Easy to find location with large parking lot in the front. Service was freindly and very helpful. Selection is held on shelves and coolers on the right of the store. I found a great selection of new beers, but could only put three in saddle bag. Beer store snacks and large selection of package liqour. Great place for good brews and I will go back in my Jeep when I am in the area.

June 23, 2008
Visited this store a few months back and was very impressed with the selection and the service. I agree with most of the posters that this store leaves a lot to be desired aesthetically, but then again, we are just buying beer here, so I can live with the less than attractive decor. Upon entering, I was amazed at the four or five rows of beer stacked floor to ceiling. Yes, it was cramped, yes it is hard to locate some of the beer sometimes, but the selection still overwhelms me. They carried a lot of the beer warm or cold and indicated on the shelf where to locate the beer cold in the cooler. Being from Florida, I was most impressed with the selection of Three Floyds, a beer we do not receive in FL. On the Thursday that I visited, one of the staff persons took more than 30 minutes to chat beer with me and walk me through the store showing me some of the rarer beers they have. Nice selection of glassware and other beer-related products. After talking to the owner for a while, it seems that he has plans to build a second floor on this place just for beer. Nice. Dont miss this store if you are in the area.

May 2, 2008 [ Updated September 18, 2008 ]
Shady looking exterior but a cramped very well stocked beer selection inside. Nice that they list bottle, six, and case prices for most beers and let you buy it however you want. Staff was helpful in finding what I wanted, though like the previous poster I noticed after driving home to Chicago that I was charged 6 pack price for a single. Obviously I should have checked before but it is still not good that they are ringing the singles up incorrectly fairly often. Some of the beer seemed to have some age on it and was dusty so that is something to be mindful of. Great selection. Update: Went in when this place was less busy and had no problems with the pricing. Still no real service was offered and the cashier spent most of the time on the phone complaining to her boyfriend or someone. I love that you can break any and all 6 packs which can save a lot of cash and in general the prices are pretty decent.

January 23, 2008 [ Updated March 19, 2008 ]
I have lowered my rating for Pak because they have a new employee there who overcharges me almost everytime I am there. 4 out of my last 5 trips. Rings up singles at the 6-pack rate, and argues that he did nothing wrong. Either he is intentionally cheating customers or shouldn’t be working a register. Either way, I’ll be making the drive to the Hop SHop or one of Sprinkles stores for awhile. Hopefully, this guy will be gone soon. ***** My regular stop for several years, and just simply an awesome place to buy your craft brew. Small store, with cheap prices alla round. About 1/3 of the store is wine&spirits, 1/3 normal beer, 1/3 craft beer. Ghetto-ish on the inside, but STACKED with beer. 4 aisles stacked high (from floor to about 7 ft up) , on both sides, full of craft beer. Plus, several coolers stocked as well. Ratebeer ratings on almost every beer. Endcaps of ratebeer top 100 beers. And (my favorite part)...mix and match 6 packs on every single in the store. I really get spoiled here because I want to mix and match EVERYWHERE I go!! Staff is hit and miss on helpfulness, but go on Fridays, they have beer tastings and the more craft-friendly staff usually work at this time. Awesome store!

October 13, 2007
Large selection, Beers I hadn’t seen in my hometown. Some of the coolers were actually heating the beers not cooling, and it was quite cramped.

August 6, 2007
Incredible selection. You can mix and match anything in the store. They have beer ratings, by Beer Advocate, on many of their brews. Some of the aisles are a bit cramped and the beer area definitely needs more space. I’m definitely stopping here again on my way to South Bend.

July 1, 2007
just an average liqour store on the outside but inside a huge selection.

May 16, 2007
Store is located on pot-holed and grungy urban sprawl. But a hella lotta beer! First sight upon entry was a short wall of bottles ordered by RB ranking. And things only improved from there - pretty much everything bottled in Indiana is represented here, even a few leftovers from seasons past. Midwest as a whole is well-off - all of the goods from Goose Island, Hoppin Frog, Bells, Dark Horse, etc., but not a ton from MN or WI. Biggest surprise for me was the Avery stock: all the 12oz.’ers, 12, 13, and probably everything they’ve released in a bomber. The European section is probably better than State Line’s, which is saying something - all the heavy hitters (Cantillon, 3 Fonteinen, De Dolle) and lots of stuff I hadn’t seen before. A tad expensive on a few items (on the order of ten cents for the commons), but worth it for the ease. I’m grateful just for the fleeting kid-in-a-candy-store awe - to feel young again, if just for an hour.