Dennis Brothers Liquors

7/5/2008 7:40:45 PM, saturday, july 05, 2008
Sought out Dennis Bros. after visiting BeerAdvocate.com (they are the site’s highest rated store in Minnesota). Met and talked with John (one of the owners) for almost an hour. He showed me around the store and shared his philosophy regarding beer and his desire to provide customers with a great experience. The store is located in a classy looking strip center on the corner of County Rd. 19 and 70th Street in Cottage Grove. Now... this was a LONG drive for me to make - but it was definately worth it. I saw a number beers that I haven’t seen elsewhere including a wide selection of finer domestics, imports, etc. The store was clean, well stocked, and thoughtfully put together. My service from John was exceptional as he carried out my order and shared a nice Unibroue beer glass FREE of charge with my purchase. The rest of the store has an impressive selection of spirits by category and a selection of over 1700 wines for good measure (including several nice meads). This is a destination store with an eye towards boutique and unusual products while still being full-service. I’ll definately be back! Thanks John :)

6/30/2008 1:41:03 PM, monday, june 30, 2008
I was by the Brothers. Their sellection was nice, clean and in date, they just seemed to do it right. One word I can say is GREAT! Hard to find stuff to a full line of Victory, Bells, Surly including a mixed pack and the most complete line up of Rogue. I look forward to my next visit with the Brothers.

5/13/2008 6:50:41 AM, tuesday, may 13, 2008
This place is about as good as it gets. Great selection of bombers, including lots of Rougue, Ballast Point, Mikkeler, Flat Earth of course, so many more that I cant think of. Competitive prices, I think Fury is 9.59, Bender 8.99. The customer service is where D bros really shines. John and Steve know their beer upside down and backwards, and are always willing to help make a selection if need be. Best customer service I have had in a liquor store hands down, somthing that Blue Max sorley lacks IMO. It is worth the drive for most, but im glad i live close.

5/3/2008 10:12:44 PM, saturday, may 03, 2008
Wow, this is a really nice store. It’s a bit of a drive to get to it from St. Paul, but it is worth it. The feel of it is excellent, as it is spotless, in a great neighborhood and near some open fields (which is always nice to get back to). The selection is as good as most places here in the cities and had a few things that I hadn’t seen anywhere else. Service is excellent, as the owners are friendly and clearly very committed to and knowledgeable about craft beer. Since it is a long drive and there are such solid stores right in the Mpls/St. Paul area I probably will only make it there once in awhile, but it is still highly recommended.

3/8/2008 5:30:42 PM, saturday, march 08, 2008 [ Updated monday, may 12, 2008 ]
A very nice and well laid out store. Quite clean with a pleasant, almost small town feel to it. Excellent selection. Top notch service. The brothers will go out of your way to help you find what you want. Not quite to Blue Max or US Wine but close. Rivals Cellars for sure. Found some Struiselenis, Struise Witte. Only drawback was the painfully small mix and match singles selection. Overall, by far the best option in the East Metro. Top 5 in the entire metro area for sure.

5/27/2007 11:38:43 AM, sunday, may 27, 2007
I visited Dennis Brothers Liquors with my dad on Saturday, May 26. My dad agreed that, in terms of ambiance/atmosphere, this is the nicest liquor store that either of us has ever been to. The selection is very strong, although not quite at Blue Max levels. The prices are on the high side, but it’s a boutique shop, so that’s to be expected. However, many beers, especially Belgians, come with free branded glassware(!!!), and both of us took advantage of this benefit. My dad and I spoke to the Dennis brothers, especially John, extensively about beer and whisky. They are truly passionate about their business and the products that they sell. They really know their stuff and are happy to discuss it with their customers. We both received free samples of a rare Scotch, and John, knowing that we were interested in glassware, threw in two free Saison Dupont glasses. It was a great experience, and I definitely plan to make return visits despite the fact that the location is not very close to my home. This place is well worth checking out, no matter where in the Twin Cities area you live.

11/29/2006 3:24:31 PM, wednesday, november 29, 2006
An exceptional place to buy beer. Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. Nicely organized store and very clean. Great selection of beers focused on quality and not quantity. Prices are some of the best I’ve seen. Highly recommended.

11/10/2006 2:27:33 PM, friday, november 10, 2006
Stopped by for a beer tasting and got soooo much more. At first I wasn’t sure how great things were gonna be. Bit of a drive from Minneapolis. When you start to see combines and open fields on the way you start to wonder. Clean looking store front and even cleaner when you get inside. Everything is in it’s place on the shelf with nice labels and clean rows. Very nice wine section in a separated area. Great whiskey and scotch selection. Now onto the beer. The tasting was great with 10 beers being poured (Hopmouth, Jewbelation, and Old Ruffian to name a few). I stood around and talked to John (one of the brothers, hence the stores name) for a couple hours along with another BA member. We sampled and explored the many beers they have. The largest Rogue selection in the state is of great note (and a great discount on 3 bottles of it). Nice lineup of Belgian beers. Plenty of hard to find stuff too. John and Steve really love beer and it shows. They’re willing to go out of their way and talk to you about the beers and find beers for you. You won’t find that kind of dedication at other stores. Totally worth the drive and I’ll be back again soon. Thanks again guys!

10/14/2006 9:51:02 PM, saturday, october 14, 2006 [ Updated wednesday, december 20, 2006 ]
400; maybe. I think it was smaller. They do have some rare beers, including Jolly Pumpkin that I havn’t seen before. Some Avery rarities, St. Bernardus, other Belgians. A few drawbacks: prices, which are a dollar or more higher than Cellars or even Blue Max. Also, the mix a six pack selection was very small, expensive ($8) and lacking quality beers. Very nice store, spotless, clean and well laid out. The strip mall setting doesn’t do it justice. The staff was very friendly and made it clear they were happy to help without being pushy. So guys, expand the singles selection & price the bottles individually, and get the prices on the other beers to match up with the rest of the Twin Cities. This store is worth a look and I will be back.

3/11/2006 3:31:43 PM, saturday, march 11, 2006 [ Updated monday, october 01, 2007 ]
This is a re-rate a year and a half after my first visit. The beer section has grown dramatically - now estimated by the owners in the 660 range - and I suspect that they have pretty much that. There are three full sections (sorry , don’t know my retail terminology) with all the usual suspects as well as stuff like multiple vintages of Thomas Hardy’s, four Cantillon, the only full Rogue product line in MN - not fact checked, but I believe it is likely - seven Fantomes, and five Jolly Pumpkins. They have a build-your own six rack that they rotate product through. The on-shelf selection has easily tripled since I was through the first time, and they are very serious about getting the good stuff out. Knowledgeable staff will go out of their way to help with any info you might want, and has chased down internet beer rumors for me as well. These guys are the real deal and deserve more attention especially as they are the only good beer player in the south-east metro suburban beer deserts. There are only two or three places in the metro that can compete with their selection. They’ve got it. Go get it.