November 16, 2009
A neat little joint right off I-35. They don’t have the biggest beer selection in town, but they get their hands on all of the rare and interesting brews that come into town. I’ve had some really good beers on tap at Whip-In, too, which is something you wouldn’t really expect from a little store like this. I’ve only had the food a couple times, but it’s been very good - almost exclusively Indian food. Prices are a bit high at Whip-In, and sometimes they’ll be restrictive on how many of a rare beer you can purchase - for example, they’d only let me buy 2 bottles of Saint Arnold Divine Reserve 8, where Spec’s would let me have a sixer. However, I’d say it’s good for a small store like this to try to spread the beer wealth and let as many people as they can get a their hands on a new or rare brew. If your timing is good, you might find a selection of their cellared brews - I recently bought some beers aged for 4 years - at a pretty reasonable price, too.

June 18, 2009
Really awesome store with a great beer/wine/food selection. An attached liquor store also gives you a great selection of spirits. This family owned shop has a very friendly and welcoming staff.

April 19, 2009
Old school Austin restaurant and beer/wine store, had 6-7 taps and good selection of singles and bombers, easy to get to off I-35

July 4, 2008
Do NOT believe the hours. The Whip In does NOT stay open until midnight as they advertise. I was just there at 11:54 p.m. last night. Two other cars full of potential customers pulled up as well who were not associated with me. All of us were ignored. I knocked on the glass doors and saw the employees inside look back at me. I pointed to the time on my cellphone. They looked back at me shrugged their shoulders and dismissed me. If I were the owners of The Whip In, I would dismiss the employees who worked tonight. They obviously do not care about the business they work for. All they cared about was leaving work early. Because of that, the potential customers suffered. The business suffered because it missed out on sales. And the reputation of The Whip In suffers because it is now guilty of false advertising. What a shame. I have been a regular customer of The Whip In for years but no more. I will support another local business from now on that hires employees with integrity who will work the designated hours. And I will share this story with everyone I know and encourage them to do the same.

June 18, 2008
I left Austin and part of my soul behind there when I moved some 8 years ago now. Whip In is truly what makes us old South-of-the-River proud of that heritage. The selection is ever changing and if you feel like being challenged or hipped to something new go ask that kind fella behind the counter what your looking for....and odds are he’ll open your palate up to something you can’t believe you’ve lived without for this long. Good to see them still going.

March 6, 2008 [ Updated March 7, 2009 ]
For their seemingly small inventory of beers, their selection isn’t shabby. Many of the beers you see at most stores, but also an occasional surprise. You know, the whole *hey, what in the world is this?* Customer service was great, and their shopping carts dart cleanly through the aisles. I’ll be back.

December 30, 2007
Park in the back- I pulled into the front and was a little confused, saw the store front but absolutely no where to park there. Store is kind of crampt inside, but otherwise ok. Beer- singles available- I saw some that I hadn’t seen at Grapevine, Spec’s, and a few smaller stores. Prices- some higher, some lower than other places. Staff- very laid back, but knowledgeable enough. Food- some cheeses, some sandwiches, but standard convienence store grub. Summary- kind of out of the way for me to go with Spec’s and Grapevine literally in my backyard, but I do plan on going back sometime. We all have to support the little guy every once in awhile.

June 14, 2007
Nothing like Specs....but a fun, good place to vist. Found a couple of gems that I really enjoyed. Guys are really nice that work there as well as knowledgeable....

May 16, 2007
This place rocks! You walk in and there’s ususally cool Putumaya type world music playing and some Nag Champa incense burning. Great beer and wine selection, tastings and magazines/papers. Local brews, Texas brews, Int’l brews. They let you build your own 6-pack from cool and dry. Super laid-back and knowledgable staff. Not much food, they have cheeses, candies, slim pickins’ on some groceries.

March 24, 2007
Difficult as fuck to get to because of the IH-35 exit. Well worth it, awesome selection. Ambience? It’s a family-owned convenience store. An Austin staple...