Riverside Liquors and Party Store

August 28, 2007
Well for one I love the name of the town it is in. Part of its own small strip mall; liquor store, gas station, party store, t-shirt shop, and a spa? The billboard says "1000 bottles of wine" , and I will not argue. Separated by country there is a nice variety here, hell this may be the best wine store north of Milwaukee or at least Mequon. Beer-wise it is OK with the main attraction being New Glarus, including the Red and Tart, and Bells. Decent selection of imports and singles as well. A surprize for up here, well I did see a Redhook ESB neon in a bar between Mohawk and Phoenix many years ago. Note: all the samples I tried from here (3) tasted off, as in old, I would stick to the cooler stuff.

January 22, 2007
Not what you’d expect to find out in the middle of the northwoods, where it seems that macros rule the world. This place has got some nice micros and some imports as well....belgians, germans, Unibrou, Bell’s, New Glarus. etc. Overall, the selection is not great but for this part of the workd, it IS great...That’s not saying much, unless you’re on your way up north and you forgot to stop for beer in the more populated areas, in which case, this place will be a godsend. You’ll certainly find SOMETHING that will keep you happy for the weekend. Prices were also not what you’d expect for this kind of selection in the northwoods. Overall, everything was reasonable. The store is literally just across the boarder from Iron Mountain as you cross back into Wisconsin. A must stop if you forgot to stop along the way and even a worthwhile stop if you want to pick up some last minute beers before you head on into no man’s land. Just as an aside, we’re talking about a part of the country where people think that "Leinenkugels" is an import. In all seriousness, I asked for a Leinenkugels at a bar in Crystal Falls and I was told: "We only serve AMERICAN beers here". I don’t mean to knock the place. For the area, this place is top shelf.