Latest reviews from Allston

“Stopped in to see what they may have. Was pleasantly surprised, decent selection of locals and a few out of area beers. They had a mix a six, and bombers. Picked up a couple of bombers. Lots of cold beer as well. Staff was friendly, just another big store.“

jandd1983 2198 days ago

“I think one of the employees had temporary dragon tattoos once. It was really weird.“

radarsock 2507 days ago

“Some good local options but nothing you won’t see elsewhere around town. Fridges full of sixers, so much shit though. The 40oz fridge has some noteworthy shizz doe (no deer). Good for the local area.“

nate2g 3328 days ago

“Beer store near Sunset. It’s been awhile since I’ve been here, but they always had a good selection. Worth visiting especially since Sunset Bar and Grilll is so close.“

jtclockwork 3757 days ago

“Great craft selection that features a large number of bottles from the region at a fair price. Knowledgeable staff. Definitely worth a stop if you’re at Sunset Grill.“

nbutler11 3974 days ago

“I used to go here all the time in college, and coming back a few years later, I have some changed opinions on it. I used to only buy six-packs (with occasional exceptions) and this place has a pretty good selection of them. As for singles, I have looked through them a few times, but only on my most recent visit have I given them the serious consideration they deserve. There is a rather large selection (for example, there is no place in DC that comes close to this). In general, the prices are a bit on the high side. Things cost about a dollar or two or ten more than New Beer Distributors in New York. That being said, you can get some things for good prices. They put seasonal stuff on sale (one memorable moment was $5 Yulesmith... yeah it tasted great). I’ve never talked to the staff about beer. Most are college students who love drinking. I heard the manager interviewing one guy who actually seemed to have some good beer experience though.“

mansquito 4654 days ago

“Amazing, amazing wine selection. Easily one of the best I’ve seen ever. I drooled all over the Sauternes and Alsatian selections. Beer-wise, it gets the job done. There’s a decent selection of local and regional micros, including some limited releases. Prices are fair. If you’re doing wine and beer, however, this is the place to be. Holy crap the wines. Everyone was helpful and we could bring our dog in!“

auerbrau 4684 days ago

“Less than a block away from Sunset Grill. A good amounts of imports and domestics. I picked up a few imports I haven’t seen anywhere else. I think the prices are A BIT high. I didn’t talk to any of the staff, but the cashier at the checkout was unhappy and looked like she wanted to be anywhere but at work. I will give it another look just on the imports alone. Maybe I will look for the beer manager next time and see what he got to say.“

AirForceHops 4692 days ago

“Nice selection of beers. Not too far from Sunset Grill. I always stop there on my Mass trips.“

MadIndian 4791 days ago

“I like blanchards. The atmosphere in this store and the neighborhood isn’t exactly attractive, but they have a giant selection of beer at good prices. Surprisingly for a store of this size, I found the service to be good too. There is someone on the floor specifically to talk beer and he was friendly and always chatted with me, letting me know about new arrivals and things I might like. The price was right for everything. Overall, probably the best beer store in the general area if you don’t have a car or don’t want to drive far.“

tennessejed420 4797 days ago

“I just happen to see this place as I was on my way back to our hotel after a long day on the Freedom Trail. Pulled in to see a few racks of good beer and a ton of macro stuff. I talked with the head beer guy for about 15 min or so. He has been doing the beer side for about a year now and is still working on it. It looks like he is out to make this place a good beer store someday. I hope he can do it.“

BuckeyeBoy 5086 days ago

“Huge messy ugly store with about 1/5th of the place dedicated to beer. Poorly organized. Staff is the supermarket type and know nothing about beer. The American selection is nothing to write home about. Basic USA beer available in Massachusetts, no special find (Moylan’s, Southern Tier, Allagash, Victory, Bruery, Jolly Pumpkin, etc.). Just the standard lineup, no special find. Import selection was surprising and I though it matched Julio’s. A lot of unusual Italians, Japanese with some stuff I didn’t know existed. Plus the Nogne, BFM, Panil and friends. Prices are good, probably the best prices in Boston. Multiple old vintages of Gales Prize Old Ale. And so on. All in all this store has a very large selection (probably the largest selection in Boston) but it doesn’t have “the right” stuff. You can tell that no effort is made to get the less regular interesting releases and I also doubt the freshness of some of their items.“

Glouglouburp 5255 days ago

“My first time to Blanchard’s since Marty’s closed down last year. I was very impressed by the selection: both international and domestic. Basically a big warehouse with most of the hard to find beer sold warm - but the selection can’t be beat. I visited Charles St. and left empty handed. I continued to Blanchard’s and selected 12 bombers that I have not seen in any other Boston stores - and I left another 10 or so on the shelves. No help offered whatsoever - but I wasn’t looking for any. Prices seemed a bit steep, but it is Boston.“

GDTRFB 5258 days ago

“Since Marty’s Allston closed this has become my go-to on the way to the highway. No one offers help here. These folks seem to pay the bills off of 30 racks and kegs, but they do stock a great selection of American micro, odd Italian craft, strange meads, and a good selection of Belgians - nothing crazy exotic, but if you know it’s in Boston and can’t find it, chances are it’s still on their shelves. Not a lot of good tasties kept cold, but lots of standards in the cooler (BMC plus Sierra, Magic Hat, etc). Picked up 6 Green Flash Imp. IPA’s and two GF Stouts bombers (~$60). Was looking for Avery and didn’t see any. Not a bad stop. Will probably stop in again next time.“

SFLpunk 5458 days ago

“the selection is either pretty bad for a great liqour store or really good compared to a wine place. About 80% of the store is wine, and the wine tastings on saturdays are a big draw. However, the friday beer tastings are amazing and is the only reason I ever stop by. Prices are way above average for the area, so the only reason to get something there is if you can’t find it anywhere else.“

blinesam 5911 days ago

“$40 kegs of Bud, how can you go wrong?! That’s basically all I expected until I took a look inside. Their business plan seems to be to carry a lot of stuff at decent prices, which includes a good beer selection. Not a FUN place to shop like City Beer in SF or Chevy Chase in DC, but they will sell you good beer if that’s all you care about. No singles is always a little drawback, but there are plenty of bombers of good stuf to keep you happy. I still like Charles St better, but for pure practicality/economy you can’t go wrong here.“

mkgrenwel 6001 days ago

“Charles Street has been lagging behind on new stuff, and this place seems to have rushed in to fill the void - probably the most extensive selection I’ve seen in the Metro area (ie. accessible from the T), tied with Downtown Liquors in Sommerville - not as much as Julios, but damn close - however, their prices on some stuff were a bit high (for example, 19.95 for Allagash Black, when the average in other local stores is between 12.99 and 14.95) - so unless you can’t find it in other stores, you might want to shop around for prices - otherwise, a nice store.“

notalush 6002 days ago

“Not a huge selection of beer, as this store really focuses on wine and liquor, but you will find a potent selection of micros, and the usual macros. Service is pretty good, but the parking can be kind of hard sometimes.“

BitchesBrew 6060 days ago

“Came here, after an awesome trip to Sunset Grill. Previously in the day I was at Julio’s liquors, and grabbed all the Alesmith i could, unfortunately they were just wiped out. I was a little bummed out, we went to Sunset to cheer up (beer does this in the wierdest ways) and while we were on our way to grab a cab we decided to check out Blanchards. Not the best looking store from the outside, but we went in, I wasnt expecting much, But i found all the Alesmith that Julio’s was out of stock on (Horny Devil, Wee Heavy & Decadence 2006) as well as some other brews that interested us. Good selection of belgians, the store was well laid out. Not the best store, however it took care of my needs.“

stegosaurus 6100 days ago

“Moderate selection of bottles, decent belgians, lots of local micros (allagash especially). Not a huge selection overall, no singles. Prices are very good though, lower than many of the big bottle shops in the area. Only real reason to come, however, is the low turnover. I found some 5 or 6 year old Belgians and local stuff that was very cool. Batch 1 Allagash Grand Cru anyone? Big update: Well, after being increasingly annoyed by Downtown Liquors’ increasing prices and decreasing selection, along with Martys always high prices and less-than-spectacular selection (and I live too far from the mecca, Julios), I tried out Blanchards again. Shit! This is by far the best beer place in Boston, hands down. Only Charles St puts up some competition, but I think these guys have almost as much as Charles St at much, much better prices. They are the only ones out of Martys and Downtown and Blanchards to have AleSmith Decadence 2006. All the new Italian stuff, Cantillon, BFM stuff. Just missing the more rare Shelton Imports (Olfabrikken, Mikkeller, Struise, etc...). Great prices, wow.“

ClarkVV 6314 days ago

“Ambience is collegey and skewed towards American Anhueser Busch garbage beers. They do have a lot of Belgian, German, English, and Scottish beers along with a big variety of local micros and cases of imported beers. Compared with Marty’s just a little bit down Harvard St. Blanchard’s prices are a little higher overall but are lower on some things. They have a small shelf of glasses with lots of different logos and good sale prices if you buy lots of that kind of beer. There are some singles available on the English/Belgian/German shelves and in the beer fridge on the wall closest to the parking lot. They recently renovated the big fridge to accomodate their large 30 rack, "ya dude" crowd“

blinesam 6354 days ago

“Mostly focused on wines and liquors, but an alright selection of brews as well. Chimay, Unibroue, Duvel, Magic Hat. Not a huge selection, but decent enough.“

DarkMagus 6501 days ago

“Wow.. this place has improved, big time. Mostly liquor and wine, with an increasing beer selection. Lots of locals, lots of Allagash, Smuttynose, Rogue, Stone.. loads of belgians, some Cantillon. Nice parking lot, although driving around Allston can be a pain. This place has a prime selection and very fair prices.“

BitchesBrew 6658 days ago

“Great wine selection. Unusual ports and a rare wine refrigerator. Great selection of hard liquors and also a fairly good selection of beers as well.“

fluids 6852 days ago

“Nice beer selection. Most Belgians, quite a few smaller microbrews. Pricing is reasonable to expensive. Nothing was really cheap unless you are getting a 30 rack of garbage. The two rarer finds I got there were Stoudt’s IPA and older version of their Imperial Stout.“

ABUSEDGOAT 6869 days ago

“So based on the comments at right, why would I add such a place? Because it’s mad cheap for the selection. Sure, you’re often served beer in plastic cups, but this is also one of the few Boston places with dollar drafts on random beers on tap, thanks to its early closing license. A good place for college students to sample some of the semi-exotic macros and local micros, while feeling a part of that party college atmosphere. Though I can’t stay in this place for more than an hour. :-)“

beaconstreet 7171 days ago