Latest reviews from Bloomington

“Stopped in a few weeks ago. Big BYO section with a lot of local ticks, which is what I was looking for. Big, cavernous place with not much character but a lot of great booze. Staff was nice enough. Some rarities. I racked up a pretty big bill easily. Prices okay. Worth a stop if in town.“

Drake 1165 days ago

“Tucked out of the way in an industrial Park it is worth finding. Nice tap room staff, the brewer was most kind. They have beers to go and a large selection on tap. We liked the stouts and porters the best.“

BlackBeerPG 1685 days ago

“The best thing to happen to Bloomington in a long time. If you’re a Bud Light drinker, keep shopping at the 7-11. If you’re looking for hard-to-find craft beers and imports, this is the place to go!“

boydmarq 3442 days ago

“This is a pretty good liquor store. The selection is really all people care about and the selection of microbrews is easily this place’s most appealing quality. There is a fairly limited amount of beer that you can use for mix and match six packs (compared to the overall selection) but there are a number of hard to find beers usually available here. No Three Floyds, but there is some Alesmith, good selection of rare Euro breweries like De Molen and a nice selection of local IL breweries.“

ads135 4080 days ago

“Nice store. Great selection -fairly knowledgeable staff. Until Binny’s opened, they had little competition.“

boydmarq 4103 days ago

“Stopped in at one of the newest shops in the chain when I was downstate recently. Felt and looked like a standard Binny’s. They do carry a slightly different variety of bottles here due to different distributor relationships. As such, was able to pick up some Alesmith bottles. Pricing and everything else is pretty much the same but I like this place better than Friar Tuck’s down the street.“

NobleSquirrel 4135 days ago

“Nice sized store that is well lit. Very large beer selection for central IL. Huge import selection with nice selection of six packs and decent sized mixed six as well. Much better selection than Springfield location and cheaper prices too. I don’t know much about home brewing, but it seemed like they had a lot to offer.“

msante79 4518 days ago

“huge selection of beer from all over the world“

Blairgus 4694 days ago

“Stopped in the Bloomington Friar Tuck on the back from Chicago, and unsurprisingly, it looked exactly like the other Friar Tuck stores I’ve been to so far. The beer aisle made up the long aisle along the left wall, and the whole back cooler, with some end displays as well. So quantity is not an issue, nor is selection- I found a couple nice bottles I didn’t see in STL or Chicago- but inventory turnover is questionable. I can only wonder how long some of the beers have been on shelves here. As long as you’re not buying IPAs or other particularly time-sensitive beers, you should be able to find some unexpected things here. If nothing else, Friar Tuck is consistent in selection, service, and atmosphere in all of its stores.“

phaleslu 4983 days ago

“Pretty damn good selection of the middle of the state. They get all of the Boulevard releases, I’ve seen Ballast Point there, Bruery & Lost Abbey as well. Also have a small selection fo homebrew supplies, too. Overall, pretty solid selection, particularly in terms of micros. You’d be hard pressed to find any rare imports, but they represent pretty well.“

NobleSquirrel 5082 days ago

“Well-lit and very organized place, but nothing special going on for ambiance. A very large place with lots going on besides beer.

As for service, I wasn’t approached a single time. It didn’t matter because I know my way around beer, but it would have been nice for someone to say something. I felt like they were suspicious that I was going to steal something since I was browsing singles and spending lots of time there.

Depending on where you’re from, you may not be blown away by their selection, but it’s hands down the best in this area, no question. Lots of Mikkeller, BrewDog, etc., and plenty of local and closer gems.

The prices strike me as average to slightly high. Typical chain. Singles are mainly for "mix 6" only, not priced individually, which is somewhat annoying.

Overall, it’s the place to go in the Bloomington/Normal for the best selection of beer. It is sort of on the southwest side of town (especially in relation to campus) and can be a bit of a trip out of the way, but it’s worth it if you want the best/rarest beers in the town. “

drowland 5157 days ago

“clean well lit space. well organized. saw an end cap with every or nearly every mikkeler single hop. VERY large make your own 6 pack area which i greatly appreciate. bombers are not intermingled with their domestic 6pack partners which i also appreciate. no service to speak of though i needed none. corporate looking exterior lies of what is held inside.“

satan165 5175 days ago

“Good beer selection. Stay away from the homebrew supplies. Quite a bit of it was looking unhealthy and I doubt they have much turnover. Whitelabs vials 6 months out of date. CHECK YOUR DATES as a number of their beers have been sitting on the shelves for YEARS (specifically French and Belgians) “

peter 5199 days ago

“Another fine Friar tuck in central IL, probably the best one actually (closest to chicago, so they get more!!!). I have been here numerous times over the past 3 years while visiting friends from college who live in the town as well as for wedding parties. Some good times that involve making last minute beer runs to this place. Great selection and good service. however, watch out for some older bottles on the shelves. If you know what your looking at, you should have no problem with their stock.“

Terminus 5214 days ago

“This place used to be cool a long time ago. They have always had a good selection of micro brews but save you self the trouble and cover charge and go in the afternoon. The crowd is college aged and this place is usually packed. This place turned to hell once they added the dance floor in the back. Decent beer though, but not really worth it.“

User29624 5609 days ago

“A well organized store, with a very good selection. There are several beers that I found that are hard to find in the Chicago area. I had never been to a Friar Tuck’s before, so I was also pleasantly surprised to see a homebrewing section. Good prices as well. I’ll be back!“

troyc 6017 days ago

“I think this is the best place to get beer in Bloomington/Normal. When I got home to visit my parents I can usually stop here to find beer that is too hard to find in Chicago since it is too popular. The beer down in Bloomington is a lot cheaper also :) Good selection, massive selection of Rogue. Also, I am a big fan of the mix and match 6 for $8.99. Good way to find a lot of different beers to rate.“

User29624 6058 days ago

“I think this place is great. It is very large and houses all types of micros, craft beers, and seasonal beers. A very good selection of both single bottles, 12oz, 22oz, and 24oz. It also was priced good, with mix & match 6/8.99. It also had great wine selection, and a very knowledgable staff.“

JLAudio 6070 days ago

“

Stopped by here in way down from Wisconsin to Kentucky. It was a little tricky to find as none of the mapping programs actually recognize the address, but it should not be too hard to find. Just turn onto Prospect.

Selection was pretty decent though some of the bottles were pretty dusty. The singles section was pretty picked over but there were still some nice choices like Clipper City Heavy Seas to be had. I ended up with a 2001 Lou Pepe which will be opened to celebrate the new year. Prices seemed reasonable but it is hard to gauge since my only other Illinois stop has been Binny’s in Schaumburg.

“

Brigadier 6381 days ago

“We visited Fat Jack’s on a Saturday evening, and it was very crowded. It took a while to get beer from the bar, but the service was good nevertheless. Quite a few micro taps with some good seasonals like the Goose Island X-mas Ale. Also had stuff from Rogue and Bells, among others. Not too cheap ($4/pint), but pretty much what I expected on a Sat. night.“

troyc 6383 days ago

“Very nice selection of beers, particulary of interest to me being those not available in the Chicago area. Quite comparable to the two Tucks that I’ve recently visited in Peoria and Springfield, so I didn’t make a major score on my first visit. But good enough for me to stop back when I’m in the area again.“

Cornfield 6537 days ago

“This place had a cool vibe, but I was there during the dayk, so I was one of like 5 local drunks at the bar, lol. I had an Oberon on tap though, for $3.50 so I was pumped. They had like one seasonal from a few kickass brewers. Nothing insane but the best in town i bet. they had bells, rogue, anderson valley, etc. pretty cool though“

LilKem 6615 days ago

“This was such a kickass place! They had a great selection--- tons of belgians, tons of brews from everywhere, imported and US. They had 3F, Great Lakes, Bells, Arcadia, Two Brothers, Avery (even Mephistepholes), OFallon, Anderson Valley, Mendocino, Lagunitas, Unibroue, New Holland, Boulder Brewing, Schlafly, and tons more. There was one enormous cooler as well as one full two-sided grocery store sized- aisle of beer. :) No one ever asked what I needed, but when I checked out, people seemed to know their stuff.“

LilKem 6615 days ago

“Friar Tuck does a good job of covering Great Lakes and Midwest breweries and also has many micros from around the country. The Belgian section is adequate and they have an excellent import section. Prices are in line with other stores in the area. Friar Tuck’s forte is selection and service is what you would find at your typical warehouse store and as long as you keep that in mind you’ll do just fine. Friar Tuck is located at the intersection of Maloney Dr. and Prospect Rd. Like all Friar Tuck stores, check the best before dates on anything you are thinking of purchasing.“

jpm30 6708 days ago

“another vote that this is the best beer bar in bloomington/normal. well selected rotating taps. found SN Harvest there once. it can get a bit smoky, but you get that a lot of places. 2 pool tables and a back room with couches and armchairs. definately check out if in bloomington. if you go on tuesday or sunday it is 2.75 for anything on tap.“

SkyinBrian 6888 days ago

“For where we were, it was an awesome experience. A modest cigar selection and a decent beer selection. We happened to go on the right night, 2.75 for anything on tap. A hell of a bargain. THeir specials are online.“

NobleSquirrel 7045 days ago

“the best beer bar in the Bloomington/Normal area. usually have goose island, bells, sierra nevada, rogue, and some other micros. good cigars and lots of good looking college chicks“

Terminus 7272 days ago