Latest reviews from Coventry Earlsdon
| 78 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “An awesome, world class, bottle shop and tap room. They have 16 taps with some rare and world class options, but check the price before you order as you may be shocked. Whitewashed walls and concrete floors. Thoroughly modern. There is a small seated area out back too. Friendly staff and dogs are welcome. Cards only. Well worth the trip to come here. Bus or taxi is the only realistic option.“ |
| 92 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “What a world-class shop nestled in the relatively small town of Coventry. I wouldn’t have expected to find a bottle shop of this calibre here. They also have a bar license, with exclusive bottles for drinking in.
Unfortunately, on the day I visited, they were doing renos and were closed for dine-in. Fortunately, the store manager was extremely nice and let me take bottles to go that are ordinarily only for drink-in. Super nice of him.
Their lambic selection is wonderful, with all sorts of rarities. They have a good UK and US bottle selection too. If you’re anywhere near here, or maybe even if not, this is worth your time to visit.“ |
| 94 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “What a bar, what a selection. Beer Gonzo is a hell of a bottle shop, but go in the back and sample as many of the16 taps on offer as you can. Lambics and other sours of the highest order from Belgium, the US and the UK - Cantillon, Vault City, Jester King, Fantôme - with imperial stouts from US brewers Westbrook and Perennial. Prices are fair for what you're getting, but you will want to splash the cash here so don't come just before payday like I did. The extensive lambic menu, including rarities, is available incase the taps aren't enough.“ |
| 70 /100 A P Harvey Wines (Beer Store) 47 EARLSDON STREET “Small shop. It is primarily a wine shop although they have six shelves stocks with UK and international goodies (about 50/50). UK stuff is solid, some local beers (e.g. Byatt's), some farther afield (Kernel and Anspach & Hobday). International selection is a lot safer with German and Belgian beers that we know and love. Prices are good. My only beef: the beers are stored close to the window, letting in the heat... I opted for a barley wine instead of a hoppy pale. And they can't compete with Beer Gonzo down the road but that's not their fault, who can? Worth looking at what they may have in stock, especially local breweries.“ |
| 74 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Great bottle shop with a decent sized drinking area at the back. I didn't drink in but managed to grab some (hard to come by in the UK) Belgian bottles. Parking is a bit awkward as this place is situated down a busy high street. Other than than, spot on!“ |
| 70 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Online store. The website was a bit slow, but otherwise fine. The selection was pretty good with some beers from Northern Ireland and the US as well as a boatload from England. I bought two cases of beers, and the shipping was very fast - just three working days to get to Denmark. Normally when I order from an online store they will write me, when they ship the boxes, but there was absolutely no communication here apart from the order confirmation. When the boxes arrived one of the bottles was shattered due to terrible packaging. The bottles where not fixated in any way, so they could just smash against each other, and the bottles were only partially protected themselves. I was surprised only one bottle had broken. The refund was quick, when I sent in a picture. I will probably try them again, but I really hope the packaging improves.“ |
| 90 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Physical shop, but they are online too. A great range of beers from all over the globe. Friendly service. There is a taproom out the back but i was driving so couldn't be tempted“ |
| 78 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Online shop with loads of good stuff. Seems that they don’t have the biggest stock, so if something odd/good hits the selfs - it’s flying of. OK layout, even do it was hard to erase beers that was out of stock. Fast and very great wrapping.“ |
| 80 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Online shop.“ |
| 86 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Rating for the online shop. First order and I’m pleasantly surprised. Delivery to the Netherland only took two days, remarkably fast! Low shipping cost compared with other UK online shops. Excellent packaging. And of course the beers I ordered were delivered. I’m a very satisfied customer and will certainly order again.
“ |
| 86 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Rating for the online shop. Only had one delivery from them so far but arrived in under 24 hours, well packaged. Good selection of UK and US beers and a handful of other countries. Prices seem pretty reasonable and usually in line with other online shops, at £7.99 shipping is a little more expensive than others though. Overall was very pleased and would definitely order from them again.“ |
| 70 /100 City Arms (JDW) (Bar) 1 EARLSDON STREET, EARLSDON “Visited on 4th February 2017. Large Spoons a couple of doors down from Beer Gonzo. It’s a big old mock Tudor pub, decor not too shabby, busy but not packed and a decent mix of clientele. Beer range was decent enough with some interesting cask beers, the usual keg and bottle offerings all at a very reasonable price. Service was efficient. A solid if unspectacular Spoons.“ |
| 84 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Visited on 4th February as part of 47574xeCD birthday celebrations, alond with Cloin, Wingmane and FLBH, visited once before and the shop range has always been good and well laid out. Now with the addition of tap room which has a pretty decent Lambic bottle list on the day they had Hommage and Framboos on at £60 which is pretty good to drink in, different vintages of Fou. Adequate seating tap prices were quite big but cleary a lot of effort had gone into the selection. Will be back.“ |
| 90 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Visited on 4th February 2017. Smart bottle shop with really nice taproom in the rear. Bottle shop is simple, modern and smart with a great array of bottles from all over the world, prices good and staff friendly.mthe icing on the cake is the taproom, simple bench style seating, clean, modern decor and a fantastic tap list. Picked up a few new rates here including Alesmith Speedway Stout Vietnamese Coffee version. Staff were friendly. Prices fair. Great place to enjoy beer and will be back.“ |
| 90 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Re reviewed following opening of Taproom on 27/01/17.
Shop wise the selection is excellent, with a wide range of non UK beers especially American. Service is always spot on and very helpful. The Lambic Bar/Taproom opening hours differ slightly to the shop and there is a 40 seat max for the bar. The selection on opening night was truly epic, with many beers never before been in the UK on draft. Prices matched the rarity. There is also an exclusive bottle list for the bar only, of lambic beasties. Well worth a visit !! Food is from an external supplier.“ |
| 88 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Online Store rating: Exceedingly good range, very quick delivery- ordered on Friday morning arrived 11am the next day. Very secure packaging. No complaints at all.“ |
| 100 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Rated for the store: Great and eclectic selection of beers and also do a good range of spirits and ciders. Informative , knowledgeable staff and always eager to put you in the right direction if your not used to a certain style. The shop itself has a warm relaxing atmosphere and is easy to navigate the many beers due to it’s by Country identification. Before Beer Gonzo there was nowhere you could get such a range of Belguim, Scandinavian, UK, U.S etc beers in Coventry. Great place!“ |
| 88 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Rated for online shop!“ |
| 76 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Online order good communication one beer not avalilable so emailed and asked what i wanted beer thrown in as a freebie nice touch packed to survive a nuclear holocaust. Decent uk/us selection.“ |
| 68 /100 City Arms (JDW) (Bar) 1 EARLSDON STREET, EARLSDON “ We visited the City Arms on Saturday 30th April 2016, our visit was primarily for breakfast and also timed to coincide with Beer Gonzo opening which is practically next door, not sure about Colin’s three minute walk (see below) to get between the two, I would suggest less than a minute, the distance between them is probably not much different to walking the length of the pub. I am not that familiar with Earlsdon other than they have a fantastic Morris Side of the same name that dance North West Style of Morris. I think that Earlsdon is just a suburb of Coventry that sits about a mile and a half from the centre of the town and if you looked at Coventry as a clock face Earlsdon would be between 7 and 8 o’ clock. This pub as Colin correctly mentions is a JDW pub conversion of a large mock Tudor pub that sits prominently on the roundabout at the edge of Earlsden Street. You can park here, however interestingly I noted that it was pay and display, there is some street parking along Earlsdon Street but I think that this would be time limited, we parked in another pay and display around the corner. As already mentioned this is a big pub that stretches back a long way much further than I expected. It appears to open up and be a bit brighter at the rear which is quite pleasant as I tend to find many JDWs gloomy and dark. The clientele ranged from young families who like us seemed to be taking advantage of the breakfast deals and there were also some early starter hardened drinkers, one of whom was drinking his beer through a straw and others one in particular who looked like a lost soul, it is hard not to feel quite sad for some of these folk. We opted for a cup of tea with our breakfast at this early hour, however the beer range looked pretty good and amongst the better of the JDWs, staff were friendly, service was quick and the place was clean and tidy. As ever JDWs are for me good at what they do well, which is usually a breakfast stop, occasionally a beer, but never a long stay. I would happily visit here again but on similar terms as usual. “ |
| 82 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Rating for the online shop. Navigation of the web shop is ok. I really like that you can filter stuff by counties and states, so it’s easier to find region ticks. Service was excellent, quick replies and good communication all around. You can even ask to pay your invoice by paypal. I don’t like to give out my credit card info, so I give extra point to shops that support paypal as payment method. Selection isn’t maybe the biggest you can find, but it’s really interesting and somewhat different from the other webshops. There are a lot of English ticks, all the new hyped breweries (Kernel, Cloudwater, Magi Rock, Thornbridge, Beavertown etc) are represented. I also found some highly rated US stuff (ie Oskar Blues Ten Fidy) and rare style ticks (eisbock, cream ale etc.). Value is good. Prices for non-UK stuff seem a bit higher than in mainland shops, but UK stuff is often a lot cheaper than in other places. Shipping to Estonia (for a box of 24 beers) was 28.99£ (~36€). It isn’t cheap, but it is still less than some webshops ask. Overall: great webshop, will order again.
Made another order couple of months ago: one bottle was leaking, one was missing and one bottle was wrong version. Removed a couple of points from serivce. Also selection could be more interesting as the more interesting things sell out too damn fast! Still a very good webshop, but not as good as intial rating suggested. Also: still can’t pay directly with paypal (only giving my credit card info out), so point moved from overall too.“ |
| 92 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “I haven’t been to the store so I am rating ’Ambiance’ based on the easy of navigation and usability of their webstore - no marks lost there. This is my favourite store when placing orders online - they have a broad domestic selection alongside rarities from overseas, when I say rarities I mean stuff that few other shops in the UK get, if any. They are extremely quick to respond to enquiries and are very helpful. I’ve had stuff to be held aside for me for weeks at a time, which is great for someone who used to work away from home on a shift pattern. Prices are fair, the domestic stuff is the cheapest around (from what I’ve seen). There is new stuff coming in on a weekly basis too. £7.50 delivery cost might be on the high side, and there’s no buy more than ’x amount’ for free delivery, the £7.50 fee is fixed for any amount of bottles you buy.“ |
| 60 /100 City Arms (JDW) (Bar) 1 EARLSDON STREET, EARLSDON “Certainly worth a stop if you’re stocking up at Beer Gonzo. Tasty pub fare and a respectable list of taps and offerings on cask. Plenty of TVs for watching a game with the locals.“ |
| 86 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Really impressive shop. Helpful staff and fair prices. I was a bit overwhelmed by the scope of the bottles that were on the shelf; particularly of smaller regional breweries that I haven’t heard of before. They even had a good selection of craft spirits behind the bar. A must if you’re in the area.“ |
| 56 /100 City Arms (JDW) (Bar) 1 EARLSDON STREET, EARLSDON “Visited on Wednesday16/09/15 around 430 pm.
First off this is a rare spoons pub conversion!
Decor just standard spoons, boring pub feel like one of those carvery type places.
Clientele was a mixed bunch. Owd men, a few career drinkers and some local office workers.
Probably the most ticks I’ve picked up Iin the 4 or 5 Cov venues I’ve visited. 2 from the local Byatts brewery wad a good start, also picked up a collab and a Cairngorm offering.
Service was fine.
An ok spoons in a town that is a bit of a beer desert. Beer Gonzo, the shining light of the Cov beer scene is but a 3 minute stroll.“ |
| 84 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Online purchase - site was very easy to use and had a great selection. I was able to find several beers that I had been looking for but have not been able to find in Croatia. Traded a few emails with Anthony and he was prompt and helpful with his replies. Since I don’t live in England, shipping costs are a little high and the value takes a bit of a hit but I will most likely order from here again.“ |
| 88 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Used as a online retailer, really pleased to get a sahti beer, and a Baltic porter, to ease me within site of the complete set of varieties. While not the cheapest, it offers a variety of beers I haven’t seen before , and delivery was swift. Will be using them again!
Updated review, now used them several times, the selection keeps getting better, and the service is first class. Will be using them many times in the future“ |
| 86 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Visited on Wednesday 22/04/15 around 6pm.
Located about a 15 minute walk from Coventry railway station, Beer Gonzo is a medium sized beer store awash with micro offerings from across the UK and beyond.
As you enter there are a number of ciders to the left, although I paid little attention to this and hit the beer shelves.
The rest of the far wall comprised largely Belgian offerings, whilst the middle unit was US and rest of Europe.
Some solid picks with a good selection of Mikkeller on offer, De Molen, some of the easier to find US offerings such as Flying Dog and Brookyln but also 3 or 4 Crooked Stave numbers.
The back wall and right hand side shelves carry all the UK offerings, nothing twiggy to see here, pretty much all micro and new wave stuff. Think Siren, Mad Hatter, Chorlton, Kernel, Buxton and the like as well as one of their own beers, they have a small brewery called All Seeing Eye, the rest had sold out.
There are also a couple of fridges on the left hand side should you desire immediate consumption, although the guy in the shop said that there was unlikely to be anything different in there to the shelves.
The guy behind the counter was chatty and friendly and took me round the shelves trying to find a new CDA rate but alas no.
Overall a super solid bottle shop stocked head to toe with good stuff from the UK and beyond.
They also have a link to a couple of venues in the City centre, Inspire Cafe Bar and Drapers Bar.
An online facility is also offered, which I haven’t used to date, but am likely to in the future.
I would love to be able to have Beer Gonzo as my local beer store!“ |
| 88 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “New (to me) Online Beer store. Better selection than most, prices average. They use UK mail as their carrier who provide a great service with text notification of delivery time. Will use again.“ |
| 72 /100 A P Harvey Wines (Beer Store) 47 EARLSDON STREET “I wish I had a shop like this in my home town. But having said that I tend to go too Beer Gonzo, less than 100m away. The selection here us good, but not as good as down the road.“ |
| 90 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “This is a really good beer shop. Very good range, lots of the usual suspects, but also loads of really unusual beers I’ve not seen before. The guy there was helpful and knowledgeable, and made some cracking recommendations. It’s really worth a visit. Not tried the only line store yet. Its a busy street so parked in a side street.“ |
| 90 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “As far as I am aware there was no beer in Coventry before Beer Gonzo! I have been using the website as soon as it launched, but my wife has been muling beer from here for me since the shop opened. They have a wide and varied selection of the amber nectar from around the globe, but in particular they have a great bunch of stuff from the UK. They are great at advertising what is new on their facebook page and the website. Prices are a lot better than what I can get in London. Service is truly excellent. You can order and pay for beers online before collecting them at the store. In my opinion one of the best beer shops in the UK.“ |
| 86 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Used for online orders only. Selection is great with obscure UK micros besides usual US, Nordics and Belgians. Service is efficient and quick with delivery in 2 days to London. Prices are ok. Selection is ever changing and really interesting. Will use their service again.“ |
| 72 /100 A P Harvey Wines (Beer Store) 47 EARLSDON STREET “We visited Beer Gonzo on Sunday 9th November on our way to watch my beloved Worcester City knock Coventry City out of the FA Cup 2-1. In any other place this would probably be very highly regarded (and to be fair it is ) due to the decent selection, which I think numbers nearer 200+ (now updated the total on here ) than the stated 50-100. However it is on the same road as Beer Gonzo and therefore it’s selection whilst very decent pales by comparison. You are just a few doors and a couple of minutes if that along from Beer Gonzo which is at 3A Earlsdon Street. It is situated on a corner and the beer is prominently displayed in the front windows either side of the door. As mentioned the choice is pretty good, Kernel, Wiper & True, Marble, Brewdog, Partizan plus many, many more are all on offer and at reasonable prices but the range from those breweries is understandably far more limited than what Beer Gonzo is able to offer. We parked on the main road opposite, and whilst I only purchased 3 beers it is worth popping in if you are visiting Beer Gonzo, I never checked the wines out but it looked a fairly large selection. It is another roomy well laid out shop, service friendly, I would just be a little concerned at the amount of bottles that are in or near to the window especially if the turnover isn’t that high as I think that these would be light struck soon enough.“ |
| 90 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “We visited Beer Gonzo on Sunday 9th November on our way to watch my beloved Worcester City knock Coventry City out of the FA Cup 2-1. The shop is at the bottom end of the street close to the roundabout and next to a discount store. There is plenty of street parking around and I believe I saw a car park sign nearby also. The shop is a good sized unit for a beer shop but best of all it isn’t cramped and is superbly well laid out. On the RH side as you enter on wall racking are UK beers from the likes of Buxton, Burning Sky, First Chop, Bad Seed, Pressure Drop, Magic Rock etc: and a varied range with lots of rareities, prices good also. On the back wall at the rear (nr counter) A huge range of Thornbridge incl: two new beers for me as well as some small local micros. The central island seems more focused on Scandanavian and American on one side, I can’t recall if it was Belgian or German on the other side of the island, not sure. On the LH wall as you enter are ciders and Belgian beers. It really is superbly laid out. The owner (I presume?) was approachable, knowlegable and chatty. I would say that this just like Cotteridge is an absolute must if you are within striking distance. I can see my journeys to and from Worcester or Derby to see parents taking in a slight detour in future, it already has happened with Cotteridge and likely to happen now with Beer Gonzo.“ |
| 76 /100 City Arms (JDW) (Bar) 1 EARLSDON STREET, EARLSDON “Big Weatherspoons in the heart of Earlsdon. Very busy on a Saturday evening, as the taxi rank is just outside taking people into town. Quiter after about 9. Not much atmosphere, but good if your can get a table, as there is a wide range of beers at good prices.“ |
| 86 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “The best place in Coventry to find local beer.“ |
| 96 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Excellent. The guys who run this place used to run Alexander Wines and also run Inspire in the town. Just a superb selection with knowledgeable and personable staff. My favourite beer shop.“ |
| 74 /100 A P Harvey Wines (Beer Store) 47 EARLSDON STREET “Good for beer, though I prefer this shop for wines and, in particular, whisky. Reasonable bottle range. Run by young chaps who sometimes look like the sort of kids who would hang about outside an off-license (god I’m old!) but they are friendly, give good service and run the shop well. We’re spoilt on this road with this and beer gonzo.“ |
| 92 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “This business used to be run from a beautiful period shop which had been an off licence for about 100 years and is now a bloody hairdressers! The locals were restless while the guys were without a shop, and although the new place doesn’t have the vintage atmosphere of the old shop, it’s a lot bigger and has allowed them to display a much wider range. The chaps know their stuff and are always willing to help and advise. Have tried so many new beers from there and still have only scratched the surface.“ |
| 92 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “My go to Beer Specialist. Located in one of the nicer parts of the city, this place is always staffed by knowledgable and friendly staff who are always happy to help and give recommendations. Great selection of British, Belgian, USA and other beers. There is also a section for ciders and wines.
Beyond the shop itself they also send out a very helpful monthly email to all those on the mailing list with a ’Beer of the month’ which most recently was Evolver IPA by Wild Beer.
Highly ambitious owners and great knowledge make for a superb beer hunting experience here. Well worth checking out if you are in the area.“ |
| 82 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “Excellent selection of English and foreign beers, combined with helpful and approachable staff, I came home the first time with eleven bottles after spending a good 20 minutes trying to decide what I wanted, definitely going back and certainly worth a visit if you’re ever in that area.“ |
| 72 /100 A P Harvey Wines (Beer Store) 47 EARLSDON STREET “Always have a look when visiting Cov or Alexander Wines (now Beer Gonzo) just down the road. Tasteful, knowing selection usually including Kernel, Mallinsons, Arbor, Thornbridge, Revolutions etc on one side...Mikkeller and assorted German, Belgian and US delicacies on the other. Very fair prices. My nearest Kernel stockist so for that reason alone it gets a massive thumbs up from me.“ |
| 94 /100 Beer Gonzo Shop, Taproom & Lambic Bar (Beer Store) 3A EARLSDON STREET “amazing selection of beers from worldwide and friendly, enthusiastic and very knowledgeable staff. love it“ |
| 70 /100 City Arms (JDW) (Bar) 1 EARLSDON STREET, EARLSDON “Suburban branch of Wetherspoon slightly out of the centre in a populous part of the city. It’s an older pub conversion with plenty of space for all and a small garden area at the rear. The layout makes it family friendly and there are two rows of ales for the serious drinkers.“ |
| 68 /100 A P Harvey Wines (Beer Store) 47 EARLSDON STREET “Knowledge of beers is fairly limited, asked them if they had and rauchbiers...blank look, asked them for smoked beers...blank look, even though i had spied the Marzen rauchbier in the corner. Other that that its a decent place, good selection, some rotation of the beers, not as wide a range os alexanders down the street, but a definite favourite place!“ |
| 86 /100 A P Harvey Wines (Beer Store) 47 EARLSDON STREET “Located within walking distance of the wonderful Alexander Wines . This used to be a Threshers but Adrian who managed it bought it out and turned it in to the up and coming shop that it is. Plenty of British especially local and a reasonable number of foreigners. Service is very friendly and prices keen. Keep an eye on this one.“ |
