The Davis Beer Shoppe

To all drinkers in Davis,
Tonight was my first time experiencing Davis Beer Shoppe and this is my review. I asked for thier best valued tap. The bartender offered me their best valued beer tap. I chose to «go for it» even before they offered to let me taste it. This place is buzzing with fellow beer lovers even on a Wednesday night. I love it. After my first pint of Racer IPA, he came to check on me and even gave me a cup of beer on the house. Best valued shop for fellow drinkers who want to have a good time. Im fuxking tipsy. BTW im an asian man. Hahaha

The have a good variety of beers to sell, but it’s not my ideal place to hang with friends and have a beer. It is usually loud and it smells like sweat. Also interestingly, they have a fee if you want to drink the beer you just bought from them in the bar area. Like $ 2 I believe or something like that.

Best beer establishment in Davis hands down.
The selection is vast, the bartenders are friendly/​interesting/​knowledgeable, and the atmosphere is great. I love the environment, everyone is there enjoying great beers and having a good time. The people in the bar are super welcoming and don’t mind teaching/​helping you figure out your own beer preferences. People that are new to the craft beer scene, don’t be afraid to sample the beers they have on tap, the bartenders are more than happy to help you out.
Their selection of bottles in the back is amazing too. (there is a $ 2 unbottling fee if you want to drink them at the bar)
If you love beer, you should follow their Facebook page, they post their tap rotations and any special promotions they might be having throughout the day/​week. Some of the more recent ones that I have enjoyed was when they had a variety of Almanac Sours on tap and also their shipment of Goose Island’s Bourbon Stout.
Will be coming back. (probably next week)

Awesome place with a great atmosphere good beer and service. I love the beer here, it’s a great price. They also give great advice and very friendly.

I was wandering downtown Davis in search of a place to buy some beer… and realized that I just needed a smart phone. When I found this place I was psyched — incredible selection. I was buying ‘to go’ but looked like a great place to sit in the tasting room and have a beer.
Recommended destination for any beer lover in a visit to Davis.

I love Beer, I’d put a 6^th star if I could. Seriously. Huge selection of beer, super-​rare, rare, semi-​rare, and everyday beers can be found. Newcomers are treated very well and encouraged, regulars are made to feel at home. Wonderful environment. Fun, and filled with laughter.
You’ll get access to beers you love (on tap, and/​or in a bottle) find/​try beers you’ve never tried/​seen. It’s clean, helpful, and they’ll let you bring in food of your own.
Very, very helpful staff who will take the time to figure out what kind of beer you’d lean toward, if you give them the chance to do so. Sometimes it’s very busy, so you might need to be a bit patient if you don’t know exactly what you want, but they WILL help you.
I have 2 counter points for negative reviews:
One. If you’re not from Davis, and you’re reading these reviews, keep in mind it’s a college town. You’re going to read reviews that are «Shocked» and «Outraged» that they insisted on ID, or refused to serve someone because they walked in with people without ID. They face a CONSTANT stream of underage people, or people who are of age, trying to buy beer for underage people, or simply people who don’t think the rules shouldn’t apply to them. These same people take to Unilocal and love to rant about how bad the place was. It’s not, it’s just trying to survive the onslaught. Get over it.
Two. If you see an amazing beer listed as on tap that day, others have seen that as well! Alpine Nelson doesn’t last long, because EVERY SINGLE PERSON who walks in the door orders a pint, and then continues to do so, until the Keg is dead. It doesn’t take long! So get there ASAP, and good luck. Get some? Great! Miss out? Sorry! But they didn’t screw up or cut you off or lie to you. It’s a great beer and you missed out. I’ve missed out also. (shrug) I’ll get the next one. It’s just beer. Chill out.

Really surprised with reading some of the other Unilocaler’s nasty reviews. I had great service at this tasting room with fantastic all around information given to me for each beer that I tried. When I arrived there was several different types of target consumers here, nothing particularly jumped at me that the employees were wanna be «suspender wearing Mumfors & Sons.» They were wearing average street clothes that spoke to me with the same degree of interest in the brewing.
& honestly, The Davis Beer Shoppe is just like any other liquor store — I’m pretty sure they’d want to keep their liquor license especially on picnic day rather than jeopardize their bushiness over selling to some person that walked in with a bunch of minors.

I have been coming to the Davis Beer Shoppe for 4 years, ever since my daughter started at UC Davis. Never have I run into a situation like I did today, and because of that I have spent my last dollar at this establishment.
There was a line to get into the tasting room, however I was simply purchasing beer to bring back to my hotel. My oldest, 22, had left her ID in her car. My youngest was with us and would have been declined access simply because of her age — Only on Picnic Day. I have been into this establishment many times with both kids as well as with my youngest who is 8, never had a problem before, but again this is picnic day.
The young lady at the door lets me in, my daughters literally take a seat at the curb in front of the store. After I have made my selection, a six pack of Ballast Point Grapefruit Sculpin and 2 22oz Kilt Lifter Scottish Ales, I am making my way to pay at the counter when the girl from the door comes in and says, «Since you came to the door with two girls who did not have their ID, and they walked away, we cannot let you purchase the beer.» — WHAT?
I ask to speak to a manager, who I get and who initially refuses to give me his name, only after threatening to file a police report for being discriminated against does he give me his name, which I will not post because he is simply a powerless minion. I explain to him that my oldest is 22 and my youngest is 19 and has a condition that prevents her from being able to even drink beer. Mind you I am only buying 116 ozs of beer, not a case of keystone. He continues with he will not let me purchase the beer, even if my oldest goes and gets her ID.
I ask what law I am breaking, and the manager said I was breaking no laws. So I ask why he is discriminating against me and he says because he thinks that I am buying beer for under age girls. I eventually take his name, but only after asking if I needed to have the police come down so I can file a police report for discrimination. I leave
When I get outside, the girls are sitting right there, on the curb.
I fully understand and appreciate the sentiment, however some times people need to not let paranoia cloud their judgement. I ended up at Whole Foods a purchased the same beer with a student discount and no troubles.
Davis Beer Shoppe, you have lost my business. Sad for me because I really liked your establishment, I am sure you could careless.

My friends and I were trying to show a Davis new-​comer some of the neat spots around town. We went to the Davis Beer Shoppe at 12:20 at night. We saw their signage before we walked in, which stated that they close at 12:30… Not a problem we thought, because it wouldn’t take long for us to drink a single beer… We went to the front counter and a dreadlocked guy greeted us. He was friendly and asked what we wanted to order. We asked if last call had been made and he said no, that it was fine to order a pint… However, just then a woman with dark hair cut him off and said no it’s too late, that we couldn’t order anything. She was exceptionally rude to us, to the point that it made me want to leave a negative review on Unilocal,of which I have only ever left 1 other. Seriously, you don’t need to be a total jerk, even when you’re saying no to a customer.
Not only that, but she wouldn’t even allow us to buy a bottle. All this time, there are people still sitting at the bar, drinking large glasses of beer. So what, you just don’t have the time to sell us beer? That lady claimed to be in charge, but I guess she isn’t interested in making money for the business. Seems like a poor strategy on her part, because my friends and I will not come back there — so long as that sort of attitude exists. It doesn’t make you look cool, it makes you look like a-​hole. She acted like she didn’t want our business, and I doubt seriously that the owners of this establishment would be impressed by how she acted. I could chalk it up to lack of experience, but then why is she in charge? She is rude and doesn’t deserve to work at what is otherwise such a cool spot.

Poor service.
BE CAREFUL IF YOU HAVE AN OUT-​OF-​STATE LICENSE.
Wish we could’ve tried some of the beers we tried to buy here, they had a nice selection. Unfortunately, however, it seems that this place doesn’t train their employees to recognize out-​of-​state driver licenses promptly enough to keep up with changes.
After spending about an hour here enjoying the selection we picked about $ 50 of beer to take back with us to AZ. At checkout the cashier/​bartender asked to see IDs for both my husband and I. Then she spent a really long time looking at them and bending them. She apologized because she didn’t recognize them. Then she pulled out a book (presumably a catalog of what a legitimate DL for every state should look like), but in the end she refused to sell to us and said that if we wanted to buy we’d have to wait an hour for her manager to get there. She didn’t even offer to call her manager or try to look up what an appropriate AZ license should look like on the internet. She ended up calling her manager (after we asked) and I guess they were too busy to explain to her what she should look for.
It just baffles me that between herself, her manager and modern technology they were unable to figure out what she should look for.
AZ is one state away and updated their licenses in JUNE 2014– 10 MONTHS AGO. Are you kidding me? You don’t update your catalog or train your employees on changes that happened 10 months ago? You couldn’t look up anything online or take a picture of it or review it over skype with your manager or scan the barcode on the back of the license?
I can’t be believe we wasted so much time here for nothing. I guess the only upside is that my husband and I must look like we’re 10 years too young. Horrible service.

There aren’t a lot of great beer spots in Davis. This place would be a serious contender if it weren’t for the Mumford & Sons wannabe wearing suspenders and not giving a shit combined with grad students complaining about paying $ 4 for a beer.
Great selection of brews but get them to go!

Worst first experience I’ve ever encountered when ordering alcoholic beverages.
Walked in, told the workers it was my first time at the Beer Shoppe hoping they would guide me to a good beer, but instead they seemed annoyed, staring at me for the longest while I was reading the menu, and did not provide me with any help. When I told him the type of beers I liked, he gave me a sample without explaining what was in it, made no eye contact and just sled the sampler over to my hands, and didn’t even tell me the name of the beer. Second time, hoping he’ll provide like ABV content or where it came from, yet nothing. Luckily, another worker came and helped us but she didn’t seem to know what beers were what. When I asked her if it’s hoppy she didn’t really answer it.
Overall, my first experience here was completely a disappointment because I enjoy drinking beers and felt that this place neglected me as a customer and treated me like I didn’t know anything about beers.

Not only a wide selection, but a thorough one as well. One can consistently find industry standards at fair prices, or the odd-​balls if you’re feeling especially crafty.
Great rotating tap selection that will always keep you entertained no matter your mood.

Amen beer! This place is great! The selection is impressive, the staff is knowledgeable and it has a laid back vibe.
I asked the staff many beer questions and they never got impatient or annoyed. Usually I get dirty looks after my third or fourth beer question. Thanks for the great customer service!
Most of all, thanks for the great chocolate porter!

So much beer. It’s beer heaven! They have beers on tap and sit-​in, but if you don’t have time, they have beers in bottles on the shelf and fridge (like Bevmo).
Great selection of beers from all over the world. Decent pricing. I didn’t have time to stop and taste the samplers on tap, so I just bought a bottle. The staff was friendly and helpful when I asked a question. No free paper bags to bag the beers though (10 cent charge). T_​T
Will come back and try the samplers next time I’m in Davis.

Great beer on tap, all micro brewery or interesting imports. Affordable prices. Lots of good beers for sale.
I do wish there was more room though.
No food here but outside food is welcomed.
Sampler is always good too.

I continue to be amazed by the beer out here in this area. It really puts the bay area to shame. If you like beer, come check out the beer shoppe. Their draft list is endless and super reasonably priced. Go next door and get a pizza and wash it down with some amazing beers. A great night to be had

I’d like to start with, I’m a huge beer fanatic so for their selection I might give them around 4 stars (in the context of Davis not having too many places with variety) however their service… lets just say I dread when one of my friends wants to go have a beer here. I read a few of the other comments with low ratings and I can see they have experienced a weird discrimination on behalf of the staff. There is a type of person that they want here, but I really can’t seem to figure it out (jk look around next time you go in, the homogeneity in their patrons is eerie). Anyhow, lets say you didn’t experience the awkward unfriendly vibe from the staff, they still:
Charge you a $ 1 for each beer you open within the facility, EVEN AFTER PURCHASING IT THERE. They already made money off of you, I don’t understand… and I think its $ 2 for a glass.
It’s always super crowded
I enjoy the non-​drunk college student vibe, so I guess I’ll stick with DeVere’s where the staff are a little less, uhm «elitist»?

Great selection of beers and awesome daily beer flight tastings at a reasonable price. Service was top notch and knowledgeable.
Bring your own food and wash it down with one of their available tap beers.

Unless necessary I am trying to avoid the Davis Beer Shoppe for well documented reasons. Read my original review for my history with DBS. Just recently there were two special occasions that I was willing to make an exception for and re-​visit this not-​so-​great place. Keeping positive thoughts, I was secretly hoping the things have changed for the better and that in the worst case scenario it is as it was and I keep the 3 star rating. Yes? Maybe? How about hard NO!
These two special occasions I am talking about were two beers made by Alpine Beer Company out of Alpine, San Diego County. And Davis Beer Shoppe had both Nelson and Duet, spread out in about a month. First time I came for Nelson by myself and had two pints. When I asked the barman about what he thinks about Alpine making beer at Green Flash he gave me an ‘idiot’ look and told me that Alpine is out of San Diego County, the same area where Green Flash is. Thanks for clarifying that smartass, I seriously didn’t know. And this expert connoisseur of our server apparently never heard that the only reason why his Shoppe even got these few kegs of Nelson, is because Alpine brewed it at Green Flash. Unlike some, I have actually witnessed the size of Alpine Brewery first hand and guarantee a keg from there would never ever make it to the DBS. Anyway, I drank my beer and left.
The second visit was what triggered this review. I found out that Davis Beer Shoppe received some Alpine Duet, again brewed at Green Flash. On the way home from Sacramento, a beer fanatic friend and I stopped by for a pint. Duet was still listed on the chalkboard on tap. But hold on… wait…don’t be so optimistic.
We order two pints and the same guy from last time informs us they just ran out.
JUST… RAN… OUT…
Really??? But OK. We took off to UoB instead and discussed this (un)usual DBS occurrence on the way. Could it be that they are actually rationing the beer on tap? Could it be that you get the beer only if you fit the profile? I didn’t want to believe it, but my Pliny experiences from the past filled me with doubt. And then the next day the doubts were all gone. They are still listing Alpine Duet available on tap and now it’s even a part of the daily tasting!!! Just wonderful!!!
So how else to put this… Davis Beer Shoppe engages in pure beer discrimination. Not only with the bottles as before, but now with the tap handles too. If there is this 1% chance that they really ran out, they can obviously change the keg. We would wait. And maybe have something else while we do. But you run out and then you have it again the next day? I call that BS. And even if you bring all the Alpine straight from the brewery you lost me as a customer for good. There is only so many times the I can be mistreated and no beer is worth my intelligence being raped and insulted. Farewell to you DBS.