Wish You Were Beer

All around class place. Best selection in Madison by far and the people are into what they do, so for beer people this is your new Madison hangout. The new cigar place is great too just down the strip.

It all comes down to establishments like this that help transform Madison from a pseudo-​techie Mayberry into a more livable suburbia.
I would’ve missed this place had it not been for The Cigar Room next door.
While in the store the music piped in everything from Motown soul to Nirvana back to Hendrix and the Doors. Style points from me. Plus while pondering a few Belgians, I earhustled a nearby conversation about Pliny the Younger that actually included real Roman history. For Nerdzillas like myself, you don’t get much better than this: a friendly staff knowledgeable not only about the beer and wares, but also on other subjects as well. And I think they’re 80s babies, too.
The space is a little close – intimate I guess is the cutesy description – with sorting done generally by region. But there’s still enough ergonomic detail St display to make casual strolling not impossible nor overly awkward.
The jury is still out whether or not my experience at Wish You Were Beer is in the same vein as my time with OTBX downtown, but I can say that in its current form, WYWB is easily the best craft beer spot in Madison… and maybe not because it’s the only one.

For selection, knowledgeable staff, and fun atmosphere, this is the place. For location, it’s a nightmare, unless you like to play Frogger on University (westbound traffic). Patrons of this establishment must also be patient, as long waits at the checkout are common…

Fun décor and great atmosphere. Has a lot of room for seating & a great beer selection. Everyone that worked there was very helpful and you could tell they really enjoyed working there.

Gavin helped me out in a pinch. I am visiting from the southwest and was pleasantly surprised to find a specialty beer store in Madison. I needed a quick box of spirits put together as a gift and he helped me get everything I needed under the price I quoted.
Thx so much and the beer on tap was very cool to see. Glad Madison Alabama is going in a good direction letting crafted beer be sold.

decent place. no surprise the locals think this place is a gem. standard bottle shop. priced average to high. noticed cold beers put on shop shelves which can greatly alter a beer when temperatures are played back and forth. homebrew supplies are welllllll over priced.

I’m so glad a place like this opened on this side of town! I visited during a tasting event, and was immediately impressed with the enormous selection of craft beers available. They offer a huge variety from all over the US.
There’s also a great rotating selection of craft brews on tap for you to enjoy in store.
Downside is that there is minimal seating and would not be able to seat more than 25 or so, but I haven’t gone enough to say what the traffic is like in the store or how busy it normally gets.
Everyone who worked there was really nice and was more than willing to recommend new beers for me to try. Overall, a great place to gather with a small group of friends and try new brews!

This was a surprise. In Alabama, there exists a bottle shop this awesome. The options are ample and there are great growler fill taps.
I definitely recommend checking this shop out

Wish You Were Beer (WYWB) is a craft beer retail store; if you’re looking for Bud Light or the like you’ll be SOL. WYWB has a very good selection of bottled and canned craft beers from across the USA and international. Also, WYWB has a rotating selection of 20 regional beers on tap, mostly from local and other Alabama breweries. (Currently, you can only drink the drafts in the store; opening bottles or cans in store is not permitted.) No food offered. A good place to chill and sample the local brewery products

What an awesome business. Great beer selection, clean, reasonably organized, and run by really friendly people that know their products. I must also give them props for their creative name.

So, best store in Madison in my opinion. This is not a run of the mill beer store like a glorified gas station or something. If you enjoy quality beer, you need to hit this store. I came here after a Christmas party looking for Avondale’s Vanilla Porter. They had it in stock and in abundance. This store has a generally large selection of craft brews. Local brewers from Huntsville and all over the region are prominently displayed. They have literally hundreds of varieties of beer. You can buy anything from single beers to six packs to pints to growlers. That’s right, growlers. Growlers are a one time purchase jug (64 or 32 ounce) you can bring in to have filled from the tap for a nominal fee. I grabbed two 32 ouncers and grabbed two different porters. I did mention it’s a tap room right? The guy is licensed for sale as well as consumption. This means you can sit down and have a beer, and if you like what you just had, buy a jug and take some home! It’s also worth noting they carry supplies for home brewers. I didn’t inspect these very well, but it looked like a fairly robust selection. The owner seemed pretty knowledgeable about his craft as well. He was able to point me in the direction of some good beers. All in all a good experience at a great store.

Hubby and I stopped by this evening and enjoyed a glass of Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale from the tap room and came home with a six pack of Westbrook Gose (sour, salty & delicious!) as well as a mixed six pack of craft beers.
I was very impressed with the selection and glad that so many beers were available for purchase by the single bottle. The staff was very friendly and welcoming. The owner was particularly helpful in deciphering a specific beer that my husband had been looking for but had forgotten the name.
I enjoyed the clean and casual style of the tap room and the layout made browsing the many available beers a breeze. We will definitely be going back to try out other new-​to-​us beers. We may even take advantage of the home brewing supplies that are available for purchase and try making our own batch.
All in all a very enjoyable experience!