Westmere Beverage Center

It’s easy to like a small suburban beer store with a larger selection of specialty beers than you would ever expect. But what happens when something goes wrong?
Recently I came in with the kids in tow and hastily bought a six pack of something I didn’t expect to see on the shelves. It was the Dortmunder Gold from Great Lakes Brewing Co. I’ve been looking to drink beers that are less hoppy, but still delicious and well made. And this was the beer that spoke to me.
It’s not cheap, but I didn’t even realize you could get in in this part of the country.
Anyhow, I opened up a bottle of it at home, and it just didn’t taste quite as good as I remembered. So I looked at the bottle, and it had an «enjoy by» date that had long since passed.
So I reached out to the store via Facebook, and told them of the situation. They explained how they comb through the stock and pull off older inventory. These bottles are sold at deep discount for those who are looking for a bargain, and don’t mind the altered flavor profiles that result from time and decay.
Old beer isn’t always bad, per se. It’s just not a good representation of what the brewery wanted you to enjoy.
To make a long story short, Westmere apologized for the oversight, explaining that occasionally a six pack will slip through their inventory control system. On top of that, they offered a full refund, even though one of the beers was already consumed.
The response was quick, painless, and professional. And this is how a beer store goes from good to great. Thank you Westmere for standing behind your products and offering fantastic customer service.

It’s a hike for me to make it all the way out to Westmere for beer, but I regularly stop into Westmere Beverage Center whenever I am in the area. The European selection of beer is strong, so I tend to go with more of their German and Belgian offerings. However, their American craft selection stands toe-​to-​toe with any of the other beverage centers in the area.

Westmere has something for everyone — tremendous variety, good organization, good staff, a lot of refrigerated beer, and a good selection of craft beer kegs. I am very much a regular.
The one concern I do have while shopping here though is that they have so much beer from so many breweries, that some of it sits for a long time and isn’t fresh (or worse). So you need to be careful when venturing off into more obscure breweries or in the beer styles where freshness matters most.

Great selection and friendly staff. The only place I can find certain drinks — we no longer live nearby but always make a point to stop there if we’re anywhere near the area.

There are three things I want to emphasize about why I love Westmere so much:
First, the organization of the place is more like a wine shop than any other beer shop I’ve ever visited. Most attempts to organize beer do so by style — IPAs vs. stouts vs. wheats vs. barleywines, etc. While this is useful for some, I tend to prefer browsing beer by brewery and by location. By organizing by country/​state, I can easily find my favorite breweries and locate their newest offerings.
Second, the selection is amazing. I know it’s what everyone focuses on here, but it really is spectacular. Too many beer shops focus on carrying the big names or the hard-​to-​find rarities and the like. The depth and breadth of selection is unrivaled in the area, as far as I know.
Third, the staff are actually really friendly. I never walk out without at least one or two people asking if I need help finding a selection. While I rarely take the help, it’s nice to be offered. Places like this tend to hire people who think they are above you — they are the beer experts and anyone they don’t know who is shopping there must be a noob. That doesn’t seem to be the case at Westmere. They weren’t pushy or snobby. I appreciate that.
I love this place and will probably end up spending way too much there one day. Oh well. That’s the difficulty in being a beer nerd.

So. snowed in. in Albany. came here for work. looked for some beer. The guys who worked at the time I was there were excellent. I am a beer fan but don’t have any specific flavor/​bias that will lead me to that «perfect one». I’ll try them all. Took the mix 6 pack. asked for some help and specified I want something as local as possible. as mentioned the help was superb! the only reason it is not a 5 star rating is the fact I had to pay almost 20 $ for a six pack!!! definitely the most I had to pay for a six pack out side of a bar!!! and this is after the 3 $ off,(offered promotion I took advantage of or should I write took advantage of me). Since I, (the guys who works there), chose all bottles from different breweries. if you’re not as adventures as I am, I guess their beer prices are OK, (coming from Philly so I am used to pay premium prices), as long as you don’t go wild as I did. but, hell. I am snowed in

I bought cases of Molson in this place in 1993 for $ 10.98 + tax and deposit!!!1

They have Utica Club and broke up the 12 pack for a six for me. Good customer service and very comprehensive selection of suds. Ideal if you are out by Crossgates.

I could not possibly recommend this place highly enough. The selection is unreal, they have a growler station with constantly rotating taps, and the staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and always ready with a recommendation. I only discovered Westmere after I moved nearby, which is lucky, because I would have been going out of my way to go there.

Awesome selection. Very personably and knowledgeable staff too. Always something awesome at their growler station as well.

Great selection, including hard to find limited releases. Their 10 rotating growler taps are varied enough to have something for everyone. That, combined with friendly service, means I make it a point to stop in anytime I’m in the area.

Westmere is still my top go to beer distributor! I have several other much closer, but I almost always find my favorites here. Always up to date tap listing, which is a MUST for a distributor in my opinion, always new beers rolling in and a very friendly staff. I’m pretty confident that, if I can’t find a beer anywhere else, I’ll find at Westmere or Oliver’s.

Of beer stores I’ve ever known, Westmere (and it’s companion a city over, Oliver’s) has got to be the top. Selection is amazing and seasonal brews flow in and out like a river. 10 growler taps make for interesting nights when I stop in on the way home from work and mix-​a-​6 makes trying all the beers easy as cake. Super happy to live right down the street from this store!

If you like a place that everyone that works there is happy to answer any question, and no question is too dumb, get your beer here. Prices are great, selection is second to none, and has a lot of cold craft options. Cheers to you Brew Crew, you have a loyal customer!

What can be said about Westmere Beverage that I haven’t already said about their sister store, Oliver’s? Yeah, nothing.
They’re both hands down the best beverage stores in the area. Great bottles, great growler station (more variety of styles here than Oliver’s), and a really helpful staff.
Without a doubt the two best places in the area for craft beer.

Fantastic selection! This is the best place for beer that I’ve found in the Albany area. Their selection is very comprehensive and they have tons of imports, a HUGE Belgian selection, all the local NY brews, and a great seasonal section that is always rotating. The best thing about this place is that you can take one of everything and make your own 6-​pack. For someone who loves trying new beers, that is a pretty amazing aspect of this place. The location is also pretty good and it’s on Western near the Crossgates Mall, so it’s easy to get to from most places.
Overall, it’s a great place with a great selection and a place where you can easily spend your paycheck!

Never have I been confronted with so many types of beer in Albany. Extreme awesome sauce. Felt particularly at home in the California section. :)

Excellent selection. As friendly as you want them to be.

Among Beer Places I’ve been to to and reviewed here this place has, a signifcantly better sleection than Sam the Beer Man, a slightly better selection than Finger Lakes Beverage Center, and a selection that is not equal to Bierkraft or Half Time, but maybe just below the place on Chrystie Street in NYC… I did not see any glassware, and I did not check out their selection of non alcholoic beverages (i.e. soft drinks), and the knowledge of the staff there was not what it should be in a store with such a good selection (the better the seletcion the more knwoledge I expect from the staff) but the beer selection is what counts; so, this place unlike the Finger Lakes Bevearge Center gets four stars.

I love beer so I love this place. You cant find a better selection of beer in the capital region. Not only do they have a huge selection they also have knowledgeable staff that is always willing to help. The prices are also good and sometimes they have some great deals. They carry everything from Keystone Light to Brazilian beers. You can find local beers that you cant find anywhere else and beers from any part of the world. They also have a large cooler section for those emergency’s when you don’t have time to wait for the beer to get cold. Little known fact, its a great place to return bottles.