Though I kind of ranted about certain aspects of Kelly Liquors' business practices in my last update, I can't deny that they are an important part of the Albuquerque beer landscape. Though their beer's freshness can be questionable at times, they have an extensive selection of craft beers and prices are fair. So I was actually kind of excited Wednesday evening to visit Kelly's latest location, in the Far North plaza at San Mateo and Academy.
Inside, I had to first walk past aisles of wine to get to the beer coolers, which take up almost half of the wall space of the store. I counted thirty doors dedicated to beer. The large selection is sure to put a dent in the Sunflower Market's (located in the same plaza) beer sales, but there wasn't any "Whoa!" moment when looking at all those coolers. There is a cooler of mix your own six packs, which right now is 3/4 empty. Usually, those single beers become that way because others from the six-packs have broken, so I guess they haven't stocked enough yet to have a big singles inventory. There is also a mostly empty area of shelves that will hold unrefrigerated beer where I noticed two beers I had never seen before in New Mexico; two that I didn't even know were available here: Rebel from Czechoslovakia and Kostritzer Schwarzbier from Germany. I won't be buying either of those because they are both priced at $13.99 a six-pack! I don't know about the Rebel, but I have had Kostritzer in Germany and while good, it is not worth $13.99. Another overpriced rarity that this Kelly's carries is Sam Adams Utopias, the world's strongest beer. At $179.99, it is also one of the most expensive. And the bottle is only 24 oz.! So stop by this Kelly's location to pick me up a Utopias, but otherwise, you may as well stick with your current beer store.
Though I kind of ranted about certain aspects of Kelly Liquors' business practices in my last update, I can't deny that they are an important part of the Albuquerque beer landscape. Though their beer's freshness can be questionable at times, they have an extensive selection of craft beers and prices are fair. So I was actually kind of excited Wednesday evening to visit Kelly's latest location, in the Far North plaza at San Mateo and Academy. 
Inside, I had to first walk past aisles of wine to get to the beer coolers, which take up almost half of the wall space of the store. I counted thirty doors dedicated to beer. The large selection is sure to put a dent in the Sunflower Market's (located in the same plaza) beer sales, but there wasn't any "Whoa!" moment when looking at all those coolers. There is a cooler of mix your own six packs, which right now is 3/4 empty. Usually, those single beers become that way because others from the six-packs have broken, so I guess they haven't stocked enough yet to have a big singles inventory. There is also a mostly empty area of shelves that will hold unrefrigerated beer where I noticed two beers I had never seen before in New Mexico; two that I didn't even know were available here: Rebel from Czechoslovakia and Kostritzer Schwarzbier from Germany. I won't be buying either of those because they are both priced at $13.99 a six-pack! I don't know about the Rebel, but I have had Kostritzer in Germany and while good, it is not worth $13.99. Another overpriced rarity that this Kelly's carries is Sam Adams Utopias, the world's strongest beer. At $179.99, it is also one of the most expensive. And the bottle is only 24 oz.! So stop by this Kelly's location to pick me up a Utopias, but otherwise, you may as well stick with your current beer store.
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