The Beer Drinking Report: Stay pretty and drink real beer

One of the first things I noticed when I started spending a lot of time in Boston was how goddamn expensive the beer is here. And as The Beer Drinker already pointed out in his previous post, I’m all about cheap beer.

But so far, I’ve yet to find a place in the Greater Boston area where you can buy a 6- or a 12-pack for a reasonable price. Usually, you wind up spending close to $10 just for a six pack, which is only a little less than what I’m used to paying for a 12.

If I’m going to have to spend a bit of money, I want to at least make sure that I’m getting a quality 12-pack, and not something generic. That means staying away from all those package stores where Bud Lime passes for an exotic brew.

That’s why I love Downtown Wine and Spirits in Davis Square in Somerville so much. The first time I went in there, I was amazed. I went in to grab a quick 12-pack, and stumbled out in a daze about an hour later. I’m not even sure I bought anything. I was overwhelmed.

First of all, they have a parking lot. And free parking in Davis is not easy to come by. I can hardly buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks without getting a $30 ticket. So saving my spare change for beer instead of parking is always a good thing.

But the parking isn’t what makes DW&S special. It’s the selection. Sure, they’ve got all of my favorites — Brooklyn, Smuttynose, Magic Hat, and Harpoon — but they’ve also got your fancier beers, you know, the ones that come in large bottles, including those noxious Sam Adams Barrel Room Collection brews, like New World Tripel and American Kriek. But that’s not all. They’ve also got an entire section full of beer from all areas of the country. They’ve got German beers, and British beers, and Russian beers (actually, I’m not sure about that last one). Seriously, you’d be amazed by the array of beer they’ve got here.

They even have some canned beer, which I love, although I wouldn’t recommend that Pork Slap stuff, which is nearly undrinkable.

They claim they’ve got 1,300 plus beers, and I’d have trouble arguing with them. It’s really incredible that they’re able to pack that much beer in there. They deliver, too, which is really cool.

They’ve also got a ton of wine (1,000 types), but to be honest, I don’t drink a lot of wine unless I’m forced to, or unless that bottle of blueberry dessert wine I got for Christmas two years ago is the only alcohol I have left in my apartment (let’s pretend I didn’t just say that).

Anyway, the folks at DW&S know they’re good. They’re not even a little bit humble about it.

“We’re about being the best,” screams the quote on their website. “We’re about being the rock stars of the liquor world. We’re about being the smartest, coolest people you’re ever going to encounter in a liquor store.”

Whoa, there. Settle down, now. That’s a bit over the top. But it is one of the best beer stores around. I’m sure there are tons of other great beer stores all around Greater Boston. If you know of one, email us at BDR@bostonmagazine.com. I’d love to check it out.