Community Beverage

There are new owners and an entire new staff. Everyone is very polite and they move quickly. The prices are better, the selection has improved, and they appreciate all customers making purchases and or bottle redemption. Much better business.

NEW OWNERS — The selection has changed as it has downsized. Staff seems to be friendly, but not very informed on their own inventory. They definitely do not have as much of a variety and prices are steeper. I used to trek here to come for cases of beer and select craft beers. I won’t be coming back. It’s sad to see the original owners /​staff go!

*NEW OWNERS* They seem very curtious and care about their customers. I had a great experience, just to bring the cans and bottles in for deposit they helped every step of the way unlike the previous owners who seemed rude and frankly just didn’t care about their business anymore. The selection is endless when it comes to their beer. :-) although I usually stay with the budwiser and coors myself. They are adding new things everyday! Getting an ATM. And selling cigarettes again very soon according to the new owner! Looks great as they are adding new products daily. 4* I’m sure when I really get to know them they’ll be getting the 5*.
Diana

So so sad to see you go!!!
Sadly community beverages no more.
I will truly miss this place as they had some really off the wall beers, 3 taps and all the standards. Don’t know where I can find a reputable place to get my growlers filled anymore. :(
Mega friendly staff!!!
You will truly be missed!

I’ve certainly bought my fair share of suds throughout the years and it would reason that an epicenter such as Community Beverage of the imported, domestic & craft brews world would have stellar pricing.
From my experience, the good deals come in the form of super getto 30 packs of swill and the posh growlers, talk about extremes. Everything in the middle, price wise seems not to be any better than shops more local to me, deli’s and alike.
As you walk around the large facility there is no doubt that the options are plentiful, great beers from Michigan my personal cold weather favorites but Community is doing no favors on pricing and here in lies my issue.
Perhaps the word reaches the empowered ones to consider this and create some weekly deals or something that will have myself and others drive the miles.

I might’ve given these guys a slightly better rating, but after reading through everyone else’s reviews for the past year, I have to take all that into consideration.
As far as I know, there are only three retail establishments in Queens, NY which sell this stuff, and have such an extensive and varied selection of brews from the best brewers in the U.S., as well as imports: (1) Tri-​Boro Beverage, in Astoria; (2) Community Beverage, in Maspeth; and (3) Beverage Depot, in Flushing. Of these three, I would have to say that Community is the worst, in my experience.
At Community Beverage, on Grand Ave. in Maspeth, one can always find many, many incomplete packs. Be they fours or sixes, they’re all over the place, missing a bottle or two. WTF do they do with all the missing cans and bottles?
Whatever the reason, beware when you go and pick up a four-​pack, or a six, and walk up to the counter to pay. These guys mix up the packs. If you don’t pull up each and every bottle and check to make sure that it belongs, you’ll end up paying $ 15 for half of a $ 15 pack, plus half of a $ 12 pack, (or something to that effect). I paid for six Victory Hop Wallops, and after I brought them home and chilled ‘em, realized that I had three Hop Wallops, and three Hop Devils.
If the manager and employees are aware that this is a regular occurence at their store, then they should be more responsible, and also make it a regular occurence to check each pack at the counter, or otherwise come up with a solution to this problem. Surely, it won’t take a genius.
The owner’s comment below offers an explanation, but no personal apology to me (the customer) for their thoughtlessness, no offer to make it up, and no solution to the issue of mixed-​up packs on the shelves.
Is that it? Is this business as usual at Community? Is the owner always right?
Needless to say, disappointing.

Beer enthusiasts and connoisseurs, be aware!
For those of you that use
, it might be a good idea to call in advance to see if Community Beverage actually has that beer in stock. They had Cascade Kriek for $ 18 on beermenus, which is an absolute steal. However, they did not have the Cascade or several other beers I had pinpointed on their beermenus. After driving for roughly 35 minutes, it is quite disappointing to learn that they do not have said beer in stock.
The reason? They simply do not remove beer off of the list.
Community Beverage does not accept gift checks.
Community Beverage does not accept discover cards.
I’d advise to check all dates if you’re buying any IPA’s here. Dust on IPA bottles? Avoid at all costs.

Living locally in Middle Village and enjoying craft beers makes this my go to spot. They have a selection that carries some of my favorites.
Generally I always find something new to ample as well.
The prices are fair and beat many other local stores that carry Craft Beer.
They also have a bottle return service that makes returning your empty bottles easy.
Another bonus is that if you check in using Unilocal you can get a free pint glass.
Some selections are available cold for which I think there is an added fee of 50 or 30 cents. THey also have Growlers with a selection of about 5 different beers which is a pretty nice option if something on tap catches you palate.
I have seen people write about expired beer and this is something I have seen at almost every store when I buy brew. Obviousley when places have big selections not everything is going to sell. Also some bottles have packaged/​bottled dates on them, and some are best buy dates. In any case not just with here but with all stores check before you purchase. If you see something outdated them dont buy it. Something else I look for are dusty bottles which would lead me to believe that that the beer most likely has been sitting around and doesnt move as quick as more known/​popular variety’s.
However, it’s annoying when there is something you want to try out but the best buy date is questionable. Like I said previousley tho this is not an uncommon site at the majority of craft beer spots with large selections.
In all I am glad that this place is right in backyard and whenever I need some quality craft brew I can be there in under 5 minutes.

Nice selection but like everyone states a lot of times I come the beer is covered in dust and past it’s «best by» date, I have been here a good handful of times so I can usually tell when product is fresh. For the most part there is a good amount of beer but not anywhere near the amount stated on beermenus.

This is an awesome place to get beer in Queens. It has a large selection of 6-​packs and bottles. Wide selections of beers by Dogfish Head, Rogue, Goose Island, 21^st Amendment, Samuel Smith, and many, many more. There was a decent variety of refrigerated beers as well, in case you’re looking for something to have immediately. We walked away with three large bottles (Southern Tier, Widmar Brothers, Rogue), a 6-​pack (Sam Adams), a 4-​pack (21^st Amendment/​Elysian), and a few single bottles, and spent about $ 70. For what we bought, it wasn’t unreasonable for New York City.
I’d give this place 4 stars, but I wasn’t impressed by the large number of dusty and old bottles. There was a whole shelving unit full of beers that were at least a year old, including a 6-​pack with a best by date in 2009! That’s a little too old for me. There were also a few things on the shelves that I was intrigued by, but they were covered in so much dust that I didn’t want to give them a shot.

Great varieties of beer.

I stopped here en route to LI after seeing their list on beermenus. They advertised Cigar City, which is damn near impossible to find up here, save two IPAs. The list had been recently updated and was full of good beer.
Parking on the street was really easy. I was thankful for this, because had I driven around forever, I would have been pissed, considering this place was certainly not as advertised.
It is very dusty and looks more warehouse than craft beer shop. And while I don’t necessarily need fancy décor to shop for beer (i.e., Tri-​Boro in Astoria), seeing dusty products indicates they’ve been there for a long time. Another sign of a product past its prime? A sale/​clearance sticker. And here, there were many — too many to make me confident about a beer purchase.
Beer DOES expire, contrary to what people may believe. Many breweries print bottling dates or «best by» labels so you know if you’re getting a fresh product. Some beers are much better aged, but many had a shelf life of a few months or are best as fresh as possible.
As for the Cigar City, it was nowhere to be found. The one CCB bottle I saw was dusty and had no bottle date, so I passed.
I did pick up the Ithaca Box of Hops, since I knew for a fact it had just been released and I hadn’t seen it anywhere else. But if I hadn’t espied that on my way out, I would not have gotten anything.
I hear this place fills growlers and I’d hope that would be a better buy than those old bottles.

Good beer distributor. Nice selection of microbrews. They have a rewards program that gives you $ 10 off your next purchase after a certain amount of purchases. They also have growlers of tap beer, and rotate which drafts are availible. Parking is street only, but pretty easy to get to.

So about a year ago I wrote this place a not so great review after buying a couple 6 packs only to get them home, open them, and realize I had bought terribly old beer. On another occasion I bought a growler of what was supposed to be Sixpoint Resin, and it was a Berliner Weisse that was mismarked.
Anyway, after that review I was contacted by the owner who apologized profusely and said that he was having his staff check all inventory to remove old bottles. I thought this was great (he also offered me a 10% discount card). Since then I have been in only a couple of times but every time I have been back it has been exactly the same. Lots and lots of old beer, with only a small amount of fresh beer. Now this may be okay for certain beer styles, but if you plan on drinking anything hoppy STAY AWAY. My suggestion would be to not purchase ANYTHING without a date stamped on it.
Also, not sure what others are saying about the cheap prices. The prices are a bit lower than at a craft bottle shop, but it is a wholesale distributor so it is supposed to be. Still, they aren’t that low… Pay the extra buck or two per bottle and get a beer that is drinkable!

Great place! I don’t drink beer (I know, I know), but my best friends birthday was coming up and I decided to get him a bunch of seasonal beers as a gift. The guy at the counter was super friendly and I explained that since I knew nothing I was hoping he could give me some recommendations based on what my friend liked. He helped me pick out 12 bottles (awesome that you can mix and match! I got some Angry Orchard, Magners, I think Brooklyn Brewery’s Pumpkin Ale, among other things) and when I checked out gave me two free pint glasses. I also signed up for their customer loyalty/​discount card. And bonus points for having Family Guy on the TV in the background :)

Have searched many other shops and stores for the elusive ABITA Strawberry Harvest Lager we finally found the mother load in Community Beverage in Elmhurst, Queens.
They have a HUGE collection of beer.
Their price for the ABITA beer was even cheaper then other stores.
This place is worth a visit by all beer connoisseurs.

Good selection of beers. I got a growler of Dog Fish 60 minute IPA for $ 12.49. The dude at the register is pretty cool and helpful. I also got a free pint glass when I checked in with my phone. Finding parking isn’t too difficult. There’s usually a open spot in front of their store. This is a pretty awesome place to get beer in Queens. It still beats the ones they have in Williamsburg easily.

They have a decent selection of craft beers in bottle and a few beers on tap to fill growlers. The prices are also pretty decent but not the lowest I’ve seen. The store is clean and items are easy to find.
Now, my one complaint is that the staff is neither helpful nor friendly. They were by no means rude or elusive — just not fantastic. You’d have to hunt someone down to get them to fill a growler. But that’s also not the worst thing in the world. At least they weren’t stalking me around the store.
To be fair, Tri-​Boro Ice Co. probably has a better selection — or at least a larger selection — but they’re not very knowledgeable. I can’t speak to how knowledgeable the staff was here but they seem to know what they’re talking about at least for the most part.
Anyhow — it’s a good neighborhood beer store.

Amazing selection when it comes to beer and ofcourse they have my Pear beer!
(Pear Kopparberg)
Extremely hard to find out here… They also have some great price so it’s +++

This is one of my spots in Queens that you can find the LARGEST SELECTION OF BEER!
That’s right!, I said all kinds of BEER!!!
out of nowhere, in a quiet neighborhood, corner of 80 street and Grand Ave. So if you guys are planning for a BBQ, Party, or you guys are PARTYHOLICS and don’t want to pay high prices at a bar, you should come and get it here!
Prices here are pretty good. Staff are pretty good where their stockings are cause otherwise you’ll end up lost somewhere in the Belgium secction (hehehheheheh, my faves).