Hop City Beer & Wine Birmingham — Restaurant in Birmingham

There’s a plethora of reasons this bar is in the running for “best in America”, but let me break it down for you as to why that is with some context and detail.

A bar is a bar is a bar, by the same name in any city in America, until you walk in to Hop city. It isn’t a bar. It’s an adult theme park. First, the lively atmosphere and surroundings feel homey, but not cluttered. It gives you that nice warm welcoming vibe without the intrusion of over zealous sales associates. But if you need them, they’re always there to help and are EXTREMELY knowledgeable. And what on earth do I mean? Isn’t this just a bar? Absolutely not. It’s a wine Mecca, massive bar, and they even have food trucks come on many nights during the week. Their wine selection is quite frankly…. The best in the city. Ranging from your $10 basic wines, to my favorite the conundrum red at the perfect $21 price, all the way to your extremely rare $200 2015 Italian limited editions on the back wall. Every region is represented perfectly, and they even stock the best ice wine in the world (my humble opinion as a wine blender). Northern Canadian at under $100. That is an INCREDIBLE deal. But this is just the first half of the building. Between the bar and the wine section lies the beer shelves, and oh WOW is it a selection. Every possible kind of beer is represented. I’m partial to sours and ciders myself, but they simply don’t miss anywhere. Want to make a personalized pack of singles? You can take ANYTHING apart to make your own custom 4 pack. All the local breweries and beers are represented… and 100s nationwide. And then…. There’s the actual bar. It’s huge. And the taps literally run from one side of the building to the other. There are so many to choose from, finding only one to try will be impossible. Complete with dogs to pet, an amazing revamped patio with fire pit, AND in the pepper place district of Birmingham, this IS the best place for libations in the city.

Have fun at the theme park… you’ll...

Buyer Beware.

Long time customer in the past at Hop City Birmingham. Mainly bought beer, especially Belgian ales which are pretty pricey. Occasionally bought wine, too. Spent somewhere around $40 every one to two weeks over the span of about 2 years.

No longer a customer- here’s why- I went in an purchased two 4 packs of Belgian Ale, each around $20. Went home and opened one and it was completely flat- virtually no carbonation- and flavor was basically gone as well. May have been old, or stored improperly by the store or the distributor- I don’t know. Went back to the store with the remaining 3 bottles for a refund, but was told by the employee at the register that they do not give refunds at all. Asked to speak to the store manager, I think his name was Scott but could be wrong about that, who told me they never give refunds or store credits or any similar transaction. Told him to open the remaining beers to check it out, and he declined and said, “Nope, no refund.” I asked what would happen if I purchased a $150 bottle of wine and found that it was “corked,” which means that the cork was not cleaned properly before it was bottled and this causes the wine to tast musty like old socks smell, and he (the manager) said, “No refund.”

Wow. Just, wow. After spending somewhere between $1000 and $2000 there, no refund for a legit spoiled beer. For a corked bottle of wine (which by the way the distributor needs to know about because all the bottles in that batch of wine are possibly also corked and should be recalled from the stores selling them), no refund. Manager’s explanation was that the store does not want to establish a precedent for refunding unsatisfied customers. Ok, I get that.. But I’ve worked in the food industry, and so I also understand what is prioritized at Hop City.

So if you make a purchase there, know what you are...

Great selection and attentive staff. We decided to try this place when we were deciding where to meet with an old military buddy so we could catch up. The selection of beers was on great, and they have around 60 beers on tap. I got a dark beer and a light one recommended to me by the bartender who seem more than happy to work with me. There was no rush, but the workers were always busy. Cleaning, restocking, helping a customer, whatever it was they always at least looked really busy, but I never waited long for them to get my order. It usually took me longer to land on a drink. The music was at the perfect volume. Not loud enough where it’s hard to hear conversation, for those of us who are older or have been in close proximity to fire arms and explosives. The reason I gave this place a 5 star is a combination of things, but one thing that won me over were their sizes. There were some saving for going with a very large size, but the regular and small were always reasonably priced when considering cost to beer ratio. The smallest size of each was enough to get a reasonable amount of beer, and the regular was full bodied enough to satisfy a craving. The cost of the small and regular were usually exactly the same ratio. This was great for trying beer and seeing if you acquire a taste for or like for keeping a very light buzz for after work to unwind. Something...