The Spotlight is a series of interviews with the craft beer heroes behind local organizations who are helping grow the beer scene in our fine city. In this issue, we look at Liberty Wine Merchants (Commercial Drive)
Limited releases, interesting imports and a consistent selection of quality local go-to brews are ever the bounty of beer hunters’ pursuit. It is the golden trifecta that one would ideally have close, reliable access to. Finding a local bottle shop that caters to this at a competitive price point is even better.
It is with these things in mind that I begrudgingly throw myself under the bus by bringing attention to my own local source. In true community spirit, it is time that I
give up one of the best-kept secrets of my neighbourhood (well, not exactly a secret, but I myself am constantly surprised at how many people don’t know to check here for sought-after bottles): Liberty Wine Merchants on Commercial Drive.
It’s not that many people don’t know that this Liberty location sells beer. Often enough you can catch people coming out the entrance with beer after the nearby government BC Liquor Store has locked up for the night. It’s the selection that they maintain that keeps me coming in every week – timed strategically after their delivery day – to get my hands on some truly great finds.
Entering the store, you find yourself in a high-quality wine store; handsome and elegant in its’ design and layout. Bottles of wine from all over the world adorn beautiful shelving and displays. To find its’ cache of beer treasures, make your way to the very back of the store. Approaching the end of the room, you’ll find shelves dedicated to imports, with coolers on the right side full of everything from four and six packs of both local and beers, singles and bombers, and a great cider selection.
Recently I found myself missing out on a recent distribution of Belgian darling 3 Fonteinen’s Oude Geuze. Dismayed only briefly, I stopped into Liberty on my walk home and discovered that they had received an allocation as well. I scooped up two of these, a Mikeller Spontanframboos, single bottles of Ballast Point’s Grapefruit Sculpin, some choice De Molen releases and my local pale ale go-to : Powell Street’s Ode to Citra.
It is because of a wonderfully-curated beer program that I can walk into this store on any given day and come out with a robust and diverse selection of quality releases. The staff are universally invested in knowing their stuff; more than once I have been turned onto a bottle I might have overlooked, trusting their recommendations and ending up grateful that I did. To Øl’s Garden of Eden – now a mainstay in my refrigerator -is a great example of this.
If you live on or near Commercial Drive and are interested in some unique and exciting bottles not found elsewhere in the neighbourhood, stop in and have a look. Trust in the staff picks that are labelled on shelves, and don’t hesitate to ask about their personal favourites – you’ll be glad you did.
Liberty’s Commercial Drive store is located at 1622 Commercial Drive, open 7 days a week. I will now have to adjust my weekly visits to make sure I haven’t just doomed my own chances of scoring their limited releases before the rest of you intrepid bottle seekers.
Jeremy Noonan
Community Liasion, CAMRA BC – Vancouver Branch
If you live on or near Commercial Drive and are interested in some unique and exciting bottles not found elsewhere in the neighbourhood, stop in and have a look. Trust in the staff picks that are labelled on shelves, and don’t hesitate to ask about their personal favourites – you’ll be glad you did.
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