The Beer Circle » Bottle Trek, Deschutes Brewery, Elysian Brewing Co., Hopworks Urban Brewery, Laurelwood Public House, Stores » Bottle Trek – Online Store Review

Bottle Trek – Online Store Review

November 13th, 2012 | Add a Comment | Written by Bob Pack

Bottle Trek, a bottle shop in Springfield, Oregon, is a hidden gem for online beer shoppers looking for some of the harder-to-get Northwest US releases. Over the past year to two I’ve sent emails to Lisa at Bottle Trek inquiring about certain releases,and have always received a prompt reply.

My latest purchase is perfect example. I missed the release of Deschutes‘ Dissident in 2009 and I was determined not to miss out this time around. The beer came and went from a couple of other online stores very quickly so Bottle Trek was my last chance. It wasn’t listed on the website so I emailed Lisa asking if Dissent was going to be in stock soon. When she got it in she emailed me to let me know. I quickly placed an order for 3 Dissidents, one Laurelwood Stingy Jack, Elysian Great Pumpkin, and Hopworks Ace of Spades

Bottle Trek

Selection
This was my second order from Bottle Trek. The first was last year when Deschutes' Black Butte XXIII came out before The Beer Circle came about. Since Bottle Trek is more of a hidden gem you can more easily find some of the harder to get Northwest US beers. Bottle Trek does have a large selection of US and International beers but the some of the beers may be hard to find on the website (see the Ease of Use category below).

Value
With all online shops, the prices are expensive once you average in shipping and handling. However, each person needs to determine the value. Since I am looking for specific beers I will often pay more that I would normally if the beers were local. That being said the prices and shipping & handling charges are in line with other stores.

Packaging
Bottle Trek used the egg-crate bottle carriers that many stores use. Each bottle lays flat in its own compartment and doesn't touch any other bottles.

Ease-of-Use
All beers are listed by style and there are also collections of sale & seasonal items. You are able to search for individual beers and breweries. However, there is no menu to list all the beers or to have the beers listed by brewery. Additioanally, there is no use of a secure connection (SSL) when they ask for your credit card. I indicated I was paying by gift certificate and called in my credit card information.

Overall
The beers shipped quickly and arrived in great shape. I really like the personal communication and updates that I received during the process. This easily made up for the less-than-stellar Ease of Use. I would definitely use Bottle Treak again.

Last updated by Bob Pack at November 13, 2012.

Written by Bob Pack

Simply put, Bob is a beer lover. He goes out of his way to try new beers whenever he can find them. The love of trying new beers had resulted in a beer label collection of over 1400. When it comes down to it, Bob is a hop head. He loves IPAs (including double and black). Stouts are a close second. His tweet reviews on @nova_beer are simple and approachable. Let him know what you think. Find Bob Pack on Google Plus

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Filed under: Bottle Trek, Deschutes Brewery, Elysian Brewing Co., Hopworks Urban Brewery, Laurelwood Public House, Stores · Tags: Bottle Trek, Deschutes Brewery, Elysian Brewing Co., Hopworks Urban Brewery, Laurelwood Public House, Online Beer Store