The Beer Circle » Birra del Borgo, Italy, Perennial Artisan Ale, Pipeworks Brewing Co., Revolution Brewing Co., Three Floyds Brewing, West Lakeview Liquors » West Lakeview Liquors – Online Store Review

West Lakeview Liquors – Online Store Review

October 1st, 2012 | Add a Comment | Written by Bob Pack

After the poor service I received in a recent attempt to order beer online I simply had to get back up on that horse! I received many suggestions about good online beer stores that I needed to check out; one of those stores is West Lakeview Liquors in Chicago, Illinois. I was not to be disappointed!

My order consisted of Borgo’s Duchesic, three releases from Perennial, six releases from Pipeworks, Revolution’s Double Fist, and Three Floyds’ Moloko. The Moloko was the main reason that I placed the order but I had always wanted to try beers from both Perennial and Pipeworks.

West Lakeview Liquors

Selection
This was my first order with West Lakeview and I found their selection to be rather expansive: great variety of and Great Lakes and Mid-West beers, widely released US craft beers, and a decent selection of international releases.

Value
There are not many other online stores that sell the Great Lakes & Mid-Western US beers that I'm interested in, especially Illinois releases, so I wasn't able to do much comparison shopping. Though I did compare some of the more widely released US craft beers and the prices are pretty much the same among the stores I shop from. Shipping & packaging costs were also similar.

Packaging
West Lakeview uses a box-in-a-box method of packaging. The inside box was a regular 12 beer sectioned box. Each bottle was wrapped in a lot of newspaper and extra paper was put both above and below each bottle. This box was placed in another box and packing peanuts were added all around the box for a bit more padding.

Ease-of-Use
The web site is very easy to navigate. There were separate categories for beer, wine, and cider. Beer was separated by breweries and then divided into the appropriate state or country. The only item I would add would be a way to list all the beers at once. One could easily add items to the order and, later, modify the contents of the cart before checking out.

Overall
Two of the bottles that I ordered weren't in stock. I received an email alerting me and asking if I wanted to replace those beers. I then received another follow-up two days later saying that one of the original just came back in stock. I am definitely keeping West Lakeview Liquors on the list of stores to order from again.

Last updated by Bob Pack at October 1, 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: Birra del Borgo, Italy, Perennial Artisan Ale, Pipeworks Brewing Co., Revolution Brewing Co., Three Floyds Brewing, West Lakeview Liquors · Tags: Birra del Borgo, Perennial Artisan Ales, Pipeworks Brewing Co., Revolution Brewing Co., Three Floyds Brewing, West Lakeview Liquors