I was in the College Drive Albertsons yesterday buying some groceries when I noticed that they had re-done their main store beer section... okay, I'll check it out. The first thing I noticed was a respectable selection of bombers and 6-packs.
The problem is, they only carry 3 or 4 beers from each brewery. If they even have that many... there's a Brooklyn Local 1, but no other bombers from them. And Bear Republic Hop Rod Rye, but no Racer 5? For shame! They have 4 or 5 different Stone beers but there are so many more good ones they are missing. They also had a handful of Belgian ales down on the end, most noticeably the Chimay line. Like I said, it's a respectable lineup... if I was stopping here to grab some food to cook for dinner and wanted a few beers to quench my thirst while I cooked, I'd easily be able to find something good. Just not necessarily something new and exciting.
Then I noticed the "Build Your Own Mix & Match 6-Pack Display" and had to check it out. The custom 6-pack is a pretty standard concept but I haven't seen it too often around Baton Rouge. Most places are either 6-packs only, or price everything by the single like Calandro's does. Anyway, it's a cool idea and I'm really glad Albertsons is giving it a try... here's the lineup as best as I could photograph in the store at least.
Like the rest of the selection, it's respectable but nothing special. The highlight (for me at least) is probably the Stone Levitation Ale up on the top shelf... the Sierra Nevada, Sam Adams, and Boulder Beer offerings aren't bad either. This idea would really be cool for someone trying to sample some of the Louisiana brews, with Bayou Teche, Heinerbrau / Covington, and Abita all represented.
Hey, it's not the Baton Rouge beer revolution quite yet, but it's still a step in the right direction.
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