Jeevan M.
Yelp
This place is like a bar, an encyclopaedia & a shop had a baby.. Oh wait that's what it is! Yes the Williams Brothers' shop on Gt Western Road continues to showcase their knowledge (& connections) of great world beer & wine. You'll find the great tapestry of beer (aka the shelves) stocking beers from all over Europe, Japan, New Zealand & the US.
Frankly sometimes it's all a little too much, maybe it's the prices (£7 for a bottle??), or maybe it's the realisation that there's still so many more beers to drink, but sometimes I feel a little befuddled by it all (+10 points for fitting befuddled into a review!)
Anyway, aside from their global connections, you'll find a good selection of UK beers as well as many more local brews. The Williams' Brothers own label & their Drygate beers are represented in full, including a number of hard to find batches such as the Drygate brewers' project beers & the hanging bat beers.
The shop sells a good selection of wine and has weekly tastings should you prefer pinot grigio to a pint of Grolsch. The wine is not your £4.99 or less Californian Rosé (nor is it Buckfast) so be prepared to shell out a bit more for a bottle than you would elsewhere. If beer & wine aren't strong enough, you'll find a good range of spirits behind the counter ranging from small batch whiskies to dangerous looking Central American Ron Anejo (dynamite in a glass).
The shop also has a great selection of decadent Belgian chocolate in case you need to sweeten up (nudge nudge..) your other half when you come home with a box full of beer, but only a half-eaten poke of chips, from the chippy next door, for tea.
I love, love, love this shop, what makes it all the more amazing is it's proximity to Inn Deep (aka the Williams Brothers' bar) so if you can't get a seat outside, or if you want to buy a bottle of something you tasted earlier, it's not far to hop, skip or stumble to to keep the party going!