Friday 4th of June 2010 10:05:41 PM

link

12/07
Stopped here recently on the way over to Lunar Brewing. This is the best of the 3 Sal's locations, more seasonals, one offs, etc. I've spoken with the knowledgeable "beer guy" here once before, so there is at least one designated staff member.

Quality wise, i've seen bottles here that have been on the shelf for years, so buyer beware on some of the obscure stuff. The aformentioned Anchor OSA vertical ('98-'07) would be one notable exception to this though (singles available). On the flipside, they have a good variety of limited stuff from Flying Dog, 3 Floyds, and Founders. For example, the Barrel-aged Gonzo box set was here, stacked deep. It seems like the US micros rotate more than the imports, from seeing more shiny clean bottles in the micro aisle. Coolers on the wall have a few singles, but mostly just the most popular stuff by the case or six-pack. Prices are in line with other places in the area. Check it out if you haven't been in, and make sure to visit Lunar a few blocks west.

Tuesday 11th of March 2008 01:46:00 PM

link
Sals elmhurst is a place to find beer that's been forgotten... it used to have a good beer person there, but has wained... not like it used to be but that'd be kind of hard...

you can expect to find again some rarities here... they still had the boxed ba gonzo here, 3 of them in fact... they still had some of the osa's from anchor, but not as many as the lake st. sals. It's decent for average chicago faire, but not as completist as some other stores... cigars are available as well as a compliment of wines and spirits.

The atmosphere is crap... it's pretty much a brick building and rows of beer... not pretty at all...

Service varies here. I know the mgr. is a wine guy who sorta bawks at the words craft and beer in the same sentence.

My overall thoughts about this place, if you're in the area, pretty much covers it... you can pair this with a stop at cottage corner and lunar, so it's not bad overall... if you're feeling completist, you can swing down to famous on roosevelt and then over to sams dg and binnys ge. that'd give you a pretty solid idea of beer in the area... the rock bottom near the mall is icing on the cake.

any way...

Monday 2nd of July 2007 09:48:06 PM

link
Editing this up, because in the past six months, they've put much effort into their beer selection -- it now rivals the better Binny's locations for U.S. craft brews, Belgians, U.K., and German brews, and cleans up on Eastern European brews (they're approaching Corner Cottage for EE brews). They no longer land the very rare specials -- no Breakfast Stout, say -- but they go deep for most brewer's portfolios. Floor service has picked up again as well. Prices are competitive. Was happy to find SN's 2008 Bigfoot for $9.99 a sixer recently. Sal's is well worth a visit.

This edit is May 2008.

Thursday 29th of March 2007 05:40:44 PM

link
We sat out in the parking lot of Sal's waiting for them to open during a recent trip to Lunar (they're less than a mile apart). The four other cars sitting in the parking lot waiting with us made me think that this is probably a fairly popular local liquor, beer and wine store.

There are two aisles and a part of the cooler dedicated to beer at Sal's. The selection and prices seemed to be pretty good in my opinion.

Because of Sal's convenience to Lunar, I will certainly be stopping by here whenever I am driving to Lunar Brewing.