Friday 16th of March 2007 11:49:12 AM

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[original review date = 16JUL06]

Having been meaning to get to Murray's for over a month, having resorted to sending a co-worker there to pick up the elusive Undercover Shut-Down (thanks for the tip Dave), having plotted and planned a way to make the 3 hour round trip and still fulfill my "honey-do" commitments, I finally made the break last night after work.

The drive north was not as bad as I had been told. Construction in Milwaukee was portrayed as terrible, but I had no problems whatsoever. Murray's is an easy 3 minutes right off I-43, just north of town. Don't look for a spot on the street, hang a left just past the store and use the large lot behind. Look for the rear entrance, with the marquee sig reading "The Libation Destination".

Having spoken to/e-mailed Chris numerous times but never having met him, I was pleased to find the guy behind the counter to be him. I introduced myself (not as my BA member name) and he immediately knew who I was, and genuinely welcomed me to his store.

Genuine is the word for this guy, he seriously knows and loves his beers. He gave me a brief rundown of what was new, on sale, rare, or just plain interesting. This was on a very HOT Saturday night (I arrived about 7:20) and he had a very steady stream of customers.

The store seems to be located in a fairly high-line area, as evidenced by the multiple purchases of $50+ dollar scotches and $150+ cases of wine during my 1 1/2 hours of hanging around. But there also was a regular flow of Milller Lite and "where's the Corona" customers. The cool thing was, Chris made a sincere effort with everyone willing to exchange words to steer them towards a "non-macro" alternative to their selection. He did this in a non-condescending fashion, and I could tell the attempted conversions had been going on for a while with some of his regulars.

Selection wasn't as vast as I had expected, but apparently his stock of singles had been depleted and his orders don't fill until early in the week. I still got what I came for: a case of Lagunitas Undercover Shutdown in bombers, 3 Lagunitas Imperial Red's, an Abt 12 (cheap), 4 Big A Ipa's, and some rare singles to go unnamed. Prices were very good on the Lagunitas and other bombers, especially figuring my previous acquisitions involved shipping charges from Liquid Solutions.

All in all a GREAT experience, with very pleasant and knowledgable guy to talk to.

I will definately make the trip a regular event (providing I get the playset built).

Thanks Chris.