A beer person's paradise right here in Albany. Found brews I haven't seen anywhere else. Selection is 10/10!

This store is gross. I asked someone in Empire Wine where I could buy beer (since they do not sell it) and he pointed here, presumably because it is close by. Upon walking in the store, I felt like I was sticking to the floor and it had the aroma of a recycling center. While they did have some nice craft selections, they are not well organized or marked. I felt really out of place as a woman shopping here. This seems like more of a store for college kids and hardcore 24 pack a weekend consumers. Also, while they have signs everywhere that they ID 100 percent of customers, the guy didn't ID me, so the false advertising made it seem a bit sketchy. 2 stars for the local craft selection and convenient location but the actual store is foul. read more

Second time here, not so great. The sales clerk was still helpful, but I definitely picked up a four pack of skunky beer. Partially my fault because the same four pack was on discount up front at the 40% of rack, but I paid full price honestly because I picked up my four pack from the aisle that should have been freshly stocked. I had faith that they weren't from the same order, but, I was mistaken. A properly functioning beer purveyor would have stocked all these outdated beers elsewhere .... But this one was a miss. read more

Placed an order through Uber Eats. I had ordered 4x16 oz cans of a sour beer which they replaced with 6x12 oz cans of non-alcoholic ginger beer without consulting me at all. It's about as far from the original item as possible. Thank God they didn't sell fidget spinners or incandescent light bulbs. Might be the dumbest staff in the world. read more

Most beers were past expiration date. Huge selection but it's frustrating to find fresh craft beers..

The Wynantskill store is great! Clean and plenty of products. Always have what I'm looking for and the staff is friendly and very helpful.

Service is always friendly and polite. The products I buy are always in stock. Good location and great prices!

Ok big building seeming like a large selection but no prices and inventory and stocking sketchy. If ya want parafinalia ya can get it here. Low vibration place only one staff member that I saw. No need to go back for me read more

Agree with other reviewers who feel this place is overpriced. The trick is that the row of products right across from the register is actually 50% off. I found some good in-season brews in this section. I think it's pretty sketchy that there is no sign indicating this sale location. Would be very curious to know if other yelpers go and are denied this discount. I was also very sketched out by the bottle redemption staff. They either do not know how to count or misrepresenting the number of returns you bring in is built into their business model. I suspect that latter. Last time I had double checked the number of returns I had and the staff wrote me up for 10 fewer. Then he tried to haggle with me stating that I should accept less because they offer $.06 each instead of $.05. Terrible business. Beware. read more

Been OVERCHARGED TWICE???...but the selection is vast. Cons: 1. Ok the place isn't new anymore and this kinda thing shouldn't still be happening. The stickers are on the package?!?! A 6 pack of OtterCreek Steampipe marked 10.99 and 6 pack of Honey Brown came to 24 bucks?!? Just about everything is a dollar to three dollars overpriced compared to the competition and that's IF your not overcharged. 2. The beer I bought and was overcharged for was lousy and expired. Pros: 1. The selection is outstanding and the employees are nice. Huge huge huge cooler. Just beware and watch the register or you'll get ripped off. I wish I could give a 2 1/2 star review so in bumping it to a 3. read more

In an article recent to my review, "Men's Journal" magazine put out a list of, in their opinion, the best beer store by state. My local favorite, Half Time of Poughkeepsie, won. But I would consider Beer Universe to be competitive and perhaps on their way to offering the best beer selection in Albany. Time will tell, they're still relatively new and still filling out their inventory. That inventory of course includes beer - not as extensive as it could be, but still quite varied and well organized by country. What I'm not seeing here as yet is as large a selection of microbrews, and perhaps this too will grow. What they also have is a selection of mixers such as sodas and other carbonated beverages, barware, snacks and other peripherals. The owners were receptive to adding products they did not currently have when I inquired about them. There was a problem at checkout where the item I purchased was not scanning correctly, but they got around that. They will also put your receipt in for a monthly drawing for a prize. In all honesty, I do not know how competitive their prices are. I was more impressed with being able to find specific products I could not find elsewhere at what I considered still reasonable prices. But in terms of what they already have, and their convenient location, I'm already a fan. read more

Beware of this place. The last time I was there they refused to count my bottles and were just giving me an "estimate". They do give back $.06 instead of $.05 but I think they are trying to make it up by ripping people off! It's kind of creepy in there too. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND! read more

Terrible customer service. Very rude guy that works in the back collecting cans as he gave me a attitude for setting an empty 6 pack of bottles on the floor. There prices are higher than any local place. Don't go there!!! read more

Awesome selection but when I checked the dates I discovered I bought cans dating way back to 2018.

What a horrible place. Go in to check out a new place, spend like 15 minutes looking around. Clearly I would have been around as I was taking an interest in what they had to offer. Finally pick out two bottles and head to the register. Price comes up almost double what the giant orange price tag on the bottle says. Now it's a new place and mistakes happen, but own up to it. It's your mistake why am I paying for it? Offer me something or even better honor the price I used when wasting all my time wandering the aisles. Instead they told me that this happened the other day! And the still didn't bother fixing it. What a disaster of a place. Avoid at all costs. read more

BEER UNIVERSE is no joke. First off I have been a loyal fan of Olivers Brew Crew for years. While Oliver's Brew Crew Colvin Ave location is the gold standard for a beer store. The Beer Universe honestly gives them a run for the money. Since both of these places have a monstrous beer selection I will break down the differences as I see them. Beer Universe has: a selection that rivals Oliver's with more stuff available cold, they also sell bongs, pipes, and have awesome cigar selection that rivals some tobacco stores. Prices on everything including the cigars were good. The staff has no real product knowledge or the hustle that Oliver's has. The parking lot is huge and easy to get in and out of. Olivers has: Specialty Kegs, Stuff on tap for growlers, and 40 oz Malt liquor selection. They have some guys working there who really know beer. The register is no nonsense and you can get in and out quick. The parking lot even after the expansion is still a warzone at times. The Bottom Line: Beer Universe is perhaps the best place to buy your beer. Depending on what qualities you value or what you're looking for. Since Oliver's has a strong cult following I suspect all types of nonsense in this debate. Fact is this town is big enough for both as long as I am still drinking! read more

There isn't much to say on this one. Expensive, dirty, old stock and poorly stocked. Prices are high. Staff isn't friendly. Not sure how they stay in business. Drive a little farther down the road to a real beer store. read more

Do not go here! Very dirty and rude workers. Watched the bottle guy yell at a customer saying that he knew him and is a liar. Doesn't believe you when you tell him how many bottles have. And argues with you until you say you will take them elsewhere. Avoid avoid avoid read more

This place gets zero stars (if only you could do that). The place is incredibly dirty. Do not come here. If you are bringing bottles back please avoid this as well. The dirty old man that won't wear a mask will argue with you about how many cans you have. And he will only write your slip for you when you threaten to take the cans elsewhere. Do not go here read more

I've been there a few times. And on two occasions I was overcharged. It was very convenient for returning bottles until today. I do hate to return bottles so when I do I have several. Today I had three garbage bags full. The Young gentleman first he commented how could lady drink all these beers. Impossible I informed him that had been several weeks not just overnight . Then he just wanted to guess how many I had. I jokingly said to him what your father doesn't have a problem counting. Then he got extremely annoyed and said to me Jesus Christ give me the bottles I'll count them. Of course he came up with a number way lower then normally.. I was so mad. Today I was insulted and I think he missed counted returnables. I'm going back to Oliver's for all my beverage needs. God Bless America. Do yourself a favor and go elsewhere. Oh I stopped to wash my hands in the bathroom for a new building it was disgusting read more

This place is gigantic and they have an insane selection of beer. Their name says it all. Prices are more expensive then I have seen other places but the selection cannot be beat. They have beer you can't find anywhere else in the capital district. The tobacco prices are the cheapest in the area by far. They have a huge pipe selection as well. I have used their redemption center twice and haven't had any issues like others have but I can see it being an issue. They offer .06 cents instead of the standard .05 I am here about once a week for tobacco and the staff have always been very friendly and helpful. read more

The beer universe in wynantskillhas a sign up that they will no longer be accepting returns of cans and bottles. where is the deposit I paid going? Sounds like we are being ripped off. Fix it or I will never shop there again. read more

The sign outside says $.06 but the tiny sign next to the register says they only give $.05 now. Check the dates on the beer. If it's not a popular item it may be old. read more

Forget this place. Walk in and no ones at the counter. Walk the store to find the person not doing his counter job and he sells the only 2 Northwood Bourbon County bottles to the two guts that came in long after me. This kind of stuff is why big spending craft buyers go elsewhere locally read more

Found reboot of ZIMA which I hadn't seen in decades. Very helpful staff and pleasant.

The good: Wide selection and bottle returns are easy - they take almost everything with a NYS deposit (even store brands like Hannaford...as it is so hard to return bottles at Hannaford) and they give you 6 cents on the bottle. The "opportunities for improvement": Pricing policy - they advertise in the Clipper Magazine, but their ad doesn't give an expiration dates so you'd think it would run as long as the magazine... wrong! I went today with the ad which advertises Yuengling 12 pack for $8.99 (a good price), it was $10.99 and they would not honor their advertised price even though I had the ad with me and showed them. Since I had already returned my bottles, I bought it anyways but likely won't be hustling back here... Same beer at Walgreens is only $9.99 this week - that extra penny per bottle return isn't worth it when the beer is more than the competition. The second issue is that I think this store needs to be more engaging - you just don't feel welcomed here. It's a beer store so maybe some promotions or recommendations in regards to new beer to try... In short there is nothing compelling for me to make the special trip / stop at this store. read more

Beware!! They rip u off on your returns!My friend caught them doing it!,So i tried for myself to see if it was true i counted my returns and i had 67 exactly and he wrote 53 on my slip,how do you miscount by 14 on such a small amount,that's how they're getting that penny back.I would count them and label your bags before hand or you will get ripped off! read more