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A beer shop (also referred to as a beershop or beer store) is a retail store where
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
and other goods related to beer are sold; it is a specialised type of
liquor store
A liquor store is a retail shop that predominantly sells prepackaged liquors – typically in bottles – usually intended to be consumed off the store's premises. Depending on region and local idiom, they may also be called an off-licence (i ...
. Beer shops can be found all around the world, but there are many located in countries where beer is a major cultural product, including Belgium, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Scandinavian countries, the UK and the US. Beer shops range in size, and may be located along streets or in shopping malls. Beer shops usually offer many different kinds and brands of beer and
malt liquor
Malt liquor is a type of mass market beer with high alcohol content, most closely associated with North America. Legally, it often includes any alcoholic beverage with 5% or more alcohol by volume made with malted barley. In common usage, it ...
s, and may also have a selection of wines, cheeses, and other products. Some shops offer only regional beer brands which are famous or well known in their region. Others offer a wide range of beer from around the world, and some items may fetch fairly high prices, as with fine wines.
Due to the increase of
craft brewing
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
companies, many beer shops purvey
craft beer
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
s from local or international
microbreweries
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
, and some such breweries have their own beer shops for selling their own wares and sometimes those of partner breweries, either in regular bottles or in
growlers,
large, reusable jugs used to transport beer.
Some beer shops also offer beer tastings,
homebrewing
Homebrewing is the brewing of beer or other alcoholic beverages on a small scale for personal, non-commercial purposes. Supplies, such as kits and fermentation tanks, can be purchased locally at specialty stores or online. Beer was brewed dom ...
classes, and speciality goods like
beer jam
Beer jam, also known as beer jelly, is a jam prepared with beer as a primary ingredient. It may be a sweet or savory jam, and some have a syrupy consistency. It may be used to glaze meats and vegetables or as a condiment. Some companies produce b ...
, beer mustard, beer chocolate, craft cheeses, and
hop
A hop is a type of jump.
Hop or hops may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Hop'' (film), a 2011 film
* Hop! Channel, an Israeli TV channel
* ''House of Payne'', or ''HOP'', an American sitcom
* Lindy Hop, a swing dance of the 1920s and ...
hard liquor. The shops are usually staffed by trained employees, sometimes even
beer sommelier
A beer sommelier, also called a cicerone, is a trained professional, working in the hospitality and alcoholic beverage industry, who specializes in the service and knowledge of beer, similar to a traditional wine sommelier. The knowledge required ...
s who have a broad knowledge of the topic of beer.
Regulation
In most places, beer shops require either a full
liquor licence
A liquor license (or liquor licence in most forms of Commonwealth English) is a governmentally issued permit to sell, manufacture, store, or otherwise use alcoholic beverages.
Canada
In Canada, liquor licences are issued by the legal authority ...
or a beer-and-wine-only limited licence, and may only operate during certain hours (typically the same as
pub
A pub (short for public house) is a kind of drinking establishment which is licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term ''public house'' first appeared in the United Kingdom in late 17th century, and was ...
s/
bars, or even fewer hours). In some countries, beer shops are more strictly regulated by the government.
In Norway there is also a strict control over the hours at which beer can be sold, and beers above 4.75
ABV
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
are only allowed to be sold by the national monopoly (
Vinmonopolet
Vinmonopolet ( en, The Wine Monopoly), symbolized by Ⓥ and Colloquialism, colloquially shortened to Polet, is a government-owned alcoholic beverage retailer and the Alcohol monopoly, only company allowed to sell beverages containing an Alcohol b ...
). In Sweden the national
monopoly
A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...
(
Systembolaget
(, "the System Company"), colloquially known as ("the system") or ("the company"), is a government-owned chain of liquor stores in Sweden. It is the only retail store allowed to sell alcoholic beverages that contain more than 3.5% alcohol by ...
) is the only agent allowed to sell any kind of beer, and it even has some degree of control—also argued to be censorship—over the appearance of the labels. At the same time, the EU court sentenced in 2007 that individuals are allowed to order craft beer online within the EU without having to pass through national monopolies.
Somewhat similarly, parts of Canada only permit take-home alcohol sales from province-operated or specially licensed venues; e.g., in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, hard-liquor bottles are only available at government-operated liquor stores, while beer and wine are available at those and at a chain of privately owned shops, an effective monopoly named
The Beer Store
Brewers Retail Inc., doing business as The Beer Store, is a privately-owned chain of retail outlets selling beer and other malt beverages in the province of Ontario, Canada.
Founded in 1927, it was owned at its inception by a consortium of Ont ...
(however, regularly licensed bars/pubs and many restaurants also provide on-premises alcoholic beverages of all sorts).
See also
*
Enoteca
Enoteca (plural: ''Enoteche'') is an Italian word that is derived from the Greek word Οινοθήκη, which literally means "wine repository" (from ''Oeno/Eno-'' Οινός "wine", and ''teca'' Θήκη, "receptacle, case, box"), but it is use ...
, a type of speciality wine shop
References
{{Beers of the world, state=collapsed
Beer
Retailers by type of merchandise sold
Alcohol distribution retailers