Friar Tuck - Bloomington

Nice store. Great selection -fairly knowledgeable staff. Until Binny’s opened, they had little competition.

Nice sized store that is well lit. Very large beer selection for central IL. Huge import selection with nice selection of six packs and decent sized mixed six as well. Much better selection than Springfield location and cheaper prices too. I don’t know much about home brewing, but it seemed like they had a lot to offer.

huge selection of beer from all over the world

Stopped in the Bloomington Friar Tuck on the back from Chicago, and unsurprisingly, it looked exactly like the other Friar Tuck stores I’ve been to so far. The beer aisle made up the long aisle along the left wall, and the whole back cooler, with some end displays as well. So quantity is not an issue, nor is selection- I found a couple nice bottles I didn’t see in STL or Chicago- but inventory turnover is questionable. I can only wonder how long some of the beers have been on shelves here. As long as you’re not buying IPAs or other particularly time-sensitive beers, you should be able to find some unexpected things here. If nothing else, Friar Tuck is consistent in selection, service, and atmosphere in all of its stores.

Pretty damn good selection of the middle of the state. They get all of the Boulevard releases, I’ve seen Ballast Point there, Bruery & Lost Abbey as well. Also have a small selection fo homebrew supplies, too. Overall, pretty solid selection, particularly in terms of micros. You’d be hard pressed to find any rare imports, but they represent pretty well.

Well-lit and very organized place, but nothing special going on for ambiance. A very large place with lots going on besides beer.

As for service, I wasn’t approached a single time. It didn’t matter because I know my way around beer, but it would have been nice for someone to say something. I felt like they were suspicious that I was going to steal something since I was browsing singles and spending lots of time there.

Depending on where you’re from, you may not be blown away by their selection, but it’s hands down the best in this area, no question. Lots of Mikkeller, BrewDog, etc., and plenty of local and closer gems.

The prices strike me as average to slightly high. Typical chain. Singles are mainly for "mix 6" only, not priced individually, which is somewhat annoying.

Overall, it’s the place to go in the Bloomington/Normal for the best selection of beer. It is sort of on the southwest side of town (especially in relation to campus) and can be a bit of a trip out of the way, but it’s worth it if you want the best/rarest beers in the town.

clean well lit space. well organized. saw an end cap with every or nearly every mikkeler single hop. VERY large make your own 6 pack area which i greatly appreciate. bombers are not intermingled with their domestic 6pack partners which i also appreciate. no service to speak of though i needed none. corporate looking exterior lies of what is held inside.

Good beer selection. Stay away from the homebrew supplies. Quite a bit of it was looking unhealthy and I doubt they have much turnover. Whitelabs vials 6 months out of date. CHECK YOUR DATES as a number of their beers have been sitting on the shelves for YEARS (specifically French and Belgians)

Another fine Friar tuck in central IL, probably the best one actually (closest to chicago, so they get more!!!). I have been here numerous times over the past 3 years while visiting friends from college who live in the town as well as for wedding parties. Some good times that involve making last minute beer runs to this place. Great selection and good service. however, watch out for some older bottles on the shelves. If you know what your looking at, you should have no problem with their stock.

A well organized store, with a very good selection. There are several beers that I found that are hard to find in the Chicago area. I had never been to a Friar Tuck’s before, so I was also pleasantly surprised to see a homebrewing section. Good prices as well. I’ll be back!