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Submitted on Sunday, 19^th April 2026
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Beer Shop, St Albans Central, St. Albans

Pub added by Moby Duck

71 London Road
St. Albans
AL1 1LN

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St Albans Central

Reviews of Beer Shop (Average Rating: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Beer Shop

Compact micro-pub and bottle shop with ten taps on the side wall behind the compact counter, with a limited amount of seating around a central table, by the windows and outside on the paved area leading to the door. I found nine interesting craft keg beers in a wide range of styles but went for the cask Left Handed Giant's Titan (£6.00).

On 25^th April 2026 - rating: 7
[User has posted 9119 recommendations about 9119 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Pub SignMan left this review about Beer Shop

This is a small bottle shop that, unlike many other such venues I've previously visited, seems to be just as popular for on site drinking as it is for off sales. It's set in a simple shop unit with exposed floorboards, whitewashed walls and a small servery in the rear right corner. Both side walls are covered from front to back with shelving units and fridges full of beer, and judging by their stock, it seems as though they specialise in larger, wine bottle-sized beers, although there are still plenty of regular-sized bottles and cans too. Everything seems to be logically ordered by style and country of origin, making it easier to track down the ideal brew. Hops line the shelving units in an effort to give the space a bit more of a pubby feel, whilst a collection of keg inserts run across a ceiling beam. The bar has a small, makeshift looking counter with all the taps mounted on a wall to one side, with helpful beer boards above detailing strengths, styles and prices. Loads more shelving full of expensive looking bottles stands opposite the bar, along with a shelf for ciders and another for hot sauces. There is a small seating area out the front with some uncomfortable looking benches alongside a busy road and a decent 90's indie soundtrack played in the background throughout my stay.
I counted ten craft keg beers on draught and ended up trying Otherworld Tui NZ Pale Ale at £5.80 a pint. Other draught options tended to be from well respected or obscure microbreweries. The bar staff were a very personable and friendly duo who seemed to be extremely knowledgeable about their beer and had a good rapport with their locals.
I'm not much of a fan of this type of bar, as they usually result in an uncomfortable experience where you feel like you're getting the the way of shoppers. This place bucked that trend, on a Saturday evening at least, by having much more emphasis given to their on sales, and I was happy sat amongst the locals enjoying a beer I'd never heard of and eavesdropping on their beer geeky conversations.

Date of visit - 27th January 2024

On 17^th June 2024 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3387 recommendations about 3387 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Blue Scrumpy left this review about Beer Shop

The name for this place speaks for itself. It's a simple shop surrounded by fridges full of cans and bottles and with a small bar at the rear serving 10 beers from taps on the far right-hand wall.

One of the beers available for our Friday afternoon visit was a cask ale, which was Beak Lulla. Craft beers were Gravity Well Novikov Principle, Pastore Big Easy Banana Pastry Sour, Cloudwater Chubbles 2024 & Chubbles Enhanced, Baron Fill Your Boots, Staggeringly Good Cocoadoca, Boon 2-Year Unblinded Oude Lambiek & Rivington I Wear Suits Now.

My drinking partner and I both had the Lulla, which was very tasty for such a low-ABV beer (3.4%), but was served a little too cold for my liking.

As you would expect, staff were very knowledgeable about their beer selection. There was one other drinker there when we arrived and somebody else came in to pick up a couple of boxes of pre-ordered Tring beers. With just a single table, which could probably accommodate 8-10 people, in the centre of the room, this is probably not the sort of place where you would want to spend hours. However, for a brief stop when touring some of the local pubs, it's well worth a visit.

On 5^th May 2024 - rating: 6
[User has posted 3459 recommendations about 3457 pubs]

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