Good places to buy beer in Houston

[Katefan00]

All right gang, I'll be going home to Houston for a long Xmas with the family mid-Dec. and am looking for some recommendations on somewhere, preferably inner-loop, to buy a good variety of craft beer while I'm home. (Whole Foods is always a good bet, but anywhere other than that?)

I'm from Houston originally, but left after high school for college and various other pursuits and have turned into a beer geek since then, so I know of no good places in my old stomping ground. I have gone to Spec's in the past for wine but don't recall them having any beer to speak of. Anyway, any recommendations appreciated!

K.

[Wilson]

I went to a Specs near downtown and it had a good selection of import and craft beer. Pay with cash or debit card and you get a little discount I think. Is there a Central Market in Houston? They have good selections in DFW.

I'll be returning to that Specs in about 3-4 weeks to stock up, I'd be interested to know if there are any un-obvious places as well.

[Katefan00]

Yeah, that's the Spec's I used to go to, that one near downtown on Smith. But the times I went in there, I was only really looking for wine so I just don't remember! I'll have to check it out this time around.

And yes, there are some Whole Foods in Houston, there's one on Westheimer and one on Kirby that I know of. Also several in Austin -- the best is Central Market. There's got to be some kind of specialty liquor store around Rice Village or down around there that stocks a decent supply.

Thanks for the reply!

K.

[Katefan00]

Looks like Spec's is going to be a good bet! I did some poking around, and they have a Web site with their full inventory (or at least, as of the last time it was updated), at:

www.specsonline.com

Also, they ship to other places.

K.

[Wilson]

Interesting, there's a lot of beer on that website! Cant wait to go back. I also need to look into their shipping. Thanks for the link!

[Katefan00]

Yes, there's definitely a good variety there, including some beers I can't get up here! Now in addition to looking forward to being back with kith and kin, I can look forward to the beer. ;)

Let me know how the shipping goes.

K.

[Seymour]

I moved away from Mississippi to get away from the humidity and mosquitoes. As such, I spend very little time in that part of Texas, unless I'm passing through. A couple websites I've tried in the past, though, when I know I'll be in the area, are the Houston Beer Guide and OneMoreBeer.com (sorry, don't have the links right now). They might get you going toward the right brewery or brewpub. Happy hunting!

[Ingo4]

As others said...Specs downtown. It's on the 2200 block of Smith Street, and is enormous. Their beer selection may lack compared to their selection of other things (like wine), but is still impressive. Pretty cheap too, especially if you pay in cash.

If not there, I used to go to Fiesta which has a good selection and cheap prices. Or Central Market on Westheimer.