Gator Bev has an awesome beer selection for being so small. The staff is okay--with the exception of Jeff, who I thought was pretty cool. Whenever my boyfriend and I would come in he would always recommend something new (and good) to try. There were a few times where we had some bottles of Rocheforts reserved for a couple hours. I really liked the variety of Belgian beers as well as their stouts. The prices are decent and once in a while they sell sets of beer with glasses. I got my St. Bernardus. Chimay, and La Trappe glasses here. Now that I've moved away I really miss this place. Five stars all the way! read more

this place is disrespectful to Combat Veterans. they booted my VAN for parking in their parking as a Customer because I went to the bank to get money instead of using their ATM I guess. they never told me not to park in the customer parking and didn't give me a opportunity to buy the soda I wanted from their store because I had to pay $80 to a crack head alcohol tow truck driver to take off the boot. thier parking lot is side by side with other businesses, it's not like I left my van for hours or over night. it was for three minutes so I could get money to shop. the bank was next store. my service dog was waiting in the VAN. read more

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This small beverage store has a huge diversity of beer and alcohol. You can find wines, vodkas and all types of beers as well! I was able to get vodka, wine and more here! The prices are good for most items (I did see Joshua wines here which I do buy at Costco for 1/2 the price) and convenience is key as well! Give it a shot when in Gainesville! read more

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Good service nice artwork outside and everything in stock nice and organized and almost perfect

Great Staff friendly and loves to be asked about availability of ALLOCATED WHISKEY! Comforting environment inside and out! read more

This is a small store but packs a lot of excellent products in the space it has. We stopped in to take a look and got excellent customer service by Andrew showing me some local beers. He asked what I liked and streamlined his recommendations to fit my tastes. Also pointed out a couple of great bottles of bourbon they had after I mentioned bourbon and we had a conversation about what I drank in whiskey. Love this place and will be stopping back when I am in the area! read more

This is another quality beverage establishment in Gainesville. They have two registers working at the same time, so there are never more than three people in fromt of you. The selection is amazing. There are so many choices in such a little space. Paying by card is quickest, and tell them you don't need a receipt, (unless you do), because they have to ask that wuestion 800 times a day... read more

Great selection of canned craft beers including the very hard to get Hudson Valley Brewing beers

Extensive beer selection, close to campus. Went in looking for liquor but it was past 11pm and we couldn't buy due to county law. We ended up with beer and wine. Great prices. read more

Gator Beverage - Nice beer selection - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

Amazing store. Chock full of local and relevant craft beers from across the region. Masks were present on everyone's face. Thanks for caring. read more

Best place to pickup beer in Gainesville, especially craft and imports. You can also buy almost anything in singles, which is very handy if you're too afraid to get a six pack. They also have a fine selection of smut magazines, but remember kiddies there's a "Five Minute Browsing Limit". Go ahead, see for yourself. (If, for some reason, you can't find a beer here, try Ward's) read more

Every time I go the store seems to get more crowded with product (can't walk down the aisles due to beer boxes) and yet has less and less good craft beers. I suppose it's the college clientele all wants Natty light, but they used to have good rare beers here, less so anymore as this place goes down hill. read more

Anyone who has been in Gator Beverage (affectionately, Gator Bev) can attest: theses guys have the best selection of retail bottles for purchase at any given time, for a better price than any place in town (speaking, of course, about craft beer). Embracing what I will call the "most divey alcohol store ever" as endearing, prepare to get overwhelmed with so many choices that you forget people uninterested in craft beverages, but who are pretty fond of frequent imbibing, also stop in a bit. The Space Right off of University Ave and a stone's throw from campus, Gator Bev has a quaint parking lot that typically has a space you can squeeze into if you come by car. You will spot it fairly easily by the gigantic gator and mushroom mural it sits next to (pretty hard to miss). They make do with the room they have, and actually manage to keep a lock on the organization of most offerings they have. Each aisle has labels to indicate the styles you can find, and the end-caps are usually newer beers of those styles. The shelf you will see right when walking in, on your left, houses the new, harder-to-find options that they rotate in/out on the regular. The Service With one or two exceptions, I always find helpful, friendly people here to ask general questions. Sometimes the really fast-moving beers will get kept behind the counter for "single bottle only" sales (think Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout) and you might have to ask about these, so it only makes sense that they are friendly when confirming they have the hot-ticket items. They have been a little irked before, but this tends to be when a high volume of disruptive imbibers stops in for their "Party Fuel". The Suds They are not boasting to say it is the "largest beer selection in Gainesville": it is hard to put a number on but they have great stock of new, rare, and local beers to meet any beer enthusiast's needs. When I come in I can be expected to spend no less than 10 minutes walking though the aisles trying to make up my mind. If I am in a hurry I default to finding a pre-chilled option, and the rows of coolers in the back (one dedicated to single bottles for mix-and-match purchases) still make this hard for indecisive people like yours truly. PRO TIP: They do sell kegs of beer beyond the typical macro-brewery options. Get a pony of Swamp Head and show your friends you really care. Final Thoughts I have grown accustomed to the sketch factor some patrons lend to Gator Bev, and will never hesitate to stop in when I am looking for a new release that is hard to find or just when I want a cold 6'er to bring to a friend's place. The proximity to campus and offering of liquors/kegs will always have this place less-than-highbrow, but do not let something silly like that stop you from getting your money's worth for best brews. read more

It's craft beer heaven in the guise of a 7-Eleven. For the location, you won't find a better beer selection in town (though I prefer Tipples, they're out of the way for most folks). Not to mention, they tend to have random specials that just make this beer geek squeal like a little girl on Christmas ($5 for a four-pack of Torpedo IPA tall-boys?!). Yeah, they have gas station-quality service, but that doesn't bother me. It's an in-and-out-type place with some of the best product quality you'll find for your buck. Never been here for anything but beer, but it seems their selection of other goodies is lacking a bit. Not like they have room for anything else, with all the beer they have lying around. It can get kind of cluttered and tough to find what you're looking for sometimes, even though it's all technically organized by culture, but who cares? Gator Bev is awesome, and if you like beer, you're likely to feel the same way. read more

The beloved Gator Beverage, how I miss this place. Back in the day, when I lived off 6th Ave. Gator Beverage was the go to spot for liquor, kegs, six packs or Belgians. And it was comforting to see it still there, as a beacon of boozy light (on an avenue that is totally not known for beacons of boozy light...) The selection is pretty good for a convenience store sized bev store, not necessarily the best in the town, but without a car, at this time of the evening, it fit my bill. Also, it is far superior to the ABC Liquor store (3rd and 13th I think) that was considerably closer to my house when I lived here. And I think the prices are great, considering what Philly offers me, now. Oh, but there's one thing you should know... They don't carry Gordon's Gin. A total affront for that old man in front of me tonight. Keep on reaching for those stars, old man. You will get to the promised land. read more

Didn't Less than Jake make a song about this place? They have a lot of alcohol, and the dudes behind the counter look exactly how you'd expect. read more

I went into GB seeking a beer that is apparently only available in kegs as of now. Unfortunately, I couldn't bring a keg with me on a plane back to Chicago, sigh. The guy working offered to help me find something similar, something else "Florida" to bring back to my husband who couldn't make the trip home with me. The employee suggested a brewery out of Tampa, Cigar City Brewing. He showed me all their beers, talked to me about them and then made recommendations based on what we liked to drink. A very pleasant experience with a very knowledgeable worker. Not what I expected from a booze shop near campus. I'm happy to see Gainesville is embracing the craft beer revolution. btw, the beer he suggested was awesome and easily one of our favorites. Too bad it's not available this far north yet. read more

Best beer selection in Gainesville all right! They had tons of great finds, including many things we can't get up here in New England. There were three aisles filled with good beer, and the prices were reasonable. read more

Gator Beverage - a sign for gator beverage - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

They recently redid the inside! New counters and shelves. The place looks great! I'm not that picky about my drinks but once in a while I'll go in without anything in mind and I've always learned something from the staff. Love gator bev read more

Awesome beer selection. Shitty selection for everything else. Decent prices. Unfriendly service. Never my first option. read more

I know nothing about alcohol and I think it was pretty clear to the guys working there. They went out of their way to ask what I needed help with and offer good suggestions on beers and wine. This location is perfect and you really can't beat it. They have everything you could ever need for a party or tailgating. read more

I know nothing about the alcohol asked the staff there is friendly recommended the top sell flavor vodka. And we purchased the one he recommended. I really like that and enjoyed. Will be back soon. read more

They sell expired beer here, and they laugh about it when you bring it up to them. Last Friday my wife and I visited GatorBev, which I used to think of as a good spot for a quick beer run. We had been a week or so before and she bought a pack of Unibroue Ephemere, but at home she said it tasted bad and the bottles were dusty. Sure enough, on our most recent trip I went in with her and the beers were several months beyond their expiration date. This is September 2015, and the beers were Best By June 2015! We asked at the counter and they laughed. "Show us what's expired" they said, and when she did, they offered her a five percent discount, adding "You know, Best Buy dates are just an American convention. The beer is actually better now." Bull - Unibroue's website says Ephemere is "Better as young as possible." Regarding BB dates as just an 'American Convention,' here's what top brewers have to say (TL;DR: it isn't) : http://www.beeradvocate.com/articles/529/. Anyway, she can taste the difference immediately, so we passed. But not before I looked over the rest of their bottles, several of which were dusty and past expiration. I said, "Hey, this Left Hand Great Juju is expired, too!" They responded with another laugh, "Yeah, that Juju is definitely past." If you need a quick cold case of Miller, GatorBev is fine. But this place does not live up to its reputation for having quality beer. I won't be back. read more

Round 2 Went to return the keg and get my deposit back and failed. The owner told me that I will get my deposit whenever I ask for. The clerk refused to honor the agreement. He insisted that after 5 days you loose your deposit. They charged me $5.00 for something and still have not been reimbursed. These people treat you like a college kid or a homeless. No appreciation for loyal customers. I have bought 6 kegs in the last 6 months and they don't care. Thank goodness that Total Wine is now open. read more

Specialty beers at a fair price. read more

Gator Beverage - Beer, Wine & Spirits Near Me - Gainesville, Florida

I just got a 6 pack of some IPA I've never heard of with a matching pint glass for like $6.50! Enough said! My roommates and I are in there a few times a week, and with good reason. I'm there for the awesome beer selection, but I guess they have wine and stuff too. The guys working aren't exactly friendly, but they've never done me wrong. They'll help you haul stuff to your car if you buy a keg or a bulk amount of alcohol. Cheers. read more

It's Craft Beer Heaven. The first time I was in there, I had to pick my jaw up off the ground, what a selection.

GatorBev looks like a dumpy convenience store in Gainesville's "downtown."However, they stock an inordinate amount of craft beer- it is probably 90% of the store. About 25% of that is refrigerated six packs and cases while you can peruse aisles of special large format bottles. Lots of great finds here over the years. Markup is minimal. Location unbeatable. read more

Gator Beverage is Gainesville's quintessential liquor store. They've got a diverse beer selection - I'm constantly finding new beers to try. Their prices are really good as well. I've also found that the employees are really helpful when it comes to picking something out. read more

Great selection of craft and imported beer at fair price. Cheaper than Publix, and probably ABC, in general.

Best beer selection in town. They don't have everything, but they come pretty dang close. The environment is kinda sketchy(hence te 4 rating). Wife never wants to go here, because she doesn't feel safe. Its worth the the "danger" though. The selection is unbelievable!!!!!!! read more

The place doesn't look like much at first glance, but it packs a top notch supply of craft beer that are reasonably priced. In particular I like that they always have cool bombers of Cigar City and Funky Buddha, two of of my favorite breweries. Any place that carries FB Last Snow in Gainesville has my approval. read more

Awesome place. Great beer selection comparable to or better than places in my hometown (DC). Staff I dealt with was way beer knowledgable. Craft beer variety is top notch. read more

LOVE THIS PLACE! They even carry my favorite cold unfiltered sake!! Sales staff is friendly, Kyle is the best!! Will be returning frequently :) read more

I like a place where I can walk in and hear the Wrangler Brutes playing and a meth-head rambling to no one in particular about mouth herpes and walk out with PBR. I'm a simple man with simple pleasures. read more

Terribly rude and unfriendly service. Didn't even give me a bag for the liquor that I bought, I had to ask. Since when do you walk out of a store with just the bottle and no bag? read more

Though the beer selection pales in comparison to what you can find in Washington DC, New Hampshire, Wisconsin (in much bigger stores), it is by far the best I have found in Florida, and is plenty good enough. I go to Gainesville about once a month, and the staff has come to know my preferences - towards the rich stouts and porters - and makes excellent recommendations for new brews. Most that help me are knowledgable about the breweries and the individual selections. read more