It's relatively easy to cater the needs of the student population, but not so simple to achieve the…read morecult status that Gaff's has achieved. Living in Whitworth Park for 2 years my local off license was McColl's - it was accessible, it was cheap, it had decent opening hours - yet I never would've dreamed of buying a McColl's t-shirt! It is impossible to walk around Fallowfield without seeing a student in a white t-shirt with the red Gaff's logo plastered across the front. Any small corner shop in Fallowfield would be stupid not to stock cheap alcohol, fags, pot noodles and energy drinks. And there are many shops which do, but none which have seen the success and received the following that Gaff's has. Having never lived in Fallowfield I've only ever been into Gaff's a couple of times to pick up cut-price under-the-counter cigarettes for my Fallowfield friends. I'm disappointed to see that this is a service that they no longer provide. I have also heard rumours about the sale of illegal substances out the back, but they are all 'friend of a friend' rumours, so who knows? From the outside the shop looks pretty awful. It is plastered in posters for various clubnights with horrendous names such as Pout and Vodka Island, for which they sell tickets.

Gaff's is a Manchester Student fallowfield life establishment!! This is the first time I am…read morereviewing a corner shop and it will probably be my last. The only reason I mention this place is because of its legendary status in Fallowfield among students. You see this place operates for the sole purpose of making students life heavenly. It is open till late for all your late night needs, it is as reliable as your iPhone. You can buy tickets to all the big gigs in Manchester's nightclubs, dvds and beverages for those late night house parties. Absolute gem!!! In fact I urge you just to pop in if you're ever driving through fallowfield, even if it is for a carton of milk. You will realize that you walk out with more than you came in for, because you remembered you needed it, such is the fantastic variety of stuff on the counter. I love you Gaffs!!!!!!!!

When I went into Oasis Off Licence there were literally Valentine's balloons everywhere. I didn't…read moreparticularly mind, it was just a bit of a shock, that's all. Oasis has a whole array of sprits alcohol wise that is really quite impressive. They also sell retro pickled onion monster munch which is always a bonus as far as I'm concerned. The owner of Oasis obviously cares about his shop and it's got some pretty lighting in the window to go with the excitement of the Valentine's balloons. For that, in addition to the fact that he was totally polite and friendly to me, I like Oasis. Not the band. The off licence. In Levenshulme.

I have to say that I like the format of Majestic wine and how they do things. A warehouse full of…read moregood quality wines at discounted prices works for me every time! This was actually the first time I've ventured to this store but it's handily just off the A6 with a fair amount of customer parking so it's easy to access to go and stock up the car. Discounts are provided on buying more than one case and I believe they'll also deliver to your house across most of their stores. The staff are always pretty friendly and knowledgable (I've been to a few other Manchester stores) and seem to know what they're talking about. The real bonus for me is that they've started selling good quality craft beer at fairly decent discounts and on this visit they had the usual big names like Brooklyn, Anchor Steam, Sam Adams - as well as the excellent Einstok and Atlantic lager from Flying Dog brewery. This is definitely my go to place for craft beer if I'm stocking up the cellar with fairly general craft beers for a party!

Huge selection of wines, beers and lagers made this the ideal choice pre-weekend-garden-party…read more The offer on Sam Adams drew me in (£20 for 24 if I remember rightly) but the server's guidance meant all our guests were well catered for. His suggestion of Curious Brew went down fantastically, and the case of reasonably priced prosecco kept the ladies happy. To top it off, he even carried it all to the car for me. Will definitely be back when we need to stock up for special occasions. The only thing preventing a 5-star is the great price on the Sam Adams made the real price of other lagers seem a bit pricey.

Twice I've been to Heaton Hops now and it's twice I've been bowled over by how immense it is…read more It's the sort of place you dream of opening yourself for you and your beer-loving friends to spend every evening for the rest of your natural life. They seem to always have a very decent selection of eight keg and two cask ales on tap (the pics on their Twitter account @HeatonHops is evidence enough of that); and are supporters of both local breweries and those from further afield. Their fill station is a genius idea - glass flagons with a choice of four keg beers for you to enjoy at home. They charge £10 for a deposit on the flagon, plus the cost of the chosen beer. In addition, they have a large range of local, national and imported bottled and canned beers on the shelves for you to buy and take away. Locally popular and certainly loved, owners Damian and Charlotte should be extremely proud of what they have. My friends and I are planning on making this a regular haunt!

Cracker little bar/bottle shop, shame it's so far from my doorstep, I just don't get out here…read moreenough. Always a good selection of beer on draught and their bottle selection is fantastic. People drop in on their way home from work to fill flagons from their specialised counter pressure system which is a sight to behold. Costs £10 deposit per bottle I believe but you get this back on return of the bottle, most simply exchange for a refill when they're back though. Can get a little squeezy as it's not the biggest store front (there is more seating downstairs) but it's enjoyable to sit in the window with a pint and have a chat.

We had zero expectations of this place so were blown away by how great it is…read more Bf's review of the beer section, bearing in mind Bottle's owner recently described this franchise's manager as a 'frustrated bottle shop owner': This has a balanced selection of dark and light ales, foreign and domestic, including bottle conditioned ales at reasonable prices with bulk discounts e.g. 8 for £12 or 8 for £15. They always have a selection of Oakham and Titanic ales, as well as White Shield and Fullers bottle conditioned. The staff are knowledgeable and helpful and the manager is always trying to improve the selection. There's a separate section from another supplier which seems to change, at the moment they have Japanese beers including a red rice beer (has a red owl on it). It also has a decent snack collection if you don't mind diabetes and chronic heart conditions. I can't provide such expertise on the wines but have had some good Cotes du Rhone. I don't get the impression it's quite as sophisticated as the ale section, but it's unlikely you won't find anything you like. Remember to check the Bargain Booze app for awesome deals e.g. delicious pork scratchings for free.