Rating the Pick Your Own Sixpacks: Mariano's vs. Binny's

Mariano's

What a great invention for beer geeks, like us Beer Club Members, who can't just drink the same beer over and over, we need the variety without having to buy a six-pack every time.

As I have mentioned in many posts before, I would prefer we write any reviews based on tastings of full beers only, and preferably earlier on in the drinking night, if possible. I think the whole reason PBR is so popular not only because it can be gotten for $9 per case, but also because it is usually drunk after six shots of Rumple Minze.

The evolution of the Pick-Your-Own-Sixpack that was introduced by Mariano's, and has been also used by Binny's (called Craft Your Own) now and other liquor stores, is just what we are looking for. I have to admit, though, drinking a fresh one on tap at a good beer establishment like Sheffield's or Bar Louie is even better, but I guess this is the next best thing.

Binny's Des Plaines Pick-Your-Own

As you can see from the pictures, they look pretty full and big, but upon close examination you can see some differences, like Mariano's keeps theirs in the fridge, and Binny's is warm, plus Binny's is a dollar more. Both give a pretty good offering of what they sell there, but I think that is what really is the difference between these two. Binny's offers much more craft offerings in the store, so their selection reflects this.  Plus, I think Mariano's clientele is more varied, so they do well by offering more of the common beers. The difference in the count appears to be around 250 for Mariano's and around 150 for Binny's. But, again, Mariano's will put repeats in there just to have all the rows full.

For example, just looking at some of shelves in the Mariano's collection I see

• 3 Points
• 5 Great Lakes
• 3 Left Hands
• New Holland Sundog
• 2 Breckenridges 
• 3 Barley Islands
• 3 Lakefronts
• 4 Two Brothers
• Grolsch
• Summit IPA
• Bitburger
• Molson Canadian
• Molson Golden
• Moosehead
• Labatts Blue 
• Bud Light Lime
• Tyskie
• Amstel Light
• Guinness (3 styles)

Binny's includes some of these:

• 2 Summits
• 4 Breckinridges
• 3 Argus
• 4 Metropolitans
• 3 Chi-Towns
• 3 Central Waters
• 5 Capitals
• 2 Tyranenas
• 5 Two Brothers
• Brooklyn
• 3 New Hollands 
• Finch (can)
• Onion (can)

So, over all, I think it depends on what you are looking for in the pick your shelves. I think there are more craft offerings at Binny's, and only Mariano's does imports, but they also make sure their shelves are always full, so you can see the same one repeated a few times. Also, only Mariano's will have Miller Lite and they also only have bottles.

They both sell a good selection of Wisconsin beer but I think Binny's is better for Illinois beer.

I think I am going to give the edge to Binny's, for craft beer selection. After all, they call their shelves "Craft your Own", anyway. But I have to honorably mention Mariano's, since they pretty much introduced the idea in Chicago and, I believe, forced Binny's to follow.

What do you think?