Those who appreciate a good beer are naturally drawn to bottle shops; after all, the larger the selection, the greater chance you have in finding just what you’re looking for in a craft brew. Bottle 501 – which quietly opened in October in the New Hope Commons shopping center off 15-501, just a stoplight or two away from the I-40 exit – offers more than 600 bottle options from 20-plus countries (including India, Sri Lanka and Kenya alongside your more typical beer-producing nations like Germany and the U.K.) and 16 drafts on tap, which you can order in 5-, 9- or 16-ounce pours. Want to take one of those beers to go? Easy – get a 32-ounce Crowler, the aluminum can alternative to a glass growler. Don’t see a beer you want on the shelf? Let one of the employees know. “I try to be a little selective in bringing really good offerings of the different styles, but then I also keep in mind what the people want,” says Nathan Gonzalez, the product specialist and Cicerone-certified beer server at Bottle 501 who curated the catalog of beer available. “We are more than willing to take any special orders if people have suggestions. This beer, for instance,” he says, pointing to a Wells Sticky Toffee Pudding Ale, “was not on our shelves a couple of weeks ago, and somebody mentioned that they really enjoy it. So, we brought it in, and the next time they come, they’ll be able to find it.”
And for the oenophiles, Bottle 501’s wine director Thomas Thorne – a professional sommelier who also teaches continuing studies courses in wine at Duke – has chosen more than 100 offerings of smaller-batch products. “Part of what we did to separate ourselves as far as the wine goes is that we don’t have anything that you might find at the grocery store,” Nathan says. “The size of the selection has allowed us to have a pretty wide variety of styles but still be selective enough to make sure that everything we have is pretty top-notch at a good price point.” A 16-bottle wine station also allows you to sample from a constantly rotating assortment of eight reds and eight whites in 1-, 2- or 4-ounce portions. In addition to weekly drink specials – like $5 beer flights on Mondays, half-price wine on Wednesdays, $3 select pints on Thursdays and free wine tastings every Saturday – Bottle 501 will be partnering with local restaurants to host beer dinners and are planning one such event with The Blue Note Grill in the coming months.
Store manager Mike Fox emphasizes that the intention is for the shop to be a true neighborhood haunt: to have folks utilizing the lounge space and bar, posting up while getting some extra work done (free Wi-Fi!), playing one of the provided board games with their friends, watching sports or any other program on one of the flat-screen TVs that surround the shop, or just picking the bartenders’ brains about the different styles of beer and wine available. “The word I’ve heard used a lot is that it’s a very ‘comfortable’ place where you can relax,” Mike says. “We want you to stick around and feel like it’s home and try something new. [Customer service] is what we’re all about.”
