K1 Beer and Wine, on Columbia Pike and S. Barton in South Arlington

[DIShGo]

K1 (Beer Advocate rating) is a neighborhood gem for beer and wine. I am planning to visit Belgium, so I stopped in at K1 to buy a bottle of Chimay. I was delighted to find several types of Chimay here, but I didn't buy any because there were so many other interesting beer selections from Belgium. I wound up trying two beers from Bruges, where I am planning to visit for a few days. 

This store is small, but it has a great selection of adult beverages--particularly beer. 

[DonRocks]

1 hour ago, DIShGo said:

K1 is a neighborhood gem for beer and wine. I am planning to visit Belgium, so I stopped in at K1 to buy a bottle of Chimay. I was delighted to find several types of Chimay here, but I didn't buy any because there were so many other interesting beer selections from Belgium. I wound up trying two beers from Bruges, where I am planning to visit for a few days. 

This store is small, but it has a great selection of adult beverages--particularly beer. 

I don't know of any beer selection in South Arlington better than K-1 - it's a dumpy looking store in a nondescript strip mall, but the beer selection is behind only the McLean Total Beverage that I can think of just outside of DC. Arrowine's selection is good, but relatively small; K-1's is fantastic - better even than German Gourmet.

Surely I could be missing a store (Whole Foods maybe?), but off the top of my head, I can't think of a better beer selection in NoVa, and regardless of whether or not it's "The Best," you'll thank DIShGo for steering you here - it is shocking when you walk in this convenience mart, and see the beers they carry - and they've all been fresh, too.

Apparently, there's a little bar in back (I hadn't noticed this), where they'll fill up your growlers.

I'm very much looking forward to other people's opinions, because I wasn't really "examining" the beer selection; just reveling in it. K-1 is certainly the most *unlikiely* beer store I've seen in quite awhile. Give it a try, and thank DIShGo. If it saves you a trip to McLean, it saves you 45 minutes, round-trip.

[MattySox]

K1 is a great spot for beer...for anybody visiting for the first time, I offer a simple piece of advice, especially if you're shopping for hoppier things: check your born on/brewed on/best by dates carefully.  Perhaps because this shop flies under the radar, they don't turn inventory as fast as needed sometimes.  This isn't an issue if you're shopping for certain higher octane beers, but check the dates on those IPAs and DIPAs!  

[TedE]

9 hours ago, DonRocks said:

I can't think of a better beer selection in NoVa

Better than Westover Market?!  As noted below, at any place like this check those dates!  There is no way places with this type of selection can rotate stock fast enough.  Unless it's a really high demand beer there are just so many choices that some six-packs are going to languish.

[JBag57]

Freshness for beers that don't age well is also a big problem at places like Total Wine in McLean.  Many beers languish on their shelves as well.

German Gourmet is pretty strictly German beers, from what I remember.

A bit of a hike from Arlington and such is Norm's Beer and Wine in Vienna, which will be celebrating its 20th anniversary this year!  They have sacrificed some of their selection of Belgian/European beers, as a result of the onslaught of domestics, but you would be hard pressed to find one of the "little guys" that has the selection that Norm's has.

[DonRocks]

I'm just trying to give people in South Arlington an option - Lost Dog Cafe has a decent selection (and much better bottle condition than the Westover location), but parking there is something of a pain. In my limited experience with K-1, I've had really good luck with Belgian beers.

The Aug 10, 2016 comment on Beer Advocate is incorrect (or outdated), as they actually *do* have a growler fill station.

I agree about checking the bottle dates at all of these high-inventory, low-turnover stores!