Reviews

Last Updated Saturday, July 18, 2009 08:41 PM Sunday, June 07, 2009 08:59 AM

Here are the latest and greatest reviews!!!

Large Reviews - (Links to other articles on our website.)

• Sofia's Dad's Pots Review
• Beers For All Occasions Review
• LEO Weekly Review
• The Voice-Tribune Review

Smaller Reviews - (No more than a paragraph)

• We had never been to a place quite like Sergio’s and we had a ball. Whether the place has only a few patrons or is crowded, Sergio seems to run the place single-handedly and he knows his beer! We’ll definitely be back.... a lot!

• Sergio’s has an INCREDIBLE beer selection. Sergio knows more about beer than anyone I have met in my life. The food is fantastic and the conversation is always great. Gotta Love Sergio’s.

• Great place! Sergio knows his beer! Try the cheese steak. Get double meat if you dare.

• This is simply the largest selection of beers I have ever seen or heard about. Serge is knowledgeable and forthright. Sergio’s is definitely a place run by and for people who love beer. Enjoy!

• A great place. like closes to 700 beers this place had the best food with the most beers I have ever seen in a bar like this!!!!!!you hve to come to Sergio’s for diner and drink a beer!!!!!!!!!!!!! visit their website for all kinds of stuff. its nice and sign up for emails in there club.

• It does define hole in the wall from the outside but inside awaits a magnificent beer selection and great food. The service was very prompt and the staff knowledgeable with the ability to make great beverage suggestions.

• Was there on the weekend to find the place not packed like others. If you are ever looking for a good place to eat and drink you have to put Sergio’s on your list. with close to 700 beers this place has the most beers for thousands of miles.

• this place is the bomb. 630 beers-selection is the best in the state + others. food and beer are really good. the wontons and Philly cheese steak were realllly good and enjoyed the price f them. if you like beer and a good bar crowd you have got to o to Sergio’s.

• Sergio’s isn’t much to look at, but it’s got the best beer selection for 100 miles. The neon sign is burned out, and the interior isn’t very enticing, but Sergio is a great guy and the selection (600+ beers) is incredible. I had a cheesesteak which was also very good. I had a couple great IPAs so I was pretty content. Unfortunately, local laws prohibit to go sales so you can’t get a growler.

• The best beer selection I have ever seen! His cheesesteaks are almost as good as mine - and his taquitos are better than mine. First place I had Dogfish 90 on tap - DELICIOUS!

• I came to Sergio’s on a road trip needing a place to watch game 2 of the 2008 Stanley Cup after attending game 1 in Detroit. Even though I don’t consider Sergio’s a sports bar, I was pleasantly surprised to find the hockey already on and Sergio a fan of Detroit sports. Luckily for me, I am also a fan of beer, and my 4 tasty choices left only 625 to go!

• Wow! Really didn’t expect such a great beer place in Kentucky (and have never been to such a place anywhere!). We went on a quiet Saturday afternoon (since we’re non-smokers, I don’t know how much we’d like the place when it’s full of smoke, but they must have a great ventilation system, because no smoke smell ruined our food or beer), and for most of our stay, were the only people there. The server was very friendly, the beer selection incredible, and the food was fabulous I had some kind of really, really good Mexican soup and a burrito (enough food for three meals, at least, be warned). We didn’t get to meet Sergio, but we can’t wait to get back there.

• The selection is impeccable, Sergio has a knowledge of beer that surpasses the average bar owner or bar tender. The most impressive thing about the place other than the amazing and well priced food is the fact that there are so many beers and very few are the pathetic BL or Bud or other crappy beers.

• Two miles off interstate and turn left and on the left. Good parking in front. Clean older building with bar in the back with tables for food and beverages in the front. Standard and seasonal's on tap and good selection of bottles. Friendly server, Sergio, with good knowledge of brews. Did not have food. I will stop again.

• Great beer selection! Sergio is very knowledgeable and always recommends the best beers.

Potable Curmudgeon Review

Sergio's World Beers an unlikely Shelbyville mecca ... but it is.

Staffer Ben Adkins of the Sentinel-News, a newspaper published in Shelby County, Kentucky, is hereby accorded the honor of being the first media representative to break the news about Sergio’s to the extended Louisville metropolitan area.

In December, 2006, Adkins offered the scoop:

Sergio's, Shelbyville's newest eatery, is multiculturalism defined.

Flags from nearly 100 nations are draped along the walls of the restaurant, while nearly as many license plates from every state in America, every Canadian province and other far-reaching corners of the world serve as a border near the ceiling.

"We're going to do international food -- things that you can't really find around here," said owner Sergio Ribenboim.

So far, not exactly earthshaking. After all, isolated rural towns now have Mexican taquerias, and from the food and dining standpoint, multiculturalism has been shown to sell even if it is served up watered down. There’ll be more about “water” in a moment, but first we’ll scroll further into the Sentinel-News piece for the most intriguing bit:

A bar is also being built, which will feature around 100 beers from Belgium, Belize and other countries worldwide.

"Every country that there's beer available from, I'm going to have," Ribenboim said.

Strong words like those typically come from people who enjoy being challenged, especially when it comes to beer, because America’s hoary and monopolistic three-tier system of beer distribution works to ensure that those residing in the hinterlands enjoy far less choice than city dwellers.

Knowing that, it should come as no surprise that the current state of affairs at Sergio’s hasn’t quite developed in the way the owner foretold.

Now his bottled beer list now runs to the vicinity of 350, there are also eight other beers on tap, and despite the necessary evil of mass-market swill (order a “water,” and you’ll be served Miller Lite), the selection is strong, particularly the Belgian contingent – hands down the best in the region.

I began hearing about Sergio’s in May, with the conduit for information being a loyal customer with dual citizenship, i.e., he belongs in the “Norm!” class both in Sergio’s and the Rich O’s/NABC Public House. Although our paths hadn’t crossed, Sergio had made the drive to New Albany on numerous occasions since being introduced by his brother, until finally we met at the end of June.

Two days ago, my exuberantly beer-friendly frequent collaborator Graham took the wheel and we traveled east on I-64, eventually exiting near Shelbyville and backtracking on U.S. 60 to the Kentucky beer shrine, which occupies a building that formerly housed a sports bar.

Verily, our visit to Sergio’s, while brief, proved as joyful and entertaining as any beer trek I’ve previously undertaken, but it is no exaggeration to add that it was one filled with more eccentricities and conundrums than all but a select few episodes in the expansive pantheon of my fermented memories.

As was the case in times of old, when much of the allure of Rich O’s was its entirely unexpected location in New Albany, the story of Sergio’s is inseparable from its relative isolation well outside the city limits of Louisville.

While the Sergio’s bottle club, which rewards customers for trying the many beers on the list, is topped by the impossible well-traveled and multi-lingual owner himself (after all, he says, all new beers coming across the threshold must be sampled with an eye toward suitability), the second ranking position is occupied by none other than Ronnie the Redneck – a real person who formerly requested light beer and a salt shaker, and now has consumed 290 different beers from across the planet.

The food menu is voluminous and truly international, and we were barely seated in the cluttered bar area when a friendly helper brought homemade salsa and chips, but the real specialty of the house is a fine and messy Philly cheese steak.

Prices throughout are reasonable, and the atmosphere at Sergio’s is decidedly casual. In the end, what makes it click is that there is nothing whatsoever pretentious about the experience (understand that I’ve always known how I can be in such situations), and the only thing gentrified about it is the quality of the beer list.

Sergio’s 12-year-old son runs the web sites when he isn’t exploring the world, running his own business or collecting cars (no, real autos, but Sergio can explain it to you):

http://www.sergiosworldbeers.com/

Matt, The Seven Footer's Review

When I first heard about this place, I felt like I was being lied to. Surely if there was a place in Shelbyville with 500+ beers, I would have heard about it. But alas, my networking skills had failed me once again, and I had missed out on this gem for nearly 15 months. Since then, I’ve been twice, and my opinion of this place is quite positive. Upon entering, even the most veteran beer geek will be amazed by the sheer amount of brewania lining the walls and ceilings. The main room is reasonably sized, with approximately 10 tables, and a large TV. Lining the walls are license plates from every state in the US, many flags, and dozens of beer glasses and tap handles. The main room leads to a smaller beer bar where the density of brewania is even more extreme. Hundreds of empty bottles line the walls, are scattered across the bar. Many of these bottles are from Sergio’s personal collection, including a few very old Belgian beer bottles.

Speaking of beer, Sergio's in Shelbyville is now a bona fide Mecca for the beer lover. With 590 bottled and tapped beers and the premier Belgian selection in 5 states, Sergio's has come full circle from a year ago and is starting to reach its potential. Sergio currently has Rodenbach Flemish Sour Ale, Chimay, La Chouffe N'ice, Brooklyn Brune Brewmaster Reserve, Old Rasputin Russian Imperial Stout, Loose Cannon, Schlafly Coffee Stout, Maredsous 10 and a couple of waters on tap. The food is still delicious, try the Sopa Azteca or the Philly Cheesesteak and you will be hooked.

Rich O's beer list is second to none in Indiana. Until Sergio's (Shelbyville, KY) arrived it was second to none in the Midwest. Rich O's still dominates Sergio's on draft beer selections. Throughout the year they have different festivals (i.e. Gravity Head, Ocktoberfest and Your Name Here Fest) which will feature a theme of beer styles. Rich O's always has hard to find styles and brands in stock. And perhaps most pleasing is the fact that they brew their own beer. Because their beer list is so extensive their brewers are like artisans with their creativity and style, since they don't have to duplicate styles that have already been done. Some of my favorites are Hoptimus, a triple hopped IPA, Mt. Lee, a California common, St. Radegund's, Old 15-B etc. If you don't think you like it, they will let you try it. Trust me, my girlfriend, Carrie, drinks piss and Arbor Mist and now she helps me finish off growlers of dark beer.

I have a national treasure for all beer lovers...and it is located in Shelbyville, KY.

If you are anything like me you enjoy a drink or three. Nothing gets me going like some American craft or imported beers. Beer has been a source of inspiration and recreation for me since I was 19 years old. Oops, I mean 21. If your idea of a great beer is Amber Bock or Corona simply navigate further down the page and read, perhaps, a sports blog. If you and your buddies crushing 30 Lites is your idea of a great time then head on down Speedway and I'll meet you at the trailer.

However, if you have ever tried something other than a light, fizzy American style pilsner, like say a Sierra Nevada or even a Blue Moon, then I have a place you must visit. Sergio's in Shelbyville, KY.

Sergio, the owner, has compiled the best beer list in KY and dare I say...oh dare...the midwest. With over 380 selections in stock, this beer list is second to none. Whether you enjoy stouts, ales, Lagers, Belgians, American craft beers it will not matter as Sergio has many selections from every beer producing country in the world, even the hard to find/get ones.

Sergio's is located on US60 in Shelby County, between Simpsonville and Shelbyville, but closer to Shelbyville. The building he is in will not WOW you from the outside. It was formerly Bobo China and Cancun Sports Bar to name a few. Inside, however, is where the fun begins. Decorated with flags from around the world (Serg is from Brazil and has traveled all over the world. Get him to tell you of some of his adventures.) and license plates from every state and Canada, Sergio's is a casual joint. With smoking allowed only in the quarantined bar area the smells will not offend anyone.

Although I mainly enjoy the spirits when at Sergio's, the menu items I have sampled are phenomenal, topped by the BEST Philly Cheesesteak sandwich I have ever had. (My girlfriend, Carrie, confirmed the Cheesesteak interjecting that once when she was drunk in VA Beach she may have had one that was better.) The menu is an eclectic mix of Mexican, Brazilian, American and world cuisine. Some of my favorites are Juevos Rancheros, Fajitas, Ceviche, Green Chile Wontons, Crab cakes and all of the Brazilian soups.

Some of the beers I have sampled at Sergio's are Bell's Hopslam, Double Chocolate stout, Old Rasputin Russian Imperial stout, Dogfish Head 90 and 120 Minute IPA, Schlafly, Chimay (all of 'em), Gulden Draak, Schlenkerla Urbock Rauchbier, Weinstephaner, Corsendonk Brown Abbey Ale, Samuel Smith, and many, many, many more. You can join the beer club and compete with other customers in consuming all 380+ of Serg's beers. Or if that is not your style, join the Water club. (Water=Bud, Bud Light etc.) Sergio keeps track of the water club in mL consumed...its a lot of fun.

The main attraction at Sergio's is the beer, for me. However, its a great casual dining experience for all. Remember: try the Philly Cheesesteak and I'll see you at Sergio's. (probably tonight)

-www.TheSevenFooter.blogspot.com