Beer lovers have a new place in West Philly to call home. Local 44’s bottle shop opened this afternoon to a throng of beer drinkers and bystanders who crowded the shop adjacent to the bar at 44th and Spruce to get a look at the estimated 500 different beers on sale.

The shop includes a small bar that will always have two casks on offer. But the biggest draw will be the mighty beer selection in a wall of coolers and a special upstairs nook that houses mostly large bottles ranging in price from under $10 to more than $70. Most of the bottles in the cooler are loose and priced individually, so mixing and matching six packs is encouraged. They have plenty of six-pack carriers on hand.

By the way, there is a hallway that leads from the Local 44 bar next door to the bottle shop, but the use of it by anyone except staff is frowned upon. Consider yourself warned.

The hours for the shop are:

Monday-Thursday, Noon-10 p.m.
Friday and Saturday, Noon-Midnight
Sunday, Noon-10 p.m.

Check out the short slideshow for other views inside the shop: