It took me about a year of living here before I discovered the “beer cave” at Sam’s Market, the local convenience store owned by members of the same family who owns the Indian restaurant next door (where you can get curry pizza). The “beer cave” is a dimly lit, long and narrow refrigerated room running behind the convenience store’s typical cold drink aisle. In the main part of the store you’ll find regular beers PBR, Bud Light, Tecate, Pacifico, and the like. But step into the refrigerated beer cave and you’ll find dozens of craft beers you’ve never heard of.

It didn’t take long to realize that whoever stocks the shelves is a fan of peanut-butter beer, as well as many other unusual varieties. Turns out the master of the cave is Harry, the guy who’d talked my ear off a multitude of times during checkout, even with a slightly annoyed line of people piling up behind me. I asked Harry if he could recommend a good sour beer, and despite having customers in line at the front of the store, he launched into a 5+ minute tour of recommendations ranging in price from \$6 to \$35. I was loving it, so I asked for stouts, which prompted another long list of recommendations.

This kind of variety is normal for a fancy L.A. grocery store, but my mind is still blown that the local convenience store where I’d bought bread and Takis so many times has this juicy secret (friends who’ve lived here for 5-20 years haven’t even heard of it). Harry is a true beer enthusiast and a convincing salesperson, so my friend and I ended up walking out with \$40+ worth of beer, including “autumnal mole stout,” double IPA brewed with juniper berries and sage, Ballast Point’s “Indra Kunindra,” and a ginger sour.

61380 Twentynine Palms Highway, Joshua Tree, CA 92252