Hi-Time Wine Cellars

Hi-Time Wine CellarsHi-Time Wine Cellars
Hi-Time Wine CellarsHi-Time Wine Cellars
Store

250 Ogle St
Costa Mesa, California, 92627-3808
United States

(800) 331-3005 | map
hitimewine.com
PLACE STATS
Average:
4.51
Reviews:
99
Ratings:
125
pDev:
10.86%
View: Place Reviews
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Photo of Beersnake
Reviewed by Beersnake from California

4.11/5  rDev -8.9%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4 | selection: 4
Surprised that I hadn't been here before. It's a massive store, with a small amount of it dedicated to beer. It's in the back freezer, past the scotch. The selection is fairly small, but great. Nice selection of imports and local craft. There are definitely better stores in the area for beer, but this is a nice stop. I didn't run into any people working, so I can't really comment on the service.
Oct 05, 2020
Photo of Mac_Dre
Reviewed by Mac_Dre

4.43/5  rDev -1.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5
Awesome place to pick up some craft beers. They have a walk in beer fridge and they let you mix and match beers even if they are part of a pack. The organization isn't the greatest and customers mixing and matching beers doesn't help. I believe they offer a 1% cash back reward on all purchases if you give them a phone number. Pretty negligible but better than nothing and adds up when you are buying expensive beers!
Feb 18, 2020
 
Rated: 3.8 by UCLABrewN84 from California

Jul 25, 2019
 
Rated: 5 by datpingao from California

Jul 28, 2016
Photo of Phil-Fresh
Reviewed by Phil-Fresh from California

4.17/5  rDev -7.5%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.25
Hi-Times serves up all kinds of unusual spirits, solid wine selection (with a wine serving area), and beer. On the plus side, Hi-TImes has a large refrigerated area for beers. However, the area is not well-organized and on the cold side (aka more like a cold ass fridge and not a cellar)... At times there are some interesting selections from all sorts of breweries (mainly CA based), but you really have to look. Moreover, there is an area off-limits to the public where other more rarer beer is stored and only a small number are allowed to purchase. Not providing an update of inventory is one thing, storing exclusives just for "friends" is a bit off-putting.
Apr 24, 2016
Photo of mactrail
Reviewed by mactrail from Washington

2.63/5  rDev -41.7%
vibe: 1.5 | quality: 2 | service: 2.25 | selection: 4.25
On the plus side, there are a lot of beers. Most of them are cold. Most have prices on the shelf, though not necessarily cued to the bottled there are currently occupying the space.

On the minus side, the beer area is so messy, cramped, poorly and inconsistently lit it's just an unpleasant experience to paw through to find things. Then there are the random bombers on their sides in flat boxes under the bottom shelves in the cooler, and some that looked like they just rolled there some months ago.

On a Friday at 3 p.m. the shelves were randomly stocked, misplaced beers all over, some an arm's reach way in the back of the lower shelves. Like they weren't really expecting any business. But I find a dozen and bring my cart up to what looks like a clerk's station. "Where would you like this," I ask, indicating the cart. So I roll the cart to the end of the counter where he can get them and he looks at me, like it's so tedious that he's going to have to pick them out of the cart. This looks like the place for kegs, or better yet, unusual rums.
Jan 09, 2016
 
Rated: 4.73 by Fern54 from California

Jan 06, 2015
 
Rated: 4 by JDean439 from California

Dec 06, 2014
 
Rated: 3.25 by The_Jerk from California

Nov 19, 2014
 
Rated: 3.96 by HippieDave56 from Arizona

Nov 14, 2014
Photo of shoegueuze
Rated by shoegueuze from California

4.75/5  rDev +5.3%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.75
Great place to get pretty much anything with alcohol in it. Killer beer selection, hard to find allocated beer. Nice group of guys.
Nov 06, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by fthegiants from California

Oct 31, 2014
Photo of trippytbta
Rated by trippytbta from California

4.75/5  rDev +5.3%
Great selection of wine, spirit, anddddddd beer. Although their beer selection gets picked through real quick
Oct 22, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by HaoleToYouToo from Hawaii

Oct 10, 2014
Photo of Shandycan
Reviewed by Shandycan from Pennsylvania

4.75/5  rDev +5.3%
Popped in here while on vacation at the recommendation of some family members and was not let down! Wish I would have checked the reviews prior to visiting though, so I would have known that I could have broken up 4/6 packs... next time. Great selection in the cooler for someone coming from the East Coast, didn't even bother asking to check "the back". Got into a great conversation with Trayce, who was friendly and very knowledgeable. Will visit again when I'm back in town for sure.
Oct 08, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by SimcoeKid from California

Sep 13, 2014
 
Rated: 3.75 by TNeedles from California

Aug 21, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Fred28

Aug 11, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by TaylorIPA19 from California

Aug 04, 2014
Photo of aoampm
Reviewed by aoampm from Hawaii

4.36/5  rDev -3.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4
This spot is perfect to grab some good brew or some quality food/liquor or even cigars. Their beer selection is high quality and they have an entire walking in chilled room with a great selection of beer. All the times that I've been in the employees are extremely helpful, and one employee really helped me out with my home kegerator issues and answered all my dumb questions with eagerness and genuine concern for me getting the keg flowing correctly.

Definitely recommend if you are in the newport area/costa mesa area and need a quality spot to stock up on beer.
Jul 31, 2014
Photo of TrojanHopHead
Reviewed by TrojanHopHead from California

4.82/5  rDev +6.9%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 5 | selection: 4.75
Great place that I would highly recommend to anyone in the surrounding area - very accessible from the 55 fwy.

Service was good, but not overly pushy/hovering. They have a great selection of glassware.

Most importantly, the beer! Big wall of coolers and a crazily-stocked walk-in that is loaded with domestic and imports. Also, being able to break into 4s or 6ers to purchase a single is a fun twist and lets you try new stuff that would only be offered in 6 packs elsewhere.

Great store...I'll be back!
Jul 17, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by inscoism from California

Jul 10, 2014
 
Rated: 1.5 by PeterR from California

Jul 04, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by Rollzroyce21 from California

Jun 11, 2014
 
Rated: 4.5 by boxer0029 from Texas

May 28, 2014
 
Rated: 4.75 by RBassSFHOPit2ME from California

May 14, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by greenspointexas from Texas

Apr 30, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Bonsall_Phil from California

Apr 19, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by Bazyx from California

Apr 15, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by DotBier from California

Apr 05, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by jeff1973 from California

Apr 04, 2014
 
Rated: 5 by NolenCostaMesa from California

Feb 26, 2014
 
Rated: 4.25 by BillRoth from Maryland

Oct 16, 2013
Photo of claspada
Reviewed by claspada from New Jersey

4.34/5  rDev -3.8%
vibe: 4.25 | quality: 4.75 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.75
Wowzers, what a selection. Huge wine, liquor, gourmet foods and of course beer store. Many different rooms, each holding their specialty.

There was a separate beer cooler which held most of their beers which is great for keeping those hops fresh and I appreciate that and give extra points.

Service was a bit spotty, many people working, none seemingly wanting to help, took me 5 minutes to ask someone where a bathroom was, anyway...

Plently of beer, probably the biggest selection in the greater San Diego area and a must stop if you are looking to grab some local beer and many none local beers that are distributed to the area. The second best place I stopped at in San Diego area, only second to Holiday Wine Cellar because their associates were much more helpful and courteous. Prices seemed in line as well.
Jun 18, 2013
Photo of mrcraft
Reviewed by mrcraft from California

4.5/5  rDev -0.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
I visited Hi-Time this weekend as I was visiting a friend in Huntington Beach. I'm glad I did. I'm not into wine, cigars, etc., but it seemed they had a very nice selection of those items.

Now to beers. Most beers are stored in coolers or in the walk-in portion of it. Very strong selection of beers from the US and abroad.

What I value a lot about Hi-Time is that they allow you to break 4/6 packs. This is a godsend, if you're not familiar with a beer and just want to try it out without committing to a bomber or 4/6 pack.

Nice place. Too bad it's not local to me. I will surely return when I'm in the area again which I believe will be Super Bowl Sunday. I'll stock up here before I go the party.
Jan 14, 2013
Photo of ohtheguilt
Reviewed by ohtheguilt from Georgia

4.44/5  rDev -1.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
As part of my tour of Orange County during this week's work travel, I dropped into Hi-Time, based on the Ba reviews. Again, I was not let down.

The big cooler has an incredible assortment of California beers, national crafts and a ton of imports.I was also very pleased with the service...whoever helped me (I didn't get his name) went above and beyond discussing distribution differences in CA versus GA, and also checked "the back" for any hidden goodies (Blind Pig, Pliny, etc.) that may have been stashed away.

Overall, great selection, service and quality...if I was local to Costa Mesa, this would be my main stop for good beer.
Mar 15, 2012
Photo of jraras
Reviewed by jraras from Massachusetts

4.86/5  rDev +7.8%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5
I was in CA for business last week (between LA and OC) and found this place via a BA search. The "world class" rating it currently has is certainly deserved. I will only focus on beer, but the range of spirits and wine look to be much more impressive than even the beer section.

After gawking a bit in the spirits section I made my way over to the beer section (annex). Upon entering I clearly saw the walk in cooler, but opted to chat up the guy at the register who was doing some tasks. I told him I was in from MA and would love to have him tour me around the cooler while recommending what I should get / can't get elsewhere. He was awesome and recommended some great stuff. After picking a few things from the main cooler he escorted me to the smaller/reserve cooler. Here I had my choice of 4 50/50 Eclipses, Pure Hoppiness and various other gems. For RR they only had Damnation and Redemption, but I can't fault them too much for that.

In the reserve cooler we bumped into another gentleman who worked there and he joined the conversation--talking about his favs from the Eclipses, Rayon Vert and the Bear Republic Berliner Weiss. He continued with me to check out, get ice and acquire a cooler as well as some shippers to help me prepare my beers for travel back to MA via Delta (checked baggage).

I wish I could remember the names of these guys as they were super helpful. No worry, I'll ask next time I'm there--which will be the next time I'm in SoCal. I hope soon!
Jan 11, 2012
Photo of jefftheduke
Reviewed by jefftheduke from California

4.56/5  rDev +1.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
I have been to this store many times it is close to home and has a good selection. The store is clean and the the walk in beer fridge is a cool feature, but bring a jacket if you want to look at beer for more than a minute or two. The selection is pretty good but you have to ask for anything that you really want it is all kept in the back and if you don't know someone there or ask for it you want get it. I know Alex and he knows his beer and makes great recommendations. If you are close it is defininatly worth stopping in just make sure to ask if you don't see something you want.
Nov 19, 2011
Photo of Vanlingleipa
Reviewed by Vanlingleipa from California

4.38/5  rDev -2.9%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5
What the previous reviewers have said is certainly true, this is indeed a candy shop for liquor lovers. And if all of this giant space was dedicated to beer, it'd be the Disneyland of craft brews as well.

Alas, we have to make do with a large cooler where the beer is properly stored (except it is a little bright in there). Prices are reasonable. The staff are generally pretty cool - another nice thing about this place is you can call in for a high-demand beer and they'll hold it for you for up to a day.

For those of us who like to slum in the fine spirits section get the full benefit of Hi-Times large space and huge inventory. I'm always amazed at the variety of rare and imported tequilas, rums and whiskies. Just wish it was a little closer to my home.
Aug 11, 2011
Photo of OCBeerBaron
Reviewed by OCBeerBaron from California

4.83/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.5
The term 'kid in a candy store' comes to mind when I think of Hi-Time because that's how I feel while I'm there. I usually stop by on Fridays after work to stock up on beer and wine. Their selection is ridiculous for beer, wine, cheese, cigars... I also get most of my kegs from them, they'll order it if they don't have it. I haven't done ant tastings here but they have a cool tasting room on the lower floor. Even if you go here for beer only you should walk through the wine cellar because it's amazing. Almost like a public library filled with wine. The walk in beer fridge is awesome. If you are in the Newport / Costa Mesa area go on in and get lost for a bit.
Aug 11, 2011
Hi-Time Wine Cellars in Costa Mesa, CA
Place rating: 4.51 out of 5 with 125 ratings