Craft beer has fractured into so many categories that walking into the wrong store means staring at a wall of the same ten regional IPAs and nothing else. The Hills Bottle Shop on Thousand Oaks Blvd in Agoura Hills takes a different approach, stocking across the niches rather than doubling down on the obvious choices.
Quick facts about The Hills Bottle Shop
- Service area: Agoura Hills, CA; Calabasas, CA; Westlake Village, CA; Oak Park, CA
- Hours: Mon-Fri 8am-10pm, Sat 8:30am-10pm, Sun 8:30am-9pm
- Address: 30651 Thousand Oaks Blvd, Agoura Hills, CA 91301
- Phone: (747) 222-7237
The Hills Bottle Shop serves Agoura Hills, CA, Calabasas, CA and Westlake Village, CA.
That means you can come in looking for a hazy double IPA and leave having also noticed a farmhouse saison you have never seen before, or a small-batch sour from a brewery that does not distribute widely. The shop carries rare and hard-to-find bottles alongside everyday options, so there is no pressure to be adventurous if you just need a reliable six-pack, but the selection rewards you if you are curious.
What you are likely to find here that you will not find at a standard grocery or big-box liquor store:
Limited releases that move fast and do not get restocked once they are gone. If you see something unusual, it is worth picking it up.
Styles that most shops understock, including wild ales, barrel-aged stouts, Belgian-style abbey ales, and session beers that are actually interesting rather than just watered down.
Single bottles on some selections, which matters when you want to try something before committing to a four-pack or a bomber.
Craft beer from smaller producers who do not have the distribution muscle to get onto every shelf in Los Angeles County.
The shop serves Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Westlake Village, and Oak Park, and if you have been driving further out to find a real craft selection, this is worth knowing about. Thousand Oaks Blvd puts it in a practical spot for anyone coming from those areas.
A few things worth knowing before you visit. The inventory shifts. A bottle shop that chases rare and rotating stock is not going to have the same back wall every week, and that is the point. If you are looking for something specific, calling ahead or stopping in to ask is a reasonable move. The staff can tell you what is currently in and what is coming.
The shop also has a new menu, which means there may be options beyond take-home bottles depending on what you are looking for. Worth asking about when you are in.
Craft beer buyers tend to fall into a few groups. Some people know exactly what they want and just need a shop that actually carries it. Some people want to be pointed toward something they have not tried. Some people are buying for an occasion and need a range of styles so there is something for everyone at the table. The Hills Bottle Shop is set up to handle all three situations because the selection is broad enough to cover ground rather than just going deep on one style or one region.
If you are in Agoura Hills or coming through from Calabasas, Westlake Village, or Oak Park and you have been settling for whatever the nearest grocery store has on the shelf, the shop at 30651 Thousand Oaks Blvd is worth a stop. The difference between a general liquor store and a shop that actually pays attention to craft beer is visible the moment you look at what is on the shelf.
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