The Boulder Creek Brewery & The Demise of an excellent Burger

The Boulder Creek Brewery – 2010
After college I moved to the somewhat sleepy beach town of Santa Cruz where I planned to make a living as a part time writer and as a full time surf bum. Ambitious, I know… So, I did just that. Found a magazine in L.A. that wound up publishing a series of articles under a pseudonym. Eventually I found that I was really not making enough money and I sold out and took a job selling software for a start-up company in Sunnyvale. So, I began commuting and eventually thinking that a spot halfway through the redwoods would be ideal to live. Boulder Creek. Nothing going on in this tiny mountain town. Perfection. Just redwoods and mountains and a tiny little microbrewery that, at the time, had some of the best beer in California. That alone would prove reason enough for me to move there.
In the early 90s The Boulder Creek Brewery was a destination brewery. This was really the start of microbreweries in California and the brewer at the time really got the concept. There were a number of classic “go to” beers on tap at all times. The Redwood Ale was an award winner and was consistently excellent. The Oatmeal Stout was strong and had a bite and the appearance of black coal. I loved that stout. They would also have amazing seasonal beers. High alcohol Belgian triples in the winter and one, particularly memorable, Belgian Wit, a Wheat beer flavored with coriander and orange peel… The food was also good. Really good. Californian Bar Comfort food. The Boulder Burger was big and had cheese, bacon and mushrooms… Ahhh… the glory days.
Since then the brewer and all the staff have moved on. The burgers have ranged from average to poor. Now, the beer is solid, but none of the amazing seasonal beers seem to be happening anymore. The Oatmeal Stout has lost it’s luster and the Redwood ale, well just not like the glory days. Hell, even the Lompico Gold IPA never came back after a change in brewers some time back. The new IPA is a solid beer… It’s just that the beer was a solid A plus at the Boulder Creek Brewery back in the 90s and now it’s a B. The food? It went from an A to a C minus.
Will I still go there? Hell yes. Is the beer good? Well, the IPA is good. The other beers are not strong enough for me. Yes, they make their own beer on site. It is still a microbrewery, but the glory days seem long, long ago. I want that crazy craft beer back! I want the best of the best! Why not? We are in California and a quick trip to a decent pub offers excellent beers from all over the state and all over the country. This was once a destination bar where people would go well out of their way to taste the best of the redwoods. Now? Sure, you get tourists rolling through town and a smattering of local drinkers. But destination brewery? Not by a long shot.
Oh, and the burger? Well, it’s not like it used to be. It’s smaller. It’s not as good. Ah, so sad….