Sunday 28th of November 2010 12:52:50 PM

link
I used to work in Santa Clarita and visited Wolf Creek quite often. Theirs was the first hefeweizen I experienced outside of Germany that was good as those in Germany (I wasn't drinking homebrew back in those days). Their hefeweizen is still very good. Most of the rest of their beers are good craft brews, but typical of most breweries not great. I would say their beers would score in the high thirties, but not forties.

The thing Wolf Creek has going for it is that they take care with both the food and the beer and the service. Husband and wife team, wife takes care of the kitchen, husband handles the brewery. Food is always good, prompt, and most of the staff has been there for years. Prices start at around $7 for a burger to the high $20 range for steak. Their food is several steps above regular pub food. Lunch is the best bet if you are on a budget like me. I recommend the lunch pizza and salad combo. All of the pizzas are excellent and their walnut-gorgonzola-baby-greens salad is wonderful. Fish and pasta dishes are excellent also. Their kalamata olive spread accompanying the complimentary baguette for each table is very tasty. The outside patio dining area is quite pleasant when the weather is good, that is most of the time.

I have heard a couple of comments that people had negative experiences with the brewer, Rob. I have had few interactions, but they were always very positive (he knows I am a home brewer). He said that he and his wife planned the concept for a year or two before implementation. He gave up engineering and went to study at the Siebel Institute, and then went to work at a large commercial brewery (I can't remember - Saint Louis maybe?) for a year before getting the loans to set up his own brewery. To me their brewpub is a study in how to set up and run this type of business. Their brewpub is always busy, even in this current economic recession. I think that says a lot. Of course having a second brewpub now in Calabasass where one won't be able to be in two locations at the same time will be a real test.

Tuesday 4th of May 2010 09:53:17 AM

link
This brewery is located in a strip type shopping mall. Tile and Southwest kind of decor with natural wood trim and decor.
Outside front patio seating area. Tanks are visible behind the bar.

Food menu is extensive with pizza, salads, sandwiches, pasta, chicken, steaks and ribs. Howlin Hefe has clove and is cloudy. Slight lemoney taste upfront folowed by clove and bananas with medium body and slight
creamy finish, a good example of the style. Golden Eagle had light sweet malt aroma, pretty clear medium gold color with light malt sweetness and very low hops. Medium light body and slight bitterness in the finish, another good beer. Valencia Honey Wheat is also light malt with slight orange peel and orange blossom honey, Light copper and clear. Medium
body, malt and moderate hop bitterness from cascade hops that come thru in the finish. Blackened chicken sandwich was good. Cajun garlic fries were very tasty. Timberwolf Red has a deep copper color and crystal
malt aroma, very clear with crystal malt and slight bourbon flavor. This beer was in a bourbon oak barrel. The bourbon is subtle and not overpowering. Nice use of Cascade and Centennial hops. Well balanced, this is a great beer with some moderate mouthfeel and moderate hop bitterness in the finish. Hot Rod IPA has good hop aroma, medium hop
bitterness from chinook and cascades and dry hopped with whole cascade hops. Another good beer, could maybe use a little more hops. This is a good brewery with good food and seemed to be very busy and a local favorite. Go out of your way for this one!

Thursday 26th of February 2009 07:42:22 PM

link
Wolf Creek is located in the back corner of small shopping complex. The entrance is just past an attractive patio seating area. Once inside, there is a fair size bar in front of windows looking onto the brewing tanks with the main dining area on the opposite side of the room. There are about a dozen taps that included 5 house brews when I visited. I enjoyed a house sampler with Big Bear Brown, Wild Angel Dubbel and Bad Wolf IPA. In addition, there was a very nice selection of regional crafts on the remaining taps. To supplement the nice array of starters, standwiches, pizza and pasta, the menu includes a variety of unusual main dishes ranging from an Ale Marinated Tri-tip to Chicken Crustada. There is lots of parking in lot out front.