With the sun shining and the coast calling, Santa Cruz was the perfect spot for this month’s brewery day trip. I spent the afternoon at two local breweries, Sandy Shack Brewing and Woodhouse Blending & Brewing, and had so much fun I didn’t even mind skipping the beach.
Shanty Shack Brewing
Shanty Shack Brewing, located in Santa Cruz’s Harvey West neighborhood, was founded by homebrewers Brandon Padilla and Nathan Van Zandt. The brewers first met when Padilla was working at 7 Bridges, Santa Cruz’s local homebrew shop. When they both enrolled in the same business class at Cabrillo College, they knew what the other was planning, and teamed up to open their own brewery. Van Zandt lived in what he referred to as a “dilapidated shack” on Chanticleer Street, and called the beer the pair brewed there Chanti Shack. He began selling it at “The Beer Church,” the former church where Padilla lived at the time. From there, they formed a Community Supported Brewery and began to deliver beer to subscribers door-to-door.
After a few years of searching, they found the perfect spot for their brewery in the back of an old warehouse on Fern Street, and renamed their venture the more easily pronounceable Shanty Shack. Opened in December 2016, the brewery is believed to be the smallest brewery in Santa Cruz and has a small bar, seating area, and works by local artists featured on the walls. It’s colorful, comfortable, and casual, but the real star is the outdoor beer garden. It has picnic tables, shade cloths, and a covered stage where local musicians perform five nights a week. They planted fruit trees when they took over the space that are now starting to provide shade as well.
Food trucks park in the beer garden most days, serving up dishes like house-made empanadas. For a schedule of both music and food trucks, refer to their Instagram (for daily news) and the website (for upcoming events). In addition to music, they host Tie Dye Tuesdays and Salsa a Shanty, dance parties every Wednesday, not to mention occasional Open Mic Comedy nights.
The brewery keeps around fourteen varied beers on at any given time. Their best seller, one also one of their best beers, is Poolside Pils, a very solid German-style pilsner that’s clean and refreshing. Other stand-outs included Harvey West Coast IPA, a dank and herbal IPA, Raspberry Raven, a nutty old-school porter brewed with raspberry which adds a nice bit of fruity sweetness for a unique taste, and Kettle Makes 3, a kettle sour beer made with prickly pear, passionfruit, and guava. It’s only lightly sour and tart with strong fruit flavors. They also brew a house-made mango seltzer that’s reminiscent of a mimosa. I can easily see spending a very pleasant afternoon or evening here.
Details: Open weekdays at 3 p.m. and weekends at noon at 138 Fern St., Santa Cruz; shantyshackbrewing.com.
Woodhouse Blending & Brewing
Woodhouse Blending & Brewing cofounder Will Moxham started the brewery with Ken Keiffer and brewmaster Mike Rodriguez back in 2016 when they leased a former wood mill and began the long process of cleaning it out. They opened in Nov. 2020. (Courtesy Jay R. Brooks)
Woodhouse Blending & Brewing is a mere two-minute drive down River Street from Shanty Shack. The business takes its name from the brewery building, which used to be a mill, and was founded by Will Moxham, Ken Keiffer, and brewmaster Mike Rodriguez. Moxham is originally from Kansas City but moved to Santa Cruz thirteen years ago. He met Rodriguez in college and the pair kept in touch while he spent many years brewing for Boulevard Brewing and later The Lost Abbey in in San Diego.
The trio came together in 2016 when they leased a former wood mill and began the long process of cleaning it out and removing decades worth of debris and junk from the grounds. They installed a brewhouse there and opened their doors in November 2020. During Covid, they built a large outdoor stage and hosted numerous parties and concerts. Unfortunately, some permitting hiccups have sidelined those temporarily and they should return shortly. In the meantime, a makeshift indoor stage offers frequent music. Outside, there’s a large beer garden with picnic tables and another stage.
For food, they’ve partnered with Sampa Brazilian Kitchen, which operates a separate kitchen onsite. They offer a full menu of appetizers, sandwiches, salads and entrees, including some vegan choices.
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As for the beer, given the experience of its brewer, it’s no surprise that their offerings are all quite well-made and tasty. They keep around fifteen beers on at any given time, along with guest ciders and wine. When I was there, roughly half hewed toward the hoppy side with pale ales and IPAs. They have a particularly good Hazy IPA, Egyptian Cotton, with tart, jammy flavors. Also, Free Space, a solid dank and herbal IPA, and Astrophage, a hazy Double IPA with herbal and spicy hop character, were both quite tasty. They also offered Moonless Midnight Porter, a chocolatey dark ale with roasted malt notes, an ESB (short for English-Style Pale Ale), which for Woodhouse was an Emotional Support Beer, and Ube Sour, a barrel-aged sour, and only the second beer I’ve encountered brewed with ube, a purple yam native to Southeast Asia.
Details: Open Tuesday-Friday 1 p.m. and weekends at noon at 119 Madrone St.; woodhousebrews.com.
Know a local brewery or brewpub that’s knocking it out of the park but isn’t getting the recognition they deserve? Drop me a line at BrooksOnBeer@gmail.com and tell me why you love them.
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