One of my wife’s and my favorite places in Redding if we are looking for both good food and beer is Woody’s Brewing Company on Oregon Street. It’s a fun, lively place offering great meals, a good selection of regular taps along with seasonal/specialty beers that are always fun to try.
Woody’s is a long-time dream of the Wlodarczyk family. Wlodarczyk Brothers Patrick and Scott, along with Scott’s son Andrew Wlodarczyk, have been dreaming about opening a brewery for decades. Woody’s is a brewery that has a passion to deliver great beer in a fun atmosphere.
Patrick, Woody’s head brewer, has had a vision for years of brewing award-winning beers for the masses. He started off with a nano brewery located in Reno.
Scott has been in the beer and wine distribution business his entire professional career.
Andrew, the operations manager, and has wanted to be a small-business manager for years. Andrew holds a bachelor’s degree from CSU, Chico, in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management.
My wife and I were lucky enough to be invited to Woody’s pre-opening party. We both enjoy both their beer and food. Our favorite meal is Woody’s pork wings smothered with candied bacon, but Woody’s also offers daily specials. (If you have not tried the pork wings you are missing out on a treat.)
The following are just a few of the beers Woody’s offers. They also have seasonal beers and what they call a buzz tap. Stop, have a beer and enjoy.
On to the piwo (beer in Polish).
Na zdrowie ( bless you, cheers – in Polish).
Swheat Dream American Wheat
A light bready character with an slight sweet malt in the aroma. There is also a touch of noble hops. Appearance is fairly bright and clear light gold.
Has a foamy white head. Moderate wheat flavor with low hop bitterness, low esters. Crisp, dry,
Has a refreshing finish and medium carbonation. A good example of an American wheat beer, will not over power your taste buds, and a nice complement to most light meals.
4.5% ABV 25 IBU’s
Teacher’s Aide Amber Ale
The aroma of Cascade and Centennial hops is moderate and refreshing balanced with a touch of malt. A light amber in color, a moderate head and a slight haze. Medium bodied, moderate strong caramel malt sweetness balanced by moderate hop bitterness and flavor. A smooth finish with the balance more toward the malts rather then the hops. A nice quaffable amber.
Nutty Woody English Brown
A light sweet malty aroma with hints of caramel and toffee and just a touch of chocolate. I detected little or no hops. Nutty Woody is dark brown in color with some ruby highlights. Medium bodied, with a moderately smooth sweet malty aftertaste. Medium caramel/toffee like malt sweetness can be noticed on the plate. Nutty Woody is a good classic example of an English Brown. This is one of my wife’s favorite beers at Woody’s.
5.2% ABV 26 IBU’s
Berserker Double IPA
Light to moderate but not over powering American hop aroma for citrus, pine notes and tropical fruit. This DBL IPA is somewhat hazy which does not take anything away from the flavor, and is not unusual for this style. Medium bodied with a pleasant hop flavor along with a assertive but not overpowering hop bitterness. Fairly smooth with a touch of alcohol warmth, finishes slightly dry. Berserker is an aggressively hoppy IPA but the bitterness is not overly astringent or assertive. It’s well-balanced with a touch of malt sweetness. Very quaffable, a fine example of a Imperial IPA. I’ll have another, please.
8.5% ABV 78 IBU’s
Apricot Wheat
Fruit wheat beers can be pretty difficult to pull off. It is often hard to get just the right touch of fruit that is neither overpowering and that also lasts. Woody’s Apricot Wheat pulls it off. This apricot beer is a hazy brew with a noticeable fruit aroma, a light noble hop notes and a touch of malt. Very refreshing, this is a great beer for a warm/hot summer Redding day. Try it if you like wheat beers infused with fruit. I don’t think you will be disappointed.
4.5% ABV 25 IBU’s
Pray for Powder Porter
PPP is not a regular offering at Woody’s, but they do — or a least did — offer it more then once. My wife really enjoys porters, so when they offer it we usually try one. It’s dark brown in color with some ruby highlights. Wonderful roasted malt aroma, I did not notice any hop notes. A moderately strong malt flavor with a touch of chocolate and a toasted bitterness from the roasted malts. Medium bodied, we both wish they offered Pray for Powder Porter on a regular basis.
5.1% ABV 27 IBU’s
Since moving to Montana in July we have found some very nice local breweries in our area, but we do miss Woody’s. Stop by and say hello for us.
Woody’s Brewing Co.
1257 Oregon St.
Redding, CA 96001
530-768-1034
