Blue Note Brewing Company

Woodland is off the corridor. It's on I-5, about 12 miles north of I-80 at Davis, so Blue Note is a deliberate stop rather than a pull-off. It has its own wood-fired pizza oven, so it works as a dinner stop as well as a beer stop.

The taproom is downtown on Dead Cat Alley. Brewbound's listing says it occupies the former press room of the Daily Democrat newspaper building.

Blue Note opened in 2015. As of March 2026 it's owned and run by the Stocking family, who brew as Hooby's Brewing in Winters. The brewery says so on its homepage, and the name hasn't changed. If you've been to Hooby's downtown taproom or its seasonal farm beer garden outside Davis, Blue Note is now a sister brewery.

There are 15 beers on tap, plus cider and wine for whoever isn't drinking beer. Most of the beers on Blue Note's list are labeled gluten reduced. The brewery says it uses whole grain, no extracts, and real fruit purée in the flavored beers.

The list leans hoppy, with several West Coast IPAs (Nine Lives, Misty Mountain Hop, Guardians and The Riff), a couple of hazies, and Blood on the Tracks, a double IPA. It also has easier beers for a mixed group: City of Bees, a honey blonde; Heidi, a kölsch; Woodlite, a rice lager; Los Cabos, a Mexican lager; and Lucille, an oatmeal stout.

The kitchen keeps shorter hours than the bar (see the hours box), so if you're coming for pizza, check the kitchen times. Cans and four-packs are for sale in the taproom. Blue Note will fill any clean growler you bring, but it doesn't sell 64-ounce growlers.