Pajaro Valley Magazine | October 9, 2020

THE LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE OF THE PAJARO VALLEY

OCTOBER 9, 2020

Beer United A supplement to The Pajaronian

The Slough Brewing Collective, other local breweries open for to-go orders P4

HOME OF THE WEEK P7 | PHOTO GALLERY P8 | MIXING BOWL P10

OCTOBER 9 -15, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

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rf

Raeid Farhat Real Estate Inc

Celebrating 20 years!

raeidfarhat.com

Are you Overwhelmed right now?

We are here for all your Real Estate needs

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21 Brennan St, Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076 Phone: 831.761.7301

CEO & Executive Editor

Dan Pulcrano Publisher

Jeanie Johnson

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Editor

Erik Chalhoub

We hope you are all doing well during the most confusing and scary times of our lives. Please be safe and sane and when you feel it’s overwhelming, practice patience and kindness and find some peace in it all. Change is difficult.

- The house rental playing field has changed with new laws regarding tenants’ rights that are not landlord-friendly and, to date, state and federal officials have offered little relief for rental property owners.

- The current fire is impacting our challenging housing market. Supply will be at a critical level with great demand.

- The current COVID-19 crisis is changing our industry constantly, as we learn more about it.

So, if you’re overwhelmed it’s natural in this environment. Some of you might be wondering about the current housing sales market. We can tell you this: For those of our clients who have decided to sell for one reason or another, the market remains strong. After listing the homes for our clients we have had healthy responses from buyers that have resulted in multiple offers and quick sales, much to the delight of the property owners.

If you have any questions regarding current rent regulations or to consider selling your property, we would be happy to assist you.

Contributing Writers

Erik Chalhoub Johanna Miller Tarmo Hannula Kate Russell Sarah Ringler

Tiffani Petrov Lupita Ortiz

Give me a call today regarding property management and current rent regulations

Ed Gagne

Kathy Oliver

REALTOR® 831.254.1432 egagne@baileyproperties.com Cal DRE #01450406

Broker Associate/REALTOR® 831.206.2249 Kathy@OliverPM.com Cal DRE #01116175 Owner of Oliver Property Management

Design Director

Kara Brown Design Layout

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Hon Truong Cover Photography:

Johanna Miller

Circle of Champions - Watsonville Office

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Cover story

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Home of the week

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Photo Gallery

Published by WatsNews, LLC, Watsonville, CA. Entire contents © 2020. All rights reserved.

Reproduction in any form prohibited without publisher’s written permission.

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10 Mixing Bowl

831.761.7301

PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 9 -15, 2020

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Give me a call today regarding buying or selling your property

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OCTOBER 9 -15, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

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BEER FOR THE PEOPLE

BY JOHANNA MILLER

The Slough Brewing Collective in Watsonville opens for to-go orders

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or the owners of The Slough Brewing Collective in Watsonville, beer is much more than just a drink, or a lucrative business—it’s a community.

The brewery, formerly Elkhorn Slough Brewing Company, even reflects this in its motto: “Beer is people.”

“Beer is a way of bringing people together,” said Ben Ward, who now owns the business along with partners Jorge Vazquez and Erix Celis. “Even the craft of making beer… There are people who grow the hops, who sell us the ingredients, who buy our brews... The industry is so collaborative.”

This is why opening during the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevents large gatherings, has been such a challenge.

“We definitely feel the lack of that sort of community,” Celis said. “Sure, we can go to the store and get whatever alcohol we want but what is missing is that social component. It’s really impacted the industry.”

Ward, Vazquez and Celis had all worked for Elkhorn Slough Brewing before its owners, Michael Enos and Julie Rienhardt, decided to step down and move on. Enos and Rienhardt approached Vazquez, who had been their first hire and was eventually promoted to Taproom Manager and Head Brewer.

“At first I wasn’t sure… I didn’t think I had the money or time to do it,” said Vazquez, who also co-owns Akiyama Hopyard. “But Ben was like, ‘Come on, we’ve got to do this! We’re never going to get another opportunity like it again.’”

Ward had worked for a number of other local breweries, including Fruition Brewing and Corralitos Brewing. Vazquez and Celis said that it was him who “rallied” them to join forces.

“We all had worked in the industry before, we were familiar with the business. It just made sense,” Ward said.

The Slough Brewing Collective officially opened on Aug. 28. The business is open for to-go orders of its 32oz crowlers, which are filled and canned at the time of purchase, as well as some pre-filled bottles.

For now, the brewery’s physical building will remain closed.

“What’s interesting is that now, caring for your community means not having your community around,” Ward said. “We’ve had people who drive up, looking for a place to drink… but we don’t feel comfortable opening just yet. We’re new business owners, we’re still figuring things out, so it seems more responsible to keep things closed.”

Added Celis: “We definitely want to stay alive and make money… but we are always going to put people first.”

Adhering with that philosophy, all three owners say they are committed to being as socially minded and as inclusive as ➝6

Johanna Miller

PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 9 -15, 2020

JOINT EFFORT

Jorge Vazquez ( from left), Ben Ward and Erix Celis have taken ownership of the Slough Brewing Collective, formerly Elkhorn Slough Brewing, in Watsonville.

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MORE ON TAP Santa Cruz Cider Company 65 Hangar Way, Watsonville Santa Cruz Cider Company offers a wide selection of hard ciders made from locally sourced apples. The cidery is open Fridays 3-7pm, Saturdays noon7pm and Sundays noon-5pm for tasting (space is first come, first served) and pickup. Food trucks are occasionally on site. Cider can also be ordered online at santacruzciderco.com.

Corralitos Brewing Company 2536 Freedom Blvd., Watsonville

Johanna Miller

ORDER UP Jorge Vazquez fills up a crowler at the Slough Brewing Collective.

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possible. Ward said that he has seen plenty of injustices in the beer industry, which is predominantly owned by white, middle-class men.

“We want to help break down those walls… so that people who haven’t necessarily felt safe in those spaces can feel comfortable,” Celis added.

“We want to make our stances clear. Maybe it’s the norm to be apolitical… but that just allows things to fall back into the status quo.”

That commitment to diversity has flowed into the brewery’s products as well. Ward said that they want to make their beer approachable, that everyone will want to drink. This means not creating brews that are too off-putting to newcomers, and utilize a variety of ingredients that reflect the community.

“There’s a lot of extreme beer out there,” Ward said. “We tend to make low ABV [alcohol by volume] beers that are thirst-quenching and easier to drink.”

One of their staples is their Con Sal Gose, a lightly crisp, slightly sour beer made with salt.

Vazquez described one such variation of the beer which pays homage to his Latinx heritage, utilizing Tajín and fruit.

“We all wanted to have a beer on tap that we all like, and you can do so much with [Gosa],” Vazquez said. “The acidity of it really extracts the flavor.”

Looking ahead, the team hopes to eventually open its brewery to the public, bringing back the welcoming, relaxed environment they say drew them to Elkhorn Slough Brewing in the past. For

Fruition Brewing 918 East Lake Ave., Watsonville

Johanna Miller

OCTOBER 9 -15, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

BEER

A craft brewery that features 12 rotating taps including seasonal brews, sours and barrel-aged ales. Now open for outdoor tasting Tuesday-Friday 4-8pm and Saturday-Sunday noon-8pm. First come, first served for seating; due to limited space, no dogs or persons under 21 years of age allowed. Food trucks are occasionally on site. Beer can also be ordered online and for pickup. For a full list of current beers and to order, visit shopcbcbeer.com.

READY TO GO The Slough Brewing Collective

is now open for to-go beer orders in crowlers.

now, however, they are focusing on kickstarting their business—and working together.

“The chemistry between us is great, it’s almost like siblings,” Celis said. “There’s a lot of bickering, but it’s all done in good faith. We have each other’s backs. We’re really on the same wavelength.”

Added Vazquez: “When you work with people you care about, doing things you care about, it’s easy. Maybe it’s become a cliche but we definitely feel that.”

The Slough Brewing Collective is located at 65 Hangar Way, Suite D. It is open for to-go orders Thursday-Friday 4-8pm and Saturday-Sunday 12 noon-8pm. For information, visit thesloughbrewing.com or follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Offering a rotating selection of beers, utilizing local and sustainable ingredients, Fruition Brewing is open for taproom pick-up and to-go orders only, including free local delivery of cans and bottles. Recent beers include “Fate Switch,” a new unfiltered extra pale ale and “Tropic Lure,” a double IPA with pink guava and passionfruit. For a full list of current beers and to order, visit fruitionbrewing.com/store.

Beer Mule Bottle Shop + Pour House 45 Aviation Way, Watsonville This craft beer bar features a curated list of rotating beers and ciders on tap as well as a bottle shop with hundreds of bottles and packages available for purchase.

Open daily 11am-10pm for dine-in service; face masks are required unless you are seated at your table. Curbside pickup and no-contact delivery also available.

Butchers & The Mule is offering lunch and dinner options on select days. For information, visit kickassbeer.com.

HOME OF THE WEEK

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Submitted photo

Tiffani Petrov

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Inside, all three bedrooms have walk-in closets. The home also has an office, two living rooms with wood-burning fireplaces, dining spaces with redwood-beamed ceilings, a two-car garage and more.

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PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE | OCTOBER 9 -15, 2020

Letting in the surroundings

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Have a recent photo you’d like to share? Send it to us for consideration by emailing it to echalhoub@weeklys.com or mailing it to 21 Brennan St., Suite 18, Watsonville, CA 95076.

Please include a brief description of the photo as well as the name of the photographer.

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OCTOBER 9 -15, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

GARDEN COLORS A ripening plant of Chile Piquin in a local garden lights up the garden with its display of colors

Anabel Rivas

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A digital solution for real estate professionals to attract prospects, sell homes and build listings

Tarmo Hannula

mallard cruises the waters of the Duck Pond in Santa Cruz at San Lorenzo Park.

Tom Brezsny’s

REAL ESTATE OF MIND

Provoking thought since 1990

Mike Fort

FIRE IN THE SKY The sun glows orange in the smoky sky

above New Brighton State Beach.

Ed Show

SENDING A MESSAGE “I forgot to wear my mask”

reads a sign attached to the skeleton’s spine as a bicyclist rolls through South Green Valley Road in Watsonville.

butterfly makes the morning rounds on a flowering Lantana in Santa Cruz.

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Realtor® DRE#01063297

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PAJARO -15,2020 PAJAROVALLEY VALLEYMAGAZINE MAGAZINE | | OCTOBER OCTOBER99-15, 2020

Tarmo Hannula

DAILY ROUTINE A Gulf Fritillary

Continuing the conversation…trying to make sense of the incredible run real estate has been on since it re-emerged from Shelter in Place and found itself in a decidedly different postCovid environment, one profoundly transformed by the pandemic experience.

This summer, prices have risen higher and faster than at any other time in my 30+ year career. Is this a bubble? Will it continue? What will happen for the rest of 2020? When in doubt, the best place to look for answers is the most basic principle underlying all markets - the relationship between supply and demand.

Supply Side: There are currently 160 active single family residences (SFR) in Santa Cruz. This is a 10% drop from last week. The active inventory has also fallen every consecutive week since June 1st. Last year at this time, we had over 400 active SFRs on the market. The normal seasonal pattern has always been: the closer to Christmas, the fewer new listings there are (people distracted by holidays, etc.)

The surge in prices has more homeowners thinking about the possibility of selling. But thinking about it and doing it are two very different things. The biggest question remains: “where will I go if I sell?” and there are still plenty of hurdles to figuring that out. Not to mention that it’s almost impossible to make a successful contingent offer in a low inventory market.

Demand Side: Currently there are multiple offers on most listings, which means there’s a big pool of buyers out there who want to write offers. Larger scale economic factors are lined up to support demand as well. NASDAQ is in record territory. Tech jobs have largely avoided the downturn of the Covid recession. Interest rates are at phenomenally low levels. What could happen to significantly decrease the number of buyers out there and alter the existing relationship between supply and demand?

More buyers will certainly suffer market fatigue after losing out in one too many multiple offer battles. Some will decide to sit out the 4th quarter and reset their searches for early next year. And, as prices go up, more buyers will be priced out of the more expensive areas. But as long as Santa Cruz prices remain well below those in neighboring Silicon Valley, more buyers will be inclined to head towards the coast (especially now that the commute has become less important).

There you have it. There’s nothing on the horizon that suggests the supply is going to increase between now and the end of the year. And there aren’t any substantial factors that indicate buyer demand is going to diminish.

Next week: What buyers and sellers should do in the coming months.

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THE MIXING BOWL

Sunflower seed cookies

from one by Kristen Essig of Edible New Orleans at edibleneworleans.ediblecommunities.com. She created a denser cookie that could be pulsed in a food processor and used as a cheesecake pie crust.

To do that, double the amount of rolled oats and butter. I bet it would be excellent, although I haven’t tried it.

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Tarmo Hannula

OCTOBER 9 -15, 2020 | PAJARO VALLEY MAGAZINE

Toasted sunflower seed cookies

SWEET AND CRISPY Toasted sunflowers give these cookies a unique taste.

By SARAH RINGLER

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unflowers grow easily here in America. They should, because this is their home; sunflowers are native to the Americas. According to Loren H. Rieseberg’s “Origin of Extant Domesticated Sunflowers in Eastern North America,” sunflowers were first cultivated about 4,600 years ago in what is now Tabasco, Mexico. Later, they were found to have been farmed 4,300 years ago in

Tennessee. Aztecs, Otomi and Incas used it as a symbol for their sun god. Today it is the symbol of The Vegan Society, the oldest vegan society in the world founded

by Dorothy Watson and her husband Donald in 1944 in the United Kingdom.

To me, these cookies engender happiness. They’re sweet, of course, with crispy, crunchy toasted sunflower seeds and little blasts of saltiness that come from the large grains of kosher salt.

Little piles of shells are evidence

of their popularity as snacks among humans as well as by birds and other animals. My crop this year got pulled to the ground by squirrels. There are around 70 species with some producing seeds that are made into sunflower oil, my favorite cooking oil. It has a pleasant flavor and can be used with low, high or no heat in a salad dressing.

The largest producer of sunflower seeds in the world in 2018 was the Ukraine followed by Russia, Argentina, Romania and China.

The recipe has been adapted

1 cup all-purpose flour 3/4 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt 7 tablespoons butter, room temperature 1 cup granulated sugar 1/4 cup brown sugar 1 large egg 1 teaspoon vanilla 3/4 cups quick rolled oats 1 cup toasted sunflower seeds Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Toast sunflower seeds until they turn brown and are crunchy. Watch carefully. Let cool.

Raise the oven to 350 degrees.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, or using an electric egg beater, cream the butter and sugars until smooth.

Add the egg and vanilla, and beat well.

Add the flour mixture. Do not overmix. Finally add the oats and sunflower seeds and mix until completely combined.

Make about 30 equal-size balls.

Place 12 on each cookie tin and flatten a bit with the bottom of a cup measurer. They will expand.

Bake cookies for about 8 minutes until just golden brown on their edges and bottoms.

Remove from pans and cool.

They keep well in a tin.

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