Quick Take
Santa Cruz's Humble Sea Brewing Co. will open its sixth taproom in the Bay Area on San Francisco's Pier 39 this summer, making it one of the most prolific breweries in the state. The brand has grown 25% year over year, according to one of the owners, defying a downward trend in the craft beer industry overall.
The rumors of craft beer’s bust don’t apply to Humble Sea Brewing Company. The Santa Cruz-based brewery announced last week that it is opening a new taproom – its sixth in the Bay Area – on San Francisco’s famed Pier 39, one of the city’s major tourist attractions. The nine-year-old brewery’s explosive growth is challenging an overall downward trend in the craft beer industry nationwide.
Humble Sea is now one of the most prolific breweries in California, joining a very small group of microbrewery chains. Fieldwork Brewing Co. has the most locations in the state, with nine taprooms concentrated in the Bay Area. Other breweries like Southern California-based Pure Project and San Francisco-based Woods Beer & Wine Co. both also have six. The vast majority of craft breweries have between one and three locations. There were around 1,100 craft breweries in California as of January, according to the California Craft Brewers Association.
Since 2015, Humble Sea has become well-known for its hazy IPAs, cartoonish cans and quirky, nautical-themed branding. It was founded and is co-owned by Nick Pavlina, Taylor West and Frank Scott Krueger, three friends who grew up in the San Lorenzo Valley in the Santa Cruz Mountains. They established their first taproom and brewery on Swift Street in Santa Cruz’s buzzy Westside neighborhood in 2017, followed by additional locations in Pacifica in 2021 and Alameda in 2023. In 2022, they opened the Humble Sea Tavern in Felton, a small but vibrant mountain community 8 miles from Santa Cruz, and after a brief closure last August, reopened in January with chef Lance Ebert of SC Bread Boy the pop-up in residence. Last year, Humble Sea also established a seasonal pop-up beer garden on the Santa Cruz Municipal Wharf, and reopened it this year to run April through October.
The newest Humble Sea taproom will be stationed in the center of Pier 39, across from the Pier Market Seafood Restaurant and overlooking a boat mooring. Its Santa Cruz Wharf location also overlooks the water, the Pacifica and Alameda locations are a stone’s throw away, and its flagship brewery on Swift Street is a few blocks from Monterey Bay.
The new taproom is currently under construction and aims to open in July. Many details have yet to be determined, including the number of taps and food service. To start, they plan to partner with nearby businesses to serve food to guests, who will order through QR codes.
The owners weren’t actively looking to open a new location in San Francisco, but when the opportunity presented itself earlier this year, they jumped at the chance, says West.
“It all happened really quickly. It wasn’t something we were initially looking to do,” he says. “We’ve always dreamed of having a location in San Francisco, but we weren’t looking to expand.” The two businesses connected when the company that owns and manages Pier 39, Moor + South/Pier Management Co., organized a staff outing at the Swift Street taproom. The visit prompted the company to reach out to Humble Sea to see if it would be interested in taking over a former wine bar on the pier.
Humble Sea initially hesitated because it already has multiple locations and “many irons in the fire,” says West, but eventually decided that the decision to establish a spot in San Francisco “felt right.” Pier 39’s offer to work with Humble Sea to design the space exactly to its specific style and branding helped seal the deal. “We’ve never been able to do that at any of our other locations,” West says.
Humble Sea San Francisco will be a “mishmash” of all of its taprooms so far, with “a little bit of the wharf, Alameda and Swift Street locations, with an outdoor patio right on Pier 39,” says West. “You can see across the bay from the patio and all the seals are just 20 to 30 feet away, right on the water. Pier 39 is so busy, with so many people, it feels like you’re in the middle of the Boardwalk.”
How has Humble Sea been able to expand while other craft breweries are consolidating or closing outright? West credits Humble Sea’s head of sales, Nick Sanchez, who has been with the company “since day one,” and helped grow the brand a staggering 25% year over year. “It’s been really impressive to watch,” says West. Meanwhile, the rest of the industry is either stagnant or moving in the opposite direction; craft beer sales declined 1% in 2023, and overall beer sales dropped 5%, according to the Brewers Association.
Customers seem to be thirsty for Humble Sea’s often “foggy,” hop-heavy beers. The brewery produces around 12,000 barrels annually – more than any other brewer in Santa Cruz County – across two facilities in Santa Cruz, one on Swift Street and one in the Old Sash Mill. It distributes beer throughout the state, with “a strong focus” on local distribution and the Bay Area, says West. Humble Sea also sends beer to some national festivals and events, and occasionally to large beer events in international locations like Spain, the United Kingdom and Mexico. In addition to Sanchez, Humble Sea has three regional sales representatives for the Santa Cruz area, the Bay Area and Sacramento.
After opening four new locations in as many years, West says Humble Sea doesn’t have any plans for future growth. “The growth we’ve done over the last few years has been more opportunistic. We knew we wanted to sell more beer so we were looking for ways to do that,” he says. “The whole idea is to make as much beer as we can, using the facilities that we have, and then find unique ways to sell that, either through a unique retail location or expanding wholesale programs or our e-commerce.”
West hesitates to pin down a reason why Humble Sea’s popularity has boomed compared to other brands, and admits the growth hasn’t always been consistent. “It’s definitely not easy, and we’ve faced our fair share of challenges over the years,” he says. “We’ve seen sales drop off. There’s definitely some cyclicality with it.”
Their employees are the “game-changer that has helped Humble Sea stand apart, says West. “The cohesiveness between the different departments and production has made the biggest impact,” he says. “Whether it’s production to wholesale to logistics or retail, every department within the company is full of go-getters. They do an excellent job, and they’re the reason why we’re able to grow sales the way we are.”
Beyond that, he’s not sure how to explain what draws people in, and keeps them coming back.
“I think we make quality beer for sure. I think the brand itself is kooky and fun and people probably resonate to that,” he says. “But beyond that, your guess is just as good as mine.”
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