Broadway Street Public House
740 Willamette St., Eugene, OR 97401
Founded 2015 (as Mancave Brewing)

This little-brewery-that-could began in a warehouse slot tucked away in the west side of the Whiteaker neighborhood. Brandon Woodruff took ample time getting the Mancave Brewing up and running with a friend/investor. When brewing got going, Woodruff, having talked up his beer around town for years, gave us Exalted IPA, a densely sweet, bitter, resinous first taste. Honestly, it was appalling.

Despite the continued insistence that his beer was really good, it wasn’t. There was a lot of learning to do that should have been done before opening a brewery. And his friend/investor split.

Well, that all nearly came to an end when the landlord kicked Mancave out in favor of marijuana business. Brandon had to quickly package beer and move everything out in a short period of time. Some tanks went to storage. After a bit, he arranged an alternating proprietorship at Elk Horn Brewery, and changed the company name to Manifest Beer Company. Once again, Woodruff got his beer on tap around town. Notable brews included a fresh hopped pumpkin sour beer. As Manifest, Woodruff continued to “manifest” a certain greatness with his beer names: Highly Recommended IPA and Best Lager are a less-than-humble approach to the market. To his credit, Manifest’s beer was twice voted in the top rankings of Tap & Growler’s blind taste offs.

When the alternating proprietorship at Elk Horn ended, the brewery was again in the wind. But Doc’s Pad owner Gary Miller offered Woodruff the small space adjacent to the downtown sports bar and became a business partner, selling kegs, packaging, and eventually helping to get Manifest’s Broadway Street Public House off the ground.

The pub opened December 2019 with a full bar and a menu of “biscuits and slather.” The open, welcoming space on the corner of Broadway and Willamette offers comfortable seating and open space, several arcade games, and a wraparound view of Eugene’s central downtown intersection.

Manifest’s beer has improved since the early days.