Woodzy

We caught up with Wood Wide High Craft’s founders, Mikey Strupp and Ryan Birchard, during the recent Hall of Flowers in Santa Rosa to talk about their latest hit from the garden, Woodzy. 

Weed nerds will recognize the name Woodzy from Proper Doinks’ recent contest, where this strain was narrowly beaten out for a large cash prize. Only three points separated this strain from the winner, and let’s not forget Wood Wide was the Best Indoor – Gas/OG/Chem winner and Best Indoor – Jack/Haze runner-up at our own California Leaf Bowl just a few months back. With the very first release of Woodzy about to drop in stores across the state, we asked Strupp and Birchard about the history behind this Z heavy hitter.

Like Spider-Man or Captain America, Woodzy has an origin story that leads back to a spindly unknown with hidden powers just waiting to be unlocked. Strupp and Birchard told California Leaf how their friend, Woody, went out to visit a buddy in Covelo and was given this “special plant” that his buddy said he’d hunted out. This sickly-looking little plant had been growing under a light on the friend’s deck until it rode back with Woody all the way to Wood Wide’s garden. 

Strupp pulled out a big branch of some recently harvested buds from a jar and showed us how the smell is Z, but the structure is much more compact and appealing to a consumer crowd. “Woody knew I like to grow Z, so he brought it over and told us that it was supposed to be something pretty special,” Strupp said.  

Birchard and Strupp said Woodzy grows and behaves a lot like Z, but with more of a kick. “It’s very Zkittlez-esque,” Strupp told California Leaf while holding up a recently harvested branch. “Not only does it grow like Zkittlez, but it clones just like it as well.” 

While not easy to maintain, when they first had a harvest, Strupp said they were blown away by the flower. “We grew it, tasted it and thought, ‘My God, this might be our new favorite kind of Zkittlez,’” Strupp said. 

That sentiment, Birchard told California Leaf, is one that is shared not just by them, but also by the people on the land as well. “Logan and Tim on the farm hated on Z for forever, and now that we have this going, it’s all they want to smoke,” Birchard said. 

A lot of Z adjacents have those same-looking buds with maybe a heavier density, but the Cookie gave this a more textured surface and a structure that breaks off from the stem in bong-rip-sized pieces. Grinding reveals all those beautifully bright and citrusy Z terps, but they almost seem focused through a lens. Instead of that immediate stinging sinus astringency once the aroma hits your nose, it’s slightly muted to allow for full appreciation of the notes, like when the horn player covers the end of their trumpet with a plunger. All through breaking down the bud and grinding it up, I kept looking for that other element at play in the genetic recipe, but it wasn’t until I reached the dry inhale that it came popping out.

On the first inhale, your mouth gets coated in an oily and doughy layer that paves the way for a sweet, candy-like Z, which plays at the edge of the exhale while staying thick at the core of its flavor. What was noticeable was the way you kept getting the same taste throughout the entire joint. Strupp summed it up perfectly when he told us that “it’s very Zkittlez adjacent but packs more of a punch, and it burns supreme all the way down to the roach” — which is something this reporter can attest to personally.

The Wood Wide team notes this upcoming release will be Woodzy’s inaugural launch into the dispensary scene, and while they say the batches keep getting better and better, they are curious to see if shoppers will love it as much as the critics.

woodwidehighcraft.com | @woodwidehighcraft