Brewer's Brain Blog

Sticky Hands May Release date change

Sticky Hands Release Pushed back.

We have decided to push of the next release of Sticky Hands bottles and draft to Saturday May 11th. The current batch has not sufficiently settled and we feel is not up to our, and your expectations. There are small amounts of hop particulate suspended within the beer. While the aroma and flavor are intense, fresh, and complex, we are afraid that the hop matter could cause grassy and vegetal notes in the package.

Through this project we have experimented with several ways to produce a beer that is amazingly hop balanced, fresh, and complex. Our latest process involved an additional dry hop addition as close to packaging as possible. We do not filter our beer and allow time and temperature to clear out the hop particles. Unfortunately, we miscalculated the timing on this dry hop addition and packaging creating our current situation.

I’m sorry for any inconvenience this may cause our customers. I know that many of you travel from out of town to obtain our bottles, and many had plans to enjoy Sticky Hands this weekend. I also was looking forward to a fresh hoppy pint of this current batch.

As a small craft brewery we will continue to learn from the beer we brew as we aim for that perfect pint. Thank you all for your support!

Cheers,

Nick & Block 15 Brewing Crew

Barrel Matured Beer in 2013

It has always been my goal to have a barrel-matured beer on tap at all times in the pub. With over 150 barrels maturing in our cellars, some up to 3 years old, this goal could be realized in 2013. Several of these beers we have brewed for the second or third time, slightly tweaking the recipes and processes to evolve our barrel programs and increase quality. Others are first time blends that will include our oldest barrels; a time capsule of our barrel program.

As we hit full stride we have also run out of room for more barrels in our cellars. In a way, this is a relief to our brewery as we can focus on our current programs and continue to fine-tune our barreled beers. Though when a unique barrel type is found, or inspiration pops into my head, it will become more and more difficult to deny the need, and want, for more barrel maturation space.

2013 looks like it will be a fun year for our brewery and tap list. I have posted a tentative release calendar below. It is important to note that barrel maturation is a very living way to condition beer. Sometimes the beer will take much longer, or not as long as anticipated. Or, sometimes the amount we plan on blending will become greatly reduced or increased due to barrel quality, or blend needs. This would make some brewers crazy, but we embrace it! Also, not every planned barrel matured beer is listed below. We like to have a few secrets up our sleeve so we won’t mention them until they hit the taps and shelves.

We plan to continue the pattern of four release weekends a year for the larger offerings, paired with a limited offering. In addition, we will release some limited bottles in-between these four offerings. We are having a custom small lot-blending tank made to accommodate packaging single barrel to three-barrel blends.

Where can you find our beer outside of Block 15? Currently, our massive distribution network involves my truck and a dozen or so awesome craft beer spots in Portland, Corvallis, and Eugene. We do not plan on increasing distribution out of our current brewery, though we plan on more consistent deliveries occurring the first week of each month. Ideally, we always bottle enough beer that it lasts at least the weekend of release, and are able to send cases to our accounts outside of Corvallis. Beers with “distribution” noted next to them will hit our normal drop off points. These are beers where we bottle more than 90 cases. “Limited distribution” indicates that we normally will release beer to only a few locations outside of the pub. “Very limited” indicates that we may or many not release any depending on whether the bottles last past the weekend release. The best way to get inside information on what and when bottles will be released is through our newsletter

Approximate Barrel Matured Beer Release Schedule

Winter 2013

Louis le Whopper Cognac barrel matured Barley Wine w/blood orange peel and juice. On Tap now! Draught only.

Pappy’s Dark Bourbon barrel strong ale. Draught Feb. 1st. Bottles Feb. 2nd. no growlers, normal distribution

Super Nebula Bourbon barrel Imperial Stout w/cocoa nibs. Draught Feb. 1st, bottles Feb 2nd, no growlers, limited distribution.

Hypnosis Blended bourbon barrel barley wine. Draught & growler fills Feb.1st

Enchantment wild/sour blended Oud Bruin 6-33months. 1st & 2nd run bourbon barrels. Draught Feb 1st, no growlers. Limited bottles sometime in March or April. Limited distribution.

Special Anniversary Releases, March 2nd
Three Five-year Anniversary beers will be released on draught and in bottles, pub only. These include a non-barreled beer, a three year single barrel, and two barrel blend. More info to come soon.

Spring

Flanders style wild/sour strong red brandy barrels, blend matured up to 26 months. Draught and possibly limited bottles, limited distribution.

Year old lambic and peach lambic styles from our turbid mashed, cool shipped, spontaneous program: Very limited draught & bottles. Very limited distribution, if any.

Summer

Ferme de la Ville Provisions Blended oak barrel wild farmhouse. Draught & bottles, normal distribution.

Ferme de la Ville: Two-year Single Barrel Expression Limited draught & bottles.

Golden Canary Blended wild/sour golden. Draught & limited bottles, limited distribution.

Fall

Cellar Stash Brunch date TBD.
Bottles of previous releases, vintage bottles,

Brewer’s Brunch Blend a blend of Imagine, Super Nebula & Nebula barreled into 20 yr Van Winkle barrels with Tahitian vanilla pods and Aeropressed Stumptown coffee beans. Limited bottles & draught. Exclusive cellar stash and bottle brunch release. No distribution.

September/October
Framboise White Wild/sour Wit with golden raspberries in chardonnay barrels. Draught & bottles, limited distribution

Strawberry Fields Wild/sour farmhouse ale with local strawberries in Pinot Noir barrels. Draught & bottles, limited distribution.

The Demons Farm Wild black farmhouse in bourbon & pinot noir barrels with local cherries. Draught & bottles, normal distribution

Honeybell, A Tangelo Project wild farmhouse ale brewed and fermented with honeybell tangelo peel and juice, matured in Cognac barrels. Draught and very limited bottles, very limited distribution if any.

Coconut Baltic Porter Caribbean rum barrels. Draught and limited bottles, limited distribution.

November

Figgy Pudding Strong English ale in brandy barrels with figs & spice. Draught & bottles, normal distribution.

Imagine Bourbon barrel Belgian Imperial Stout. Draught & bottles, limited distribution.

Kriek, A Three Summer’s Cuvee Blended oud bruin matured in 1st & 2nd run bourbon with local tart cherries, draught & bottles, limited distribution.

Our distribution list:

Portland
Baileys, draught & bottles
Belmont Station, draught & bottles
Hop & Vine, draught & bottles
Saraveza, draught & bottles
1856, draught & bottles
The Beermongers, draught & bottles
Bridgetown Beerhouse, draught & bottles
Beaumont Market, bottles
Wildwood, bottles
Grain & Gristle, draught
Various Markets of Choice, bottles

Eugene
The Bier Stein, draught & bottles
16 Tons, draught & bottles
Whirled Pies, draught
Market of Choice, bottles

Corvallis
Corvallis Brewing Supply, bottles
Market of Choice, bottles

November 17th Bottle Release Update

Figgy Pudding

Bottles
Unfortunately, we will not be bottling Figgy Pudding this year. In August we sampled from the brandy barrels and felt they were all maturing well. Upon final selection last week we found that 40% of the barrels did not meet our quality standards for blending. We want to make sure the beer we release in bottles is up to our standards set by the brewery and expectations of our customers. Wood barrels are a living part of our beer production and sometimes do not perform to our expectations. This has been a hard decision to reach but we feel it is best for our brewery and customers.

Draught
The other 60% tastes great and we blended those to serve on draught at our pub. Figgy Pudding should be on draught at the pub November 17th. We will allow growler sales, both 64 & 32oz, before Thanksgiving as we know many of our customers enjoy Figgy Pudding for holiday celebrations.

Kriek, A Three Summers Cuvee

We are excited to offer our first kriek in bottles and on draught. The Kriek is a blend of our Oud Bruin, Enchanted, that is matured in bourbon barrels with locally grown cherries. The blend is a selection of barrels from 2010, 2011, and 2012. By blending young and old we balanced the lactic and acetic acidity of the beer and captured wonderful cherry notes, both mature and fresh. The bourbon barrels used were first and second run barrels enabling us to control the bourbon character. The kriek highlights complex notes of cherry, pits, caramel, tobacco, and wood with a wonderfully tart finish. Originally we planned on bottling only 50 cases of 375’s but have increased the amount to 70.
7.75%alc/vol. 375ml crowed bottles. 4 bottles/person/day. $8.50/bottle

Hellion, Belgian Golden Strong

We are going to release 20 cases of Hellion from our Cellar Stash. Hellion was brewed last February for the 2012 Cheers to Belgian Beers using Franco-Belgian Canadian yeast, pilsner malts, & Nelson Sauvin, Simcoe and Chinook hops. Hellion has matured wonderfully with big citrus notes, crisp but full malt body, and a deceptively smooth finish. Hellion is a fantastic beer for your holiday celebrations.
12.23%alc/vol, 750ml crowned Champagne bottles. 4 bottles/person/day. $11/bottle

Brunch At Les Caves

You can get a brunch reservation at Les Caves to guarantee your bottle request. We also will be featuring a special menu including Figgy Pudding French toast, hot Scotchy, and a great tap list.
You can email your reservation request to reservations@biercaves.com or call (541) 286-4473 please specify a 9:30am, 9:45am, 10am, or 10:15 am reservation. Bottles can be picked up at the Block 15 brewery after brunch until 1pm.

February

Both Pappy’s Dark and Super Nebula are maturing in 20 year Pappy Van Winkle Barrels. We plan to release bottles of both Saturday February 2nd.

Cheers,
Nick & The Block 15 Brewing Team