Internal Brewsletter - September 24th, 2025
General
Winter Hours at the Tap Room
Coming up soon, we’ll be switching over to our Winter Hours in Southtown. These changes go into effect on Monday, October 6th.
Mondays & Tuesdays - Closed
Wednesdays thru Sundays - 11:30 am - 9 pm
Did You Know?
As an employee of Block 15, you get into Bloktoberfest for free!
Employee Provision - Submissions Needed!
A weekly special served at the Pub, the idea of which comes primarily from Block 15 employees.
This week’s Employee Provision will be brought to you by Lily! Swing by the Pub this Thursday for The G.O.A.T burger!
We’re always looking for more submissions, so send in those ideas! Remember, if your provision gets selected, you can order one for free!
This Week’s Releases
Squirrel Stash // 4.60%
Description: An artistic brown ale brewed with a host of specialty malts and English yeast. Soft body and a malt profile with notes of toasted nuts, baker’s chocolate, and coffee with a dry finish.
Key Takeaway: Brown ale brewed to showcase one of the oldest, most tried and true styles in an artistic expression of tradition.
Tasting Notes: Spun Sugar • Toasted Biscuit • Classic
Format: Draft & Cans
Series: Perennial
Beer Style: Brown Ale
Upcoming Releases
*This list is subject to change based on the production schedule. Please keep that in mind!
Flight Risk // Pale Ale
Series: Pub Life
Releases: October 3rd
Format: Draft Only
Description: Cleared for takeoff! Brewed to celebrate the wedding of our downtown General Manager, Kira, and Lead Server (and licensed pilot) Kaidyn, this Pale Ale was dry-hopped with Cascade and Strata and sits at a cruisable 4.6% ABV.
Crowler/Package Sale for Sippin’ Sunday
20% off all packaged beer to-go, $5 Crowlers, and $10 Growler fills all-day Sunday of a specific beer.
This week’s beers are:
Pub - Juice Joint
Tap Room - Group Ride
Beer Education
NEW: Barrel Room Roundtable - Thursday, October 2nd at 4 pm
Focus: GABF Entry BJCP Testing
Beer 101: Thursday Tastings Reimagined
By Garrison Schmidt, Head Brewer
For the last couple of years, we have hosted happy hours every other Thursday in the Brewers Lounge at the Pub. These have been casual and fun, but not terribly educational or productive. In the interest of continuing our staff’s professional development, I’ll be restructuring the format of these get-togethers. Our brewery management will all be in attendance at these meetings, and you are all encouraged to join whenever you can as well.
These will be no-pressure, no-judgement educational sessions that will help you to develop your palate, vocabulary, and experience as a beer taster, server, or creator, wherever you may fall on that spectrum. You won't be graded; these are designed to be places for you to grow as an industry professional.
Each week, we will be focusing on a different aspect of beer sensory evaluation. Attendees will experience:
TRIANGLE TESTS
Each participant is presented with three seemingly identical samples. Two are the same, and one is different. Can you identify the outlier without being told which is which? This technique helps determine if people can detect differences between beers, such as when comparing a new formulation to an original recipe, or testing the impact of ingredient or process changes.
BJBP TESTS
BJCP (Beer Judge Certification Program) testing is one of the best ways to increase your beer-tasting chops, especially when done alongside more experienced tasters. These forms ask you to list detailed notes on aroma, appearance, flavor, mouthfeel, and overall impression. At the end of each section, you’re asked to rate it on a sliding scale. These score sums give the beer an overall rating.
NON B15 BLIND TASTINGS
Want to see how our beer stacks up against other breweries’ offerings? So do we! Come taste examples from our peers and help us see how we stack up and if we can improve our own products.
OFF-FLAVOR WORKSHOPS
In off-flavor workshops, you’ll learn to identify common defects in beer by tasting samples that have been spiked with compounds that create specific off-flavors. You’ll taste reference standards for defects like diacetyl (buttery), acetaldehyde (green apple), DMS (cooked corn), phenolic (medicinal), and others to calibrate your palate and build a sensory vocabulary.
TASTING WORKSHOPS
These sessions will focus on the meat and potatoes of tasting beer effectively. You’ll learn how to use your senses with the greatest effect and, as importantly, how to communicate that with a supporting vocabulary of sensory terms and descriptors.
We will be moving these to the Taproom Barrel Room and will be referring to them as BARREL ROOM ROUNDTABLES. The first one will be THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2ND at 4PM, and will continue every other Thursday after that. A description of what you can expect if you attend will be outlined in the brewsletter preceding the meeting. Please make an effort to attend as many of these as possible. If you do, I guarantee that you will feel more comfortable and confident in your abilities as a beer taster. Whether you’re freshly 21 and want to take your first steps toward being a taster or an old pro who wants to keep sharp, I’d love to have you join us.
Marketing Updates
By Holly Amlin, Marketing & Creative Manager
Events
Tap Room Weekly Events
We’re starting a few recurring events at the Tap Room soon!
Wednesdays: Trivia from 6 - 8 pm
Kicks off October 1st
One complimentary Chips & Salsa per team. Prizes for 1st-3rd place. Teams of up to six. Five rounds of five questions.
Thursdays: Language Pub
Launch date TBD
Sundays: Industry Appreciation Day
Kicks off October 12th
10% entire tab for the industry member with OLCC, Food Handlers, or Marijuana Workers Permit
Bloktoberfest - October 17th - 18th
If guests are interested, the QR Codes on our posters and table tents lead to the Bloktoberfest page, where people can place orders.
Event details on our website: https://block15.com/bloktoberfest
Bloktoberfest Merch Pre-Order - Order by 9/30!
When placing your order, use code BLOCK20 to get your 20% off employee discount, and choose In-Store Pick Up to avoid shipping fees. I'll be snagging our order prior to the fest and can hand off to you. Pre-orders close September 30th.
This year, one of our Bloktoberfest sponsors, Corvallis Custom, is providing us with an online merch store. They’re printing a few pieces of custom merch for us with regular Block 15 branding, as well as some fun Bloktoberfest-themed shirts.
Aside from this pre-order store, a limited number of Bloktoberfest logo shirts will be available for purchase at the festival, along with fedora hats featuring Bloktoberfest-themed buttons.
From the Executive Chef
By Sarah Farey, Executive Chef
October Specials will go live at the pub Oct. 1st!
Pork Schnitzel - Thinly pounded Carlton Farms pork cutlet, breaded and fried. Drizzled with brown butter pan sauce and served with apple compote and warm, house made German potato salad. $17.99
Schnitzel is a very popular German dish consisting of a thinly pounded meat cutlet, breaded and fried.
Our german potato salad contains bacon. It is also not GF, but is DF.
This dish has no dietary modifications. Contains dairy, meat and gluten.
Schnitzel will not be offered to-go online. If an in-house guest would like to get one to-go, please inform them that we normally do not offer this to-go, as it does not travel well, or fit well in to-go boxes. We will have to cut the schnitzel to make it fit. Only allow if kitchen OK’s it and has the time to make these accommodations. Kitchen folks, please be accommodating when time allows!
Potato Salad will be available as a side option.
Pear & Hazelnut Melt - Local pears, Queen Bee Honey, Hazelnut butter and melted provolone cheese on house baked artisan bread. $15.99
Vegetarian option. Can be gluten free if GF bun is held.
Pears are sourced from Peoria Road Farm Market, and the hazelnuts come from Freddy Guys Hazelnuts, just up the road in Monmouth!
Bacon & Cambazola Burger - NW beef patty, melted cambozola cheese, crispy bacon, sliced local apple, shredded lettuce, sweet onion & maple-stoneground mustard sauce. $18.99
Cambazola is a soft rind cheese that is a blend of camembert and gorgonzola. Think a triple creme brie infused with blue cheese!
Apples come from Peoria Road Farm Market!
Butternut Squash & Three Cheese Tortellini Three cheese tortellini in a brown butter cream sauce with roasted butternut squash, crushed hazelnuts & fried sage. $13.99
Pasta is vegetarian. Any proteins can be added for an upcharge!
Squash is from Peoria and hazelnuts are from Freddy Guys!
Bakery
Notes from Lindsey Henriksen, Bakery Manager
Pub Updates
By Kira Sciarrotta, General Manager
Tap Room Updates
We have new menu items coming out Friday 9/26 at the TR!
Chopped Sesame Salad (Replaces Chopped Italian Salad)
A blend of crisp romaine and local napa cabbage tossed in sesame ginger vinaigrette and topped with our fresh carrots, sliced radishes, grape tomatoes, sesame seeds, fried wonton chips and fresh cilantro. Served with your choice of house-smoked chopped pork or tempeh, tossed in bulgogi BBQ sauce. 15.99
Curry Cauliflower Grilled Cheese (Replaces ZAT)
Roasted local cauliflower with lemon & yellow curry, melted provolone, Zante currants, crushed cashews, fresh cilantro and citrus aioli on toasted house artisan bread.12.99
Krab Rangoon Dip (Replaces Clam Dip)
Hot and savory Krab & cream cheese dip with sweet chili sauce & green onion and served with fried wonton chips. 11.99
Southern Hushpuppies (Replaces Tomatoes & Burrata)
Crisp & fluffy hushpuppies made with sweet corn & peppers, served with our spicy mayo & cilantro. Small (5) 5.99 Large (9) 9.99
Caves Updates
By Aidan Welch, General Manager
High Fives
Wiley - Wiley is all around a nice presence at work! Even when we’re at our busiest I have never once seen him get too frustrated or overwhelmed. He’s way calm cool and collected. It inspires me to be chiller!
Megan - Megan has been killing it so far! She is so diligent when communicating to others, especially BOH as a host. She stays busy and is really good at food running! We are stoked you joined the team!
Parker - Parker has been so awesome to work with! She caught on super quick and is able to tray food in a scary way!! We are happy (and lucky) to have you on the team.
Riley - Riley has been doing a great job serving. She has great customer service and was so quick to be confident on the floor! I love working with her and she’s so flexible to help wherever is needed.
Holly & Ryan - Holly and Ryan are killing it with planning and marketing just about everything for the next couple months. Thanks for making our visions a reality and with all the help putting things together. You guys are awesome!
Taproom Bakery - The desserts have been KILLING it over here at the Taproom. Everyone has been doing amazing and keeping a cool head even with the Bloktoberfest pretzel dog-pocalypse looming on the horizon. Autumn has been pumping out some super cool (and delicious) ideas recently that everyone can't get enough. You're all a pleasure and your hard work is super appreciated.
Katie - Katie has been kicking ass with scheduling needs over at the Taproom, and I see the attention to detail and thoughtfulness that she has been putting in to it. Thanks for rolling with it and keeping everything moving forward!
If you have kudos or kind words you want to share about your co-worker anonymously in the Brewsletter, use the button below!
Staff Section
Check back next week!
Charitable Programs
People’s Pint Tap for Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit in October
Over the years, we’ve continued to support CMRU because of the valuable work they do. This October, we’ll be highlighting them again with Fluffhead. Learn more about Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit (CMRU).
Each pint or can you purchase helps support CMRU, which offers assistance, without charge, for search and rescue (SAR) in difficult areas and high-angle terrain. Skilled CMRU volunteers with mountaineering experience, trained in the many facets of technical alpine search and rescue, are available around the clock.
What is The People's Pint?
We strive to make a positive impact on the community by supporting local non-profit groups focusing on issues such as health and wellness, education, and environmental sustainability. The People's Pint program allows us to contribute to the overall well-being of our community.