Internal Brewsletter - January 29th, 2025
General
Bourbon Month 2025
Bourbon Month kicks off this Saturday, February 1st! Our first event to celebrate this wonderful month is our Brewer’s Dinner here at the Pub on Friday, January 31st, from 6-8 pm back in the Brewer’s Lounge. This is a ticketed event and has sold out both for Friday and Saturday. We will also have all of the Bourbon Month draft offerings on tap at both locations on the 31st, but bottles will not be available to the public until Saturday the 1st. Remember to look over the linked sheet for a refresher on all things Bourbon Month, and to check Sling before your shifts to see any updates as the month progresses!
Special Monday Bourbons - February 3rd
Pub - Jefferson’s Ocean Aged at Sea, Single Barrel Cask Strength, 119.4 Proof $23 / 1.5oz pour
Nose: Cinnamon, Orange Zest, Burnt Sugar
Palate: Salted Caramel, Fig, Rich Chocolate
Finish: Smooth, Accents of Sweet Mint
“We took fully matured Kentucky Bourbon, put it on a ship and sent it around the world. It crossed the equator 4 times, stopped at over 5 different continents and truly is a Bourbon of the World.”
This particular “voyage” made it’s way throughout much of the Carribbean and Central America in the peak of summer. Temperatures ranging from the low 70’s all the way up to 122 degrees (in the containers), along with intense rocking from a nearby storm led to the development of incredibly rich and deep notes for this Ocean selection.
Tap Room - Larceny Barrel Proof, 124.2 Proof $16 / 1.5oz pour
Nose: Toasted Bread, Maple, Cinnamon
Palate: Molasses, Dried Fruit, Hazelnut
Finish: Nuanced, Lingering Warmth
From Heaven Hill (Elijah Craig, Rittenhouse Rye, Evan Williams, etc): “Larceny Barrel Proof offers a new opportunity to experience our acclaimed wheated Bourbon mashbill in its purest form: non-chill filtered and bottled at full barrel proof. Released three times per year in January, May, and September, each offering is a bold yet balanced special Small Batch Bourbon rich with depth and distinction. Much like Larceny Small Batch and Old Fitzgerald Bottled-in-Bond, Larceny Barrel Proof is a welcome reminder of just how good wheated Bourbons can be.”
Dessert Updates
Reminder that Love Potion Bells are starting on Friday the 31st! If we still have classic cocobells on hand, please try to sell them out.
Chocolate chip cookies now have a little flakey sea salt sprinkled on top starting this weekend.
Employee Provision
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 the Block 15 Vaults! Swing by the Pub this Thursday for a Peanut Yakisoba!
We’re always looking for more submissions, so send in those ideas!
This Week’s Releases
Releasing Friday, January 31st on draft, and Saturday, February 1st in bottles
Bottle Limits for purchase per customer per day:
6 - Super Nebula
4 - Super Nebula: Breakfast with Hayden
3 - Super Nebula: Ceylon Praline
4 - Kriek
Super Nebula // 12.96%
Description: This year's annual Imperial Stout release was matured in Basil Hayden Toast bourbon barrels and then conditioned on organic, direct-trade Tanzanian cocoa nibs specially selected to complement its decadent character.
Key Takeaway: Bourbon barrel aged imperial stout aged in Basil Hayden Toast barrels, this years blend has slightly less char character due to the lightly toasted barrels used.
Tasting Notes: Chocolate • Dark Roast Coffee • Decadent
Format: Draft & Bottles
Series: Cellars
Beer Style: Imperial Stout Matured in Bourbon Barrels with Cocoa Nibs
Super Nebula Breakfast with Hayden // 12.96%
Description: Our yearly Super Nebula "Breakfast Edition" features Basil Hayden Toast bourbon barrel matured Imperial Stout, conditioned with fresh-roasted coffee beans, maple, and organic, direct-trade Tanzanian cocoa nibs.
Key Takeaway: Super Nebula with Maple, Coffee beans from Bespoken Coffee Roasters, and Chocolate. This annual variant is breakfast-themed and returns each year.
Tasting Notes: Espresso • Maple • Sensational
Format: Draft & Bottles
Series: Cellars
Beer Style: Imperial Stout Matured in Bourbon Barrels with Cocoa Nibs, Coffee Beans, and Maple
Super Nebula Ceylon Praline // 12.96%
Description: Our unique small-batch blend of Super Nebula and Ceylon Praline integrates toasted pecans, Ceylon cinnamon, and salt with the rich base of bourbon barrel and cocoa nib imperial stout base.
Key Takeaway: Super Nebula with Cinnamon, pecans, and salt, this variant was inspired by the southern treat for which it is named.
Tasting Notes: Cinnamon • Pecan • Comfort
Format: Draft & Bottles
Series: Cellars
Beer Style: Imperial Stout Matured in Bourbon Barrels with Pecans, Ceylon Cinnamon, Cocoa Nibs, and Salt
Kriek // 7.40%
Description: Spontaneously fermented in our wild cellar, Kriek is our Oud Bruin matured over two winters on locally farmed tart Montmorency cherries in second-run bourbon barrels, first used to mature Super Nebula, our Imperial Stout.
Key Takeaway: This beer spends two winters on the cherries themselves. It is exceptionally tart for a Block 15 wild ale and shows plenty of character from the fruit, the spontaneous fermentation, and the used Super Nebula barrels.
Tasting Notes: Tart Cherry • Roasted Malts • Intricate
Format: Draft & Bottles
Series: Cellars
Beer Style: Oud Bruin Matured in Bourbon Barrels with Cherries
Upcoming Releases
*This list is subject to change based on the production schedule, so please keep that in mind!
Zero Lux // West Coast IPA
Series: Orbital
Releases: February 7th
Format: Draft & Cans
Description: A modern IPA featuring Erebus hops, which, in Greek mythology, is the primordial god of darkness and shadows. Shining with the characteristics of citrus oils, passion fruit, and rose. Step into the darkness to taste the light.
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 beer is: Squirrel Stash
Exclusion: All Super Nebula and Kriek 2025 release bottles will be excluded from 20% Sunday Discount sale for the first 2 weeks. Discount availability will begin for SN & Kriek 2025 bottles on February 17th.
Beer Education
2:30 pm Tuesdays @ the Tap Room
Join us at the Tap Room every week for an educational session where you can taste and learn about the week’s releases. All are welcome!
4:00 pm Every Other Thursday @ the Pub
The next Happy Hour is this Thursday, 2/6!
Join us every other Thursday in the Game Room at the Pub to taste through beers, discuss our beers, brewing, or any other related topics you have questions about. This is a casual session, and anyone is welcome to attend. If you have an interesting bottle of beer you would like to taste/share with the group, bring it in. Your first beer is on us if you attend.
Beer 101 - Quality Control in the Brewery
Written by Head Brewer Garrison Schmidt
At Block 15, quality control begins well before the grain is milled. We analyze the grain our silos are filled with and carefully select the lots that our most used hops are grown in. The hops we use are from the freshest harvests available. Yeast is carefully counted for viability and concentration, and even our water is filtered and adjusted with salts and minerals to ensure the perfect chemistry for each brew. These initial checks form the foundation of our consistent production.
Brew-day itself demands vigilant monitoring of several critical control points. The temperature during mashing is closely monitored as it impacts enzymatic activity and fermentable sugar production. pH is also tracked and adjusted to ensure proper enzymatic activity and hop utilization. Timing is also important, as hop additions and nutrients for yeast are added at specific intervals. We are constantly tracking temperature, pH, and time throughout the brew day, as well as tasting and smelling our wort as it moves through the process.
Once the beer is brewed and yeast is pitched, fermentation calls for daily monitoring of specific gravity, pH, sensory, temperature, and general notes on the progress of the beer. This ensures healthy yeast activity and proper attenuation. We also closely monitor dissolved oxygen levels: High enough at pitching to support yeast growth and replication of cells, but minimal post-fermentation to prevent oxidation and the production of the off flavors associated with it.
When fermentation and conditioning are finished, we evaluate the beer with both sensory and analytic analysis before packaging. Carbonation levels, dissolved oxygen, clarity, final gravity, ABV, and true-to-target evaluations are performed by our trained brewing staff to ensure that each batch is exactly how we designed it before packaging. We utilize an advanced qPCR analysis system to ensure that our beer is pure and free of undesired microbial contaminants.
During packaging, we monitor dissolved oxygen uptake and temperature to make sure that each can and keg is filled with a perfect product. After packaging we place our beers in both warm and cold libraries, to make sure that they are shelf-stable and delicious during the duration of their time in the market. We focus on delivering all of our beer as fresh as possible and put other distribution companies to shame as far as the age of our beer available to our customers. Our hoppy beers are rarely found over 60 days old and we strive for less than 30. If the beer is found in the wild over 60 days old, we will buy the beer back from the vendor to prevent folks from drinking old, out-of-date Block 15 beer. That is unheard of in our industry, placing our distribution company in a league of its own when it comes to the freshness of our product.
We take the quality of our product very seriously and depend on you to carry that into your experience with our beer once it's out of our hands. If you ever have a bad experience with one of our beers, get feedback from a customer, or find old beer available for purchase, please reach out to me directly as soon as possible, and I’ll do whatever it takes to resolve the issue. Good feedback is always welcome too! As always, I’m just an email away at garrison@block15.com
Prost!!
From the Executive Chef
February Monthly Specials
February Specials launch today! ! We normally launch specials the first Wednesday of the month, but with Bourbon month, I always do the Wednesday before the 1st, so our specials that pair with the beers are live from the get-go! Click the links below to familiarize yourselves before next Wednesday!
We're featuring Bourbon Smoked Chicken Wings for February at the Tap Room. This is a collaboration with Prime Tap House in Portland, one of our accounts known for their amazing chicken wings. They approached us with the idea of using our beer in a BBQ sauce they created. The result is a stout BBQ sauce made with hoisin, honey, soy sauce, and a mix of spices. We'll be showcasing this sauce on our menu, so be sure to highlight it to guests as part of this exciting partnership!
Dessert Update!
Love Potion Bells are dropping this Friday the 31st! Love Potion #9 stout chocolate cake with a raspberry infused filling and a hint of cayenne in the ganache (because love stings), topped with our signature swirl and a sprinkle of dried raspberries.
Deli Turkey at the Pub
We are upgrading our deli turkey at the pub to a higher quality mesquite turkey! It will go live once we run out of our current stock of the old….probably Sunday or Monday!
Pub Updates
Bourbon Month starts this weekend! By the end of the day on Wednesday, you all will have been through a Bourbon Education class and should be armed with the knowledge you’ll need to have a great Bourbon Month. If you have any questions, or need clarification, please feel free to check in with a manager, Lead, or someone who has been through Bourbon Month before.
February is especially busy behind the bar–please utilize the grey glass racks in the kitchen first unless you are bringing Glencairns to the bar, or a bartender asks you to bring the glasses straight to them. With the extra time and care we take in pouring tickets during Bourbon Month, we will have a bar back on each night and space behind the bar will be limited as folks are moving quickly. Please be respectful of this space.
The special Monday release bourbons for both the Pub and Tap Room are listed above in the “general” section–please review these, but keep the information secret as we want this to be a surprise!
Be sure to review the bottle limits above for selling Bourbon Month releases this weekend and know how many bottles of each offering folks are allowed to purchase. Limits will lift on Monday, February 3rd. If someone is trying to buy an egregious amount of beer (4 cases of Super Nebula, as an example) please check in with a manager first. We want to sell the beer, but also ensure that everyone gets a chance to buy it.
Tap Room Updates
As we head into Bourbon Month, take an extra moment to familiarize yourself with all bourbon selections and featured cocktails. Feel free to come to your first shift of the month a few minutes early to familiarize yourself with the new bottle selection, cocktail products, ingredients and storage, along with the 4 amazing beer releases.
Remember this month there are a lot of high ABV products, so first and foremost always practice safe and attentive alcohol service. Never over serve and always feel free to check in with another staff member if you think you are starting to see a VIP. Make sure to use the OLCC log if you cut someone off, this is important to your serving license as well! Always offer water and encourage food intake. There are also cab numbers listed to the left of the main terminal.
For everyone's safety, please do a thorough job when cleaning up broken glass. Remember to dump in the broken glass bucket in the kitchen- never directly in trash cans (this is so it doesn’t accidentally cut one of your coworkers later when they take out the trash)!
From time to time a distro employee may come find you to check in a beer order. It is super simple, just make sure the invoice matches the exact product we are receiving (count of each product, keg shell size, EXACT name, etc.). Initial both copies of the invoice; 1 copy should be immediately handed back to the distro employee and the other should be 3 hole punched and placed in the purple binder by the check book behind the bar.
When closing, please pay extra attention to each value you write down when counting the till money, back up bank and drop. The Bar till ($200 value) and back up ($600) must ALWAYS end with those exact amounts, NO rounding under or extra change in these bags. This communicates to management that the money you state you ended with is in fact the amount we are starting with. The Drop is the only item allowed to round. 0- 0.49 cents you round DOWN to the nearest dollar. For 0.50 cents to 0.99 cents you round UP. If you count and then have to change out bundles you must signify by either noting under “notes” or logging a second count line with (for example) “1/29 PM -2”. It is a requirement of closing to be accountable when handling money. Please follow this policy and reach out with further questions, I would be HAPPY to shadow close with anyone who has concerns about money handling.
Make sure we are washing the sauce tray and growler tubes nightly.
Coasters should always be available on the bartop for customer use. Please leave stack out and replenish when necessary. More are always available on the mezzanine. Restock crate behind the bar when needed!
The indoor and outdoor bus stations and bus tubs should always be sanitized nightly.
Remember to be turning off bathroom lights at close and prop doors open overnight for air circulation.
Lets all get back in the habit of wearing a Block 15 logoed shirt, or pin to every shift to help identify we are a staff member! Please take time to review apparel requirements if you need a refresher on Block 15 dress code.
When asked to charge something to a house account, please make sure to always put the manager name requesting the House account to be charged in the Tab Name and the business they are hosting along with YOUR initials as the staff member completing the transaction.
For example “Ian Hutchings- Lunch with Coldfire- EP”. Make sure to list if additional information was given by the manager. Example “Ian Hutchings- Lunch with Coldfire, trade for product” or “Ian Hutchings- Dinner with Wayfinder, account hospitality- EP”
Challenge: The beer cooler and wine fridge restocks could use some attention! With Bourbon month upon us it is pertinent that we prioritize restocking all coolers and properly rotating. It is a required task before precloser are phased each night to be checking this, and we would love to challenge you all to take extra time on this task each shift this next month. A reward may be involved if we see consistent improvement :)
Caves Updates
Our February 18th Bourbon Dinner Tickets will be on sale soon!
Valentine’s Day at Caves
This year, we’ll be running a couple of specials from Thursday, February 13th, through Saturday, February 15th. Reservations are encouraged but not required.
Dinner Special
Winter Black Truffle & Parsnip Risotto, Boudin Blanc, Shaved Apple & Herb Salad
Dessert Special
Brown Butter Brownie, Marionberry Cheesecake Ice Cream
Events
Bourbon Month
It’s almost here! Thank you to everyone for all your hard work getting ready to deliver another awesome Bourbon Month experience for our guests & long-time fans.
Any materials (like posters or table tents) with QR codes will lead to the Bourbon Month page on our website. You can direct customers here too, as it’s a good overview of everything we’re doing.
Super Bowl at the Tap Room
February 9th
We’ll have the game on the big screen (with sound on), and chicken wings.
High Fives
Josh - has been killing it in prep always busting his butt and is willing to give a helping hand whenever he can
Manny - Thanks to our driver Manny for bringing such a sunny attitude to work!
Patience - She is so good at everything she does!
If you have kudos or kind words to share anonymously in the Brewsletter, use the button below!
Human Resources
Staff Section
Check back next week.
The People’s Pint / Cheers for Charity / Dine Out
Dine Out for 4 Spirits Foundation - February 11th
As part of Bourbon Month, we’ll be hosting representatives from 4 Spirits Distillery for a special bourbon tasting at the Pub from 6 - 8 pm. Two cocktail specials using their bourbon and barrel-aged gin will be on the menu. In addition, a portion of the day's food sales from both of our locations will be donated to the 4 Spirits Foundation.
