Internal Brewsletter - October 16th, 2024
General
Thank you!
THANK YOU TO ALL who worked Bloktoberfest, behind the scenes or in the tent, y’all came together to make such a successful event!
New Desserts launching Friday 10/18
Pumpkin Bells - a (very not basic) spiced pumpkin cake with our classic cream cheese frosting and a sweet n’ spicy mix of pecans and pepitas on top along with a cinnamon swirl.
Blood Orange Basque Cheesecake - a light and dreamy crustless cheesecake that’s “burnt” to achieve a dramatic, dark color on top. Infused with orange zest, topped with chocolate ganache decor and house-candied blood orange and resting on a blood orange coulis (sauce) on the plate. Made without gluten.
Halloween Costumes
Let’s bring some fun energy to the Pub and Taproom locations the next 2 weekends! Please wear your favorite (work appropriate/ family friendly) Halloween costumes/ outfits for Spooky Saturday’s (10/19 & 10/26).
Bloktoberfest Pins
We have plenty of Bloktoberfest pins to sell at all locations! Coming soon to the Pub and TR merch inventory. They’re listed on our website also: https://block15.com/merch/bloktoberfest-2024-enamel-pin
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 a Block 15 Preview, brought to you by Sarah! Swing by the Pub this Thursday for a Vegan Rice Bowl!
We’re always looking for more submissions, so send in those ideas!
THIS WEEK’S RELEASES
Releasing Friday 10/18
Cheers to the Land //
Description: In collaboration with Oregon Agriculture Trust, Cheers to the Land was brewed with Great Western Pure Oregon Malt, Willamette Valley-grown High Oil Cascade, Belma CGX, and Strata Hops. // 5.25%
Key Takeaway: The third-annual ‘Cheers to the Land’ campaign is a collaborative effort between Oregon’s great breweries, cideries, farmers, and Oregon Agricultural Trust (OAT) to help OAT permanently protect Oregon farmland from development and transition it to future generations. Check out cheerstotheland.com for more information and events. Brewed using all Oregon based Ingredients, this WC Pils features locally grown, high impact hops and malts.
Tasting Notes: Honeydew • Meadowfoam • Regional
Format: Draft & Cans
Series: Synergy, collaboration with Oregon Agricultural Trust
Beer Style: West Coast Pilsner
UPCOMING Releases
*This list is subject to change based on the production schedule, so please keep that in mind!
Ol’ Saint Nick // Winter Ale
Series: Orbital
Releases: October 25th
Format: Draft & Cans
Description: Ol' Saint Nick is a generously malt-forward winter ale - artfully constructed with a base of selected malts and hops, offering notes of toffee, cocoa, plum, and caramel with citrusy hops and a pleasant lingering finish.
Sticky Hands: Solar Flare // Hop Experience Ale
Series: Sticky Hands
Releases: November 1st
Format: Draft & Cans
Description: Inspired by the star of our system, Solar Flare was designed to capture the radiance of a supermassive burst from the sun. Launch into explosive aroma from heaps of Strata, Nectaron, and Eclipse hops.
Late Fall Bottle Release Beers - Releasing Saturday, November 2nd
Imagine
Imagine: Stroopwafel
Figgy Pudding
Willa
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: Eminent Point, Bloktoberfest, and Sticky Hands: Beer Pageant.
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 tasting is Thursday, October 17th, at 4 pm!
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: Cheers to the Land
Written by Garrison Schmidt, Head Brewer
At Block 15, we take conservation seriously. The brewing industry is, at its heart, an agricultural one, and since our inception, being a good steward of the land has been at the heart of who we are. Everything we use to make the beer we sell is grown in soil (mainly in the Pacific Northwest) or affected by our water table. We realize that the better care we take of our environment, the longer we will be able to make beer. Customers are also becoming more aware of environmental concerns, and many would rather spend their dollars on a company that is making an effort to mitigate their carbon footprint. In order to do the best for our land that we possibly can, our brewery has installed enough solar panels to power 40% of our production facility and Southtown Taproom. This is the heart of our Lagered by the Sun program and is something we are incredibly proud of. We also limit our water usage as much as we possibly can and neutralize all chemicals before properly disposing of them, helping to protect our precious watershed. We gift our spent grain to local farmers, who use it as feed to prevent overgrazing on their properties. Our restaurants host Dine Out events, and in 2016, we launched The People’s Pint, where we pair beers with a charitable cause.
“We strive to continually make a positive impact on the community by supporting unaffiliated, non-profit groups focusing on issues such as health and wellness, education, environmental sustainability, and the arts. We aim to ensure that our donations assist local organizations, that our actions impact the community in a positive manner, and that we encourage our neighbors to involve themselves in charitable endeavors and goodwill toward others… Environmental sustainability is important to us personally as well as professionally. It is also our goal to consider the impact we have as a business – to us, that means sourcing food from local and sustainable sources, taking part in programs that reduce our carbon footprint, composting and recycling as much as possible, and limiting our water and chemical use. Additionally, we’ve worked to support and bring attention to environmentally focused organizations over the years, such as the Oregon Agricultural Trust, Corvallis Environmental Center, Oregon Brewshed Alliance, Ocean Blue, Mary’s River Watershed Council, and the Greenbelt Land Trust, to name a few. “ - Kristen Arzner
Since 2008, over $225,000 has been donated to nonprofits in our community. One of the Organizations that we support, as mentioned above, is the Oregon Agricultural Trust. For the past three years, we’ve participated in their program called Cheers to the Land, in which breweries design new beers that highlight ingredients grown on Oregon farms and donate a portion of proceeds to the trust. The money raised helps to protect agricultural land, which fell over 660,000 acres between 2017 and 2022.
This year, we brewed a West Coast Pilsner featuring hyper-local ingredients, including Pure Oregon Pilsner malt and Strata, Cascade, and Belma CGX hops, all grown in the Willamette Valley. With a more pronounced hop character than a traditional Pilsner, this beer presents somewhere between IPA and Lager and gives a complex nose of honeydew melon, guava, and meadowfoam. Pick up a four-pack, know you’re supporting a good cause, and tell me what you think. I always look forward to your feedback. Hit me with it at garrison@block15.com.
From the Executive Chef
PUB UPDATES
TAP ROOM UPDATES
Upcoming Events
Beer School - October 24th
Caves Updates
Events
Late Fall Bottle Release - November 1st - 3rd
Coming up in a few weeks, we’ll be releasing four beers as part of our Late Fall Bottle Release: Imagine, Imagine: Stroopwafel, Figgy Pudding, and Willa. These limited-run beers are something special we look forward to each year. To celebrate, we host a few events:
Brewers Dinner - November 1st at 6 pm
Learn how the beers were made directly from our brewers over a 4-course Pairing Dinner curated by our Executive Chef, Sarah. Ticket includes an allotment of bottles.
Guided Pairings - November 2nd from 11 am - 2 pm
Guided tasting with our with our staff alongside small-bite pairings by our Executive Chef, Sarah, at our Southtown Taproom and Production Facility. Public bottle pre-order opportunity included with ticket purchase.
General Bottle Sale - Begins November 2nd
Bottles will be available for sale on a first-come, first-serve basis. Limits will be in effect.
HIGH FIVEs
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!
SAFETY TIPS
Be aware of the people working around you and follow one of the Golden Rules of safety, "work as safely with others as you would have them work with you."
Office Hours
New HR Open Office Hours for Q4 starting 10/14!
Pub: Monday: 1-4 pm, Wednesday: 10 am - 1 pm
Tap Room: Monday: 9:30 am-12:30 pm, Tuesday: 1 - 4 pm
THE PEOPLE’S PINT / CHEERS FOR CHARITY / DINE OUT
The People’s Pint - All November
This November, we’re partnering with Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit by donating a portion of sales of Gloria! More info to come in the following weeks.
