Internal Brewsletter - November 13th, 2024
General
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 Lily! Swing by the Pub this Thursday for Sweet Chili ‘n Fritos!
We’re always looking for more submissions, so send in those ideas!
THIS WEEK’S RELEASES
Releasing Friday, 11/15
Hoppy Holidays //
Description: This yuletide IPA is brewed with a sleighful of hops, orange zest, and foraged spruce tips. Our gift of pine and citrus is wrapped in a warm malt backbone that is sure to bring holiday cheer. // 9.20%
Key Takeaway: 250 Pounds of Spruce tips went into the beer, which were hand-foraged by our staff at Starker Forests in the Coast Range. 100 pounds of orange zest add the perfect amount of fruity flavor.
Tasting Notes: Jolly Rancher. Sweet Orange. Festive.
Format: Draft & Cans
Series: Orbital
Beer Style: Imperial IPA with Citrus and Spruce Tips
UPCOMING Releases
*This list is subject to change based on the production schedule, so please keep that in mind!
Fresh Pow // Hazy IPA
Series: Perennial
Releases: November 22nd
Format: Draft & Cans
Description: Amplified for the winter season, we have piled on the pow, doubling one of our favorite NZ hops. Slide into a resinous, citrusy, and tropical hop avalanche with a pillowy, soft body. Powabunga!
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: Deep Seek
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, November 14th, 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: HopPY HOLIDAYS
Written by Garrison Schmidt, Head Brewer
Spruce tips have been used in brewing beer for almost as long as beer has been brewed. Ancient indigenous peoples from North America infused spruce in tinctures for vitamin C to fight scurvy, and Viking brewers made spruce beer to be used in fertility rites and to increase strength in battle. Whatever the reason, spruce has stood the test of time as an ingredient in beer, and we proudly continue that tradition here at Block 15!
Hoppy Holidays releases this week and is our second spruce tip release of the year. Unique to this beer, however, is the use of orange zest in the last few seconds of the boil to complement and amplify the sensory experience unlike anything else we make.
The name Hoppy Holidays, while solid gold as far as beer names go, almost does this beer a disservice. It implies that the beer is hoppy, sure, but buries the lead on the incredible nose that opens up when you’re served one. Blue raspberry, spice, vibrant orange, and pine blend to make a holiday beer so aromatic you’ll wonder how we can possibly get away with just calling it hoppy. Perfect for sharing with friends and family who are fans of IPAs as well as folks who generally aren’t fans of the style, this beer has enough going on that it defies the usual guidelines of IPA. Give one a try, and let me know what you think. Hoppy Holidays!
From the Executive Chef
New Menu items at the pub today!
Next week at the pub we will be bringing back our Meatloaf Sandwich (replacing Pimento BLT) and Magic Mushrooms (Replacing Hummus)
Magic Mushrooms-Local mushrooms stuffed with Pepper Tree Chicago style sausage, cream cheese, and a three cheese blend. Topped with toasted bread crumbs and parsley, served bubbling hot. $13.99
Meatloaf Sandwich-Scratch made pork & beef meatloaf, served with house pickles, melted Tillamook Swiss cheese, sweet glazed onions, and stone ground mustard aioli on toasted house-baked ciabatta bread. $17.99
Tap Room Updates starting 11/22
Next Friday (11/22) we will be replacing both of our standard vegetarian sandwiches at the taproom! A wintery tempeh sandwich will take the place of the tempeh BLT, and our curry cauliflower grilled cheese will replace the z.a.t! Details will be added to sling by this Friday, so be sure to take a peek!
PUB UPDATES
Sunday 11/17 we can start applying 20% off SUNDAY Discount to Fall Release bottle sales (Imagine, Imagine Stroopwafel, Figgy, and Willa).
We are officially onto the Hop Gloss Hazy IPA from Mutantis for GF offerings!
Hot Spiked Cider will be back on the menu this week and we have some other fun changes coming down the pipeline for this cozy season.
TAP ROOM UPDATES
We’re now accepting Barrel Room reservations, please guide someone to emailing taproom@block15.com when wanting to submit a reservation request.
Reservation Policy lives here: Large Party Reservations for Block 15 & CavesFamiliarize yourself with our new company policy to make it easy to answer questions. There will be a refundable deposit attached to reservations now (unless approved on short notice) which will be listed on the reservation calendar located in the kitchen by the roster board. Refund the deposit back to 1 customer’s card of their choosing (usually the organizer of the event), once the minimum tab balance has been met ($200) There are no exceptions to this unless a manager approves. The customers are welcome to add packaged beer to go, apparel, etc. to help reach this limit if need be. Refund deposit by going to “Discounts”>“Refund Reservation Deposit”
Holly & Sarah applied some amazing improvements to our food menu! These changes include adding the Kids menu and a new Doggy Menu to the backside of our food menu. They also made it much easier for customers to find upgrades/ add ons/ dressings & sauces, and be sure to still encourage/offer these with every order! Review these changes so you’re familiar with the new layout.
It is now noted on the menu that “all tabs left open at the end of the business day will be closed by the restaurant with a 18% gratuity applied”. Please see my recent announcement for further details before applying this.
At close, please be diligent about putting the Closed sign out!
Many changes to the taproom Fall/ Winter Schedule are being made! Pay close attention to your start times, they most likely have changed. Some shift cutting can be expected in the near future so please be prepared to have longer shifts and to be a Real Mid (expect 8 hour shifts or so) when scheduled a mid shift.
Sunday 11/17 we can start applying 20% off SUNDAY Discount to Fall Release bottle sales (Imagine, Imagine Stroopwafel, Figgy, and Willa).
For the winter we have removed mopping Monday and Wednesday Night closes (Woohoo!). With the expectation of spot mopping where necessary.
Other projects will be added on Mon. & Wed. Closes i.e. high dusting the ceiling vents (please sweep and wipe down tables/ chairs, bar afterwards) so make sure to check out the changes to your checklists.
Monday through Thursday it’s not necessary to have the second water station outside (for the winter). While we only have one water station please be diligent about checking/ refilling the one container.
Our tablets are extremely useful on busy nights! Make sure to keep a tablet (shmoopty) on you as the food runner/ float to assist with closing out tabs or ringing in another round of drinks! This is tremendously helpful to shorten the line on gameday nights like we experienced this weekend.
86 Red Grasshopper cocktail for the season. Hot toddy will be added to the menu to replace. Cost: $8.00
Recipe: preheat coffee cup with hot water. Dump. Then add: 1.5 oz Buffalo, 3/4 oz honey simple syrup, 3/4 oz. Lemon juice, top with hot water and stir. Garnish with lemon wedge.
Caves Updates
Tickets for our Being Belgian Beer Dinner are about to go on sale soon! Familiarize yourself with the info that will be dropped via Sling and get ready to talk to guests about this cool experience!
Events
HIGH FIVEs
Great job to all staff that worked over the busy weekend! Know how much you are appreciated!!!
Shout out to the Caves crew for rocking long shifts during a crazy busy weekend. You all crushed it and had such killer attitudes all the way through. You’re all badasses and so appreciated!
That was a HUGE turnout for Family Weekend! Thank you all for everything and for helping to make such awesome experiences for the guests. Now we have a little space to breathe!
If you have kudos or kind words to share anonymously in the Brewsletter, use the button below!
Human resources
STAFF SECTION
Congratulations to Max, Maggie, and Kylie who will all be stepping into dual serving/hosting roles in the coming months!
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!
Each pint or can purchased helps them offer 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.
