Internal Brewsletter - February 19, 2020
YOU OUGHTA KNOW!
B15 AT THE OREGON BEER AWARDS!
Block 15 took home a couple awesome awards last night at the Oregon Beer Awards! Next time you see any of our brewers, make sure to give them a high five!
Gold Medal: Sticky Hands (Imperial IPA Category)
Gold Medal: Framboise White (Fruited Mixed Culture Category)
Excellence in Brewing Operations (Central Valley Category)
We had a crew who went up and represented us and had a blast!
SOUTHTOWN SPEED LIMIT CHANGES
We figured this information would be pertinent to all staff, since even if you don’t work out at the Tap Room you may frequent it or live in Southtown.
Oregon Department of Transportation has decreased some of the speed limits on the 2 mile stretch between the Co-Op and the Tap Room. The most notable of these are areas where the 35mph sections got knocked down to 30mph. This change is due to the fact there have been a number of untimely deaths due to speeding through this zone.
Please read this article and familiarize yourself with the changes - there is extra police presence around so you’ll want to stay in the right!
THE CORVALLIS HALF MARATHON & 5K
The Corvallis Half Marathon & 5K is quickly approaching! The 5k and the Half Marathon are both (newly this year!) on Saturday, April 11th. Block 15 encourages you to participate! In support of this, we will be covering the whole registration cost of any Caves or Block 15 employee who participates.
You must request, and be approved for, that time off of work by February 29th.
If you would like to register for one of these runs, please check in with your scheduling manager first. Sarah and Laura will be giving Kristen a list of all staff members who are approved for that time off. She will then message all approved staff with a code and the web site that will allow you to register for free!
Please note this “offer” is only good for those of you who participate. If you register, but don't participate, you will owe Block 15 the registration fee, so make sure to only sign up if you are committed to running!
For event specific information, please visit the Corvallis Half Marathon website. Let Kristen know if you have any questions.
STAFF ANNOUNCEMENTS
WELCOME!
Welcome to Brad Johnson who joins us as a Prep/Line Cook at Caves!
STAFF MOVES
Congrats to Kat & Kirstie, who are our newest Pub Lead Servers!
And, congrats to Taylor K., who is moving over to Caves as a Lead Bartender!
REVIEW TIME
It’s still review time for Manny and Melissa out here at the Tap Room, in addition to Nathan and Dionne at Caves. You can leave feedback here.
Please make sure to leave feedback - it’s really important!!!!
BLOCK 15
CAVES
WHAT’S GOING ON TAP SOON?
Dates are subject to change based on tap availability.
TAP ROOM
Fri 2/21: ----
Tues 2/25: ----
Fri 2/28: A Nugg Hugg (replacing Fluffhead) / Hypnosis (replacing Super Nebula, Vanilla Chocolate Raspberry)
PUB
Fri 2/21: ----
Tues 2/25: ----
Fri 2/28: A Nugg Hugg (replacing Fluffhead)
UPCOMING CAN/BOTTLE RELEASES
Check back at the end of February for March’s release!
UPCOMING / IN PROCESS BEERS
Vienna Lager
Emerging Sunshine / IPA
Surf Wax America / California Common *Nate’s Intern Beer!*
EVENTS
BLOCKOUT = tap takeover
**Be sure to share/like the Facebook events to spread the word to your friends!
Fri 2/21-Sun 2/23 - Volksfest 2020 @ Mt. Angel
THE PEOPLE’S PINT / DINE OUTS
February’s People’s Pint partner is Ocean Blue Project. The designated beer is Doppelbock at the Pub and Alpha IPA at the Tap Room.
NEXT PUB DINE OUT
Check back in March!
NEXT TAP ROOM DINE OUT
Tuesday 2/25 - Meals on Wheels Benton County
PUB UPDATES
FEBRUARY SPECIALS
Brewer’s Board // Cypress Groves' Humboldt Fog goat cheese, Bone marrow w/ hazelnut gremolata, balsamic pickled onions, honey-bourbon Dijon mustard and house baked artisan bread. $13.99
Southern Fried Shiitakes // Cornmeal crusted fried Mushroomery shiitakes with our creole aioli. $8.99
Maple Bourbon Bacon Burger // Oregon Natural hand spanked beef patty topped with bacon, Tillamook smoked cheddar, and sweet maple bourbon glaze. Served on a toasted house baked bun with all the fixings and your choice of fries, soup, or salad. $16.99
Cajun Red Beans & Rice // Slow cooked red beans with Cajun spices, tomato, green pepper, onions, garlic, bacon, ham hocks and house made Andouille sausage served with steamed rice. $12.99
STAFF PROVISION
Thursday 2/20 - Curt’s Thai Short Rib with Thai Slaw and Sticky Rice
*Submit ideas here!
TAP ROOM UPDATES
NEW & IMPROVED BIER CHEESE
We have a new and improved bier cheese sauce going live at both the Tap Room and Caves this Friday 2/21.
This is a cream cheese based cheese sauce that also has Tillamook cheddar as the main melty cheese, American for texture, and a hint of blue cheese for a bit of funkiness! The blue is not obvious, so it will still be totally approachable for folks who do not like blue cheese. I wouldn’t even tell folks unless they ask! The other ingredients are Gloria, water, onion powder and mustard powder. THAT IS IT!
It is IMPERATIVE that this cheese sauce be pourable, yet velvety smooth when being held on the line. It should fully coat the back of a wooden spoon and slowly drip off. It should never be thick and gluey. As it sits it does thicken. If needed, reconstitute in ¼ C per QT increments of hot water to cheese sauce. It is super important that both BOH and FOH folks recognize when the sauce has thickened up too much and either fixes it or informs someone who has the time to swiftly get it taken care of!
ALSO!
Since this cheese sauce is a much more velvety, almost “queso”-esque sauce, it will be replacing the queso for the nachos at the Tap Room. It is dope, I promise. The nachos on the menu will now be called “Bier Cheese Nachos” so the message is clear.
Please share your and guests feedback over the next couple weeks! I know change can be hard for some people, but when we make these changes there is a lot of work and thought that goes into it before making the swing. Please be enthusiastic about this new and improved sauce!
XOXOXO, Sarah
