Internal Brewsletter - June 18th, 2025
General
Block 15 & Caves Summer Party Info and RSVP
You’re invited to the Block 15 Brewing Company BBQ at Goss Stadium! This year, we are changing the venue to Goss Stadium for a Knights baseball game. Before the game, there will be a company softball game.
This invitation is extended to your immediate family members, a significant other, or friend.
As this is a ticketed event, you must RSVP by June 24th.
When: Tuesday, July 1st, 5 pm-5:50 pm softball game. 6:35 pm Knights Game begins
Where: Goss Stadium, TNT party deck on the 3rd base side.
What: Summer Block 15 company gathering! Softball, Knights baseball game, beverages, and dinner served!
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 Travis! Swing by the Pub this Thursday for a Beef & Cheddar Melt!
We’re always looking for more submissions, so send in those ideas!
This Week’s Releases
R&D 2171 // 6.00%
Description: This R&D batch was created to research a new style for Block 15 and a new hop, too! XPA, or extra pale ale, is an Australian summer crusher that has a lean malt bill to keep the body very light. It's just robust enough to support its hop bill. We also used an experimental hop breed, HBC 1019, which smells just like Peachie O's candies!
Tasting Notes: Peachie O's • Dank • Experimental
Format: Draft Only
Series: Pub Life
Beer Style: XPA - Extra Pale Ale (see Garrison’s write-up for information!)
When I Tip, You Tip, We Tip // 6.90%
Description: We brought the forest to your glass. Experience the tell-tale blue raspberry character of wild spruce tips like you've never had it before. Pine and citrus zest are rounded out by a gentle addition of malted oats and wheat that remind you, if you ain't tippin, you must be trippin.
Key Takeaway: Our team hand-picks spruce tips from Starker Forests along the Oregon Coast each year to be added to Hoppy Holidays Imperial IPA in the wintertime. We used a portion of the fresh spruce tips in this Hazy IPA right after they were picked.
Tasting Notes: Blue Raspberry • Pine • Da Dip
Format: Draft Only
Series: Pub Life
Beer Style: Hazy IPA with Spruce Tips
Upcoming Releases
*This list is subject to change based on the production schedule. Please keep that in mind!
Ice Knife // West Coast IPA
Series: Emerging
Releases: June 27th
Format: Draft & Cans
Description: Brewed with cutting-edge hop technologies, CO2 extracted Salvo™ and cryogenically frozen Strata CGX™. This West Coast IPA amplifies the most vibrant factions of sticky & pungent hop characters with a razor-sharp hop showcase of bright citrus peel oils & dense resin.
Shandy River // Yuzu Shandy
Series: Synergy, collab with Sugarpine Drive-In
Releases: June 27th
Format: Draft & Cans
Description: A collaboration with Sugarpine Drive-In, Shandy River captures summer rays by skillfully blending a crisp rice lager base with our yuzu lemon soda—a lively refresher bound for river, trail, and backyard adventures.
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:
The Beer Walker
Beer Education
2:30 pm Tuesdays @ the Tap Room
Join us at the Tap Room for an educational session where you can taste and learn about the week’s releases. All are welcome! *Note: If there are no new releases, this meet-up will likely be cancelled that week.
4:00 pm Every Other Thursday @ the Pub
The next Happy Hour is Thursday, 6/26.
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: XPA - The Summer Session King from Down Under
By Garrison Schmidt, Head Brewer
XPA, or Extra Pale Ale, is Australia's answer to the craft beer boom that perfectly captures the laid-back Aussie summer vibe. Think of it as the chill cousin of an IPA - it's got that hoppy character you love but dials back the bitterness, weight, and ABV to create something way more sessionable. Born from Australian brewers wanting to showcase local hops without the intensity of American IPAs, XPAs typically clock in around 4-5% ABV, making them perfect for those long summer arvo sessions at the beach or BBQs that stretch into the evening. The "extra pale" refers to the light malt base that lets the hops shine through with bright, fruity flavors rather than competing with heavy caramel or bread notes.
XPA is distinctly Australian because it embraces the country's unique hop varieties, which bring tropical fruit flavors like passionfruit, pineapple, and citrus that scream summer vacation. Unlike many pine-forward American hops or the earthy English varieties, Aussie hops deliver an incredible juicy character that's refreshing rather than aggressive. The style has exploded across Australia because it hits that sweet spot - hoppy enough to satisfy craft beer enthusiasts but approachable enough to drink more than one without your taste buds, gut, or sobriety giving out. It's become the unofficial beer of Australian summer, perfect for when you want something with more character than a lager but won't leave you too wrecked for tomorrow's surf session.
This week, we are releasing R&D2171, a pub batch we designed to dip our toe in the pool that is XPA. We wrote a recipe featuring a super crushable 5.75% malt base built with subtle grains that don’t overpower our chosen featured hops. The one I’m most excited about is HBC1019, an experimental hop, not yet named, that we think smells freakishly like peachy-O candies. This beer should be approachable for just about everybody, and if it goes well, we will dive into the deep end with a much larger production batch based on the findings we collect with this batch.
I’ll be looking for extra feedback on this batch, so try a sample and gather some thoughts. Don’t be surprised if I ask you for some insight, especially if you’re on the recently 21 side. I want to ensure that we are making beer that is appealing to our recently 21 customers, and you are my best voice of representation for that group.
As always, if you have some feedback and don't get a chance to talk to me, please send it to garrison@block15.com
Marketing Updates
By Holly Amlin, Marketing & Creative Manager
Meet the Brewer Nights at the Corvallis Knights Games
Fridays: June 20th & 27th, July 18th & 25th
A couple of our brewers will be at our Block 15 Beer Garden at Corvallis Knights games this season. We’re hosting these as part of being the beer sponsor of the Knights, but also to connect with the folks who love baseball in Corvallis.
The brewers will be running a raffle for Block 15 swag with those who purchase a Block 15 beer, and chatting with folks about one of our new beer releases. If you’re there on those nights, stop by and say hi!
We’ll also be handing out a select number of FREE ICE CREAM cards to be used at the Tap Room. You might start to see these come through after this Friday’s game. They’re good for one free soft serve ice cream cone.
Lunch with the Corvallis Knights Team
June 29th, 2025 - 12 - 2 pm @ the Tap Room
Meet the team! The Knights will be joining us for lunch before their game on Sunday, the 29th.
From the Executive Chef
By Sarah Farey, Executive Chef
Pub July Monthly Specials will go live July 2nd!
Strawberry & Chevre Bruschetta
Toasted sesame baguette with creamy whipped chevre & cream cheese blend, Riverland Family Farms’ strawberries, balsamic reduction & fresh basil $13.99
Oregon Berry Salad
Fresh salad greens, creamy citrus-parmesan dressing, roasted sunflower seeds, fresh Riverland Family Farms’ berries, julienned radishes & basil and balsamic pickled onions. $13.99
Machaca & Chipotle Tamale Pie
NW beef chuck shredded machaca, creamy & spicy chipotle tamale topping, baked to perfection & topped with melted cheddar & jack cheeses, sour cream, fresh jalapeno, crisp radish & crumbled queso fresco. $15.99
New menu items at the tap room go live today!
The Z.A.T (Replaces cauliflower grilled cheese)
Roasted zucchini, fresh greens & tomato, melted provolone, avocado & pesto mayo on house baked ciabatta. 11.99
Old Bay Shrimp Salad (Replaces buffalo chicken salad)
Blend of crisp romaine and fresh greens, topped with wild caught Gulf shrimp salad made with red onion, celery, and a creamy Old Bay dressing with fresh dill and lemon. Finished with toasted pumpkin seeds. 11.99
NEXT WEEK!
We will be running a sandwich special at both locations for the weekend to pair with our Shandy collaboration with Sugarpine Drive-In!
Izakaya Bavette Steak Sandwich
Cold-smoked NW bavette steak, coated in Sugarpine Drive-Ins' Northwest Wonder Rub, served chilled on a toasted Bread Stop brioche bun with caramelized miso-sesame aioli. Stacked with a grilled zucchini and green pepper–kale salad tossed in yuzu vinaigrette, and topped with sweet & tangy okonomi sauce, smashed cucumber, red onion, grape tomatoes, and corn, finished with a drizzle of red miso dressing.
Bakery
Notes from Lindsey Henriksen, Bakery Manager
Lemon Cheesecake is returning on Friday 6/20 at both locations! We are replacing our pb pie with a Classic Lemon Cheesecake. A New York-style cheesecake base with swirls of house lemon curd baked in, served with market berries and whipped cream. YUM! This one will stay around for most of the summer.
We are working on a new rotating cookie flavor at the taproom, stay tuned!
Pub Updates
By Kira Sciarrotta, General Manager
We are getting new taster trays! These are numbered, metal frames designed to hold our 5oz glasses for flights. One important piece that will change is we will now offer flights in sets of FOUR rather than five - this is just because the metal frames only have 4 spaces. We’re working on business card sized slips for you all to keep in your aprons in order to label the trays, so we will be moving away from the dry-erase boards as well.
These are made completely out of metal so they should be pretty easy to keep clean! While they are dishwasher safe, we should use sani-rags to wipe them down unless they get really covered in gunk - then we’ll throw them in the bar dishwasher. They have our logo printed on the middle which could deteriorate slightly if they’re washed too often. Using sani-rags most of the time should extend their lives!
Don’t forget to RSVP for the company picnic before June 24th! You can find this in the “Announcements” tab in Sling or at the top of the Brewsletter :)
Say goodbye to the Earl Grey Paloma! Once we run through our current product we will swap to the Passionfruit Marg for the summer, here is that recipe!
Rim a rocks glass with salt and in a shaker tin combine: ice, 1.5oz Cazadores Tequila, 0.25oz St Germain, 1oz Passionfruit Lemonade, 0.25oz Lime, 0.25oz Simple, strain and garnish with a Dehy Lime Wheel!
Tap Room Updates
The Summer Music Series starts today! Every Wednesday from June 18th- August 27th we’ll be hosting live music from 6 - 8 pm.
Check out the band line up here: https://block15.com/summer-music-series
Check out the new taster trays in the Pub section. These will be available for use soon!
Caves Updates
By Aidan Welch, General Manager
High Fives
Salem & Dave - Y’all killed it in the dishpit while kitchen only had 2 people working the lunch rush. Thank you so much for being such amazing hard workers, both of you !!!
Lily and Emma - For crushing a two man busy lunch and working together super well, keeping good attitudes regardless of what they were hit with. Major props!
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
Please welcome the following folks to the team:
Ari Kawai - TR Server
Camden Namanny - TR Server
Emily Farthing - Distro
Riley Smith - Distro
Welcome back to Mark Dossett - Distro
Charitable Programs
Our next event will be in July.