Internal Brewsletter - April 10th, 2024
General
Service and Emotional Support Animals
A note about Service and Emotional Support Animals in dining spaces:
A service animal means any dog that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including a physical, sensory, psychiatric, intellectual, or other mental disability. Tasks performed can include, among other things, pulling a wheelchair, retrieving dropped items, alerting a person to a sound, reminding a person to take medication, or pressing an elevator button.
Emotional support animals, comfort animals, and therapy dogs are not service animals under Title II and Title III of the ADA. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability.
Examples of animals that fit the ADA’s definition of “service animal” because they have been specifically trained to perform a task for the person with a disability:
Guide Dog or Seeing Eye® Dog is a carefully trained dog that serves as a travel tool for persons who have severe visual impairments or are blind.
Hearing or Signal Dog is a dog that has been trained to alert a person who has a significant hearing loss or is deaf when a sound occurs, such as a knock on the door.
Psychiatric Service Dog is a dog that has been trained to perform tasks that assist individuals with disabilities to detect the onset of psychiatric episodes and lessen their effects..
SSigDOG (sensory signal dogs or social signal dog) is a dog trained to assist a person with autism. The dog alerts the handler to distracting repetitive movements common among those with autism, allowing the person to stop the movement (e.g., hand flapping).
Seizure Response Dog is a dog trained to assist a person with a seizure disorder. How the dog serves the person depends on the person’s needs.
However, entities must make reasonable modifications in policies to allow individuals with disabilities to use miniature horses if they have been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for individuals with disabilities.
Other Support or Therapy Animals
While Emotional Support Animals or Comfort Animals are often used as part of a medical treatment plan as therapy animals, they are not considered service animals under the ADA. These support animals provide companionship, relieve loneliness, and sometimes help with depression, anxiety, and certain phobias, but do not have special training to perform tasks that assist people with disabilities.
Handler’s Responsibilities:
The handler is responsible for the care and supervision of his or her service animal. If a service animal behaves in an unacceptable way and the person with a disability does not control the animal, a business or other entity does not have to allow the animal onto its premises. Uncontrolled barking, jumping on other people, or running away from the handler are examples of unacceptable behavior for a service animal. A business has the right to deny access to a dog that disrupts their business.
The ADA requires the animal to be under the control of the handler. This can occur using a harness, leash, or other tether. However, in cases where either the handler is unable to hold a tether because of a disability or its use would interfere with the service animal’s safe, effective performance of work or tasks, the service animal must be under the handler’s control by some other means, such as voice control
The animal must be housebroken.
The ADA does not require covered entities to provide for the care or supervision of a service animal, including cleaning up after the animal.
The animal should be vaccinated in accordance with state and local laws.
An entity may also assess the type, size, and weight of a miniature horse in determining whether or not the horse will be allowed access to the facility.
Handler’s Rights
Public Facilities and Accommodations
Titles II and III of the ADA makes it clear that service animals are allowed in public facilities and accommodations.
When a person with a service animal enters a public facility or place of public accommodation, the person cannot be asked about the nature or extent of their disability.
Only two questions may be asked:
1. Is the animal required because of a disability?
2. What work or task has the animal been trained to perform?
These questions should not be asked, however, if the animal’s service tasks are obvious. For example, the questions may not be asked if the dog is observed guiding an individual who is blind or has low vision, pulling a person’s wheelchair, or providing assistance with stability or balance to an individual with an observable mobility disability.
A public accommodation or facility is not allowed to ask for documentation or proof that the animal has been certified, trained, or licensed as a service animal. Local laws that prohibit specific breeds of dogs do not apply to service animals.
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 Whitney! Swing by the Pub this Thursday for Poutine.
We’re always looking for more submissions, so send in those ideas!
UPCOMING PACKAGED BEER RELEASES - Cans
Releasing Friday 4/12
DAB Lab: Hop Sauce // The DAB Lab series focuses on vibrant, experimental IPAs featuring cutting-edge hop products. Using newly developed CO2 product "702," from Yakima Chief Hops, this IPA is an explosion of citrus and pine notes. // 6.75%
Takeaways: YCH 702 comes in as a new product designed for use hotside to amplify survivable compounds and aromatics into the final product
Tasting Notes: Tangerine • Pine • Saucy
Series: DAB Lab
Beer Style: West Coast IPA
An IPA Sub-style that originated in California. It has evolved over the years to showcase a balance of bright fruit, resinous pine, and dank (cannabis-forward) hop flavors and aromas, with a moderate to light malt presence and a dry finish with an assertive bitterness. West Coast is still a rapidly evolving style. The Variations of IPAs have become America’s primary contribution to the pantheon of world beer styles.
COMING UP ON DRAFT
Releasing Friday 4/12
DAB Lab: Hop Sauce // West Coast IPA
CROWLER/PACKAGE SALE for Sippin’ Sunday
20% off all packaged beer to-go, $5 Crowlers and $10 Growler fills all-day Sunday
This week’s beer is: Joy
UPCOMING Releases
*This list is subject to change based on the production schedule, so please keep that in mind!
C.B.C. IPA // West Coast IPA (Draft Only)
Series: Synergy
Releases: April 19th in-house and at the Craft Brewers Conference in Las Vegas, NV, April 21st-24th, at Crosby’s booth
Highlight: This crisp West Coast IPA was brewed in collaboration with our friends at Crosby Hop Farms. Brewed to highlight our respective operations, we utilized a litany of Crosby Products to create this beer. B&D Farms Cascade, Estate Grown Comet CGX, and New Zealand Grown Pacific Sunrise hops combine to create an IPA popping with Tropical Fruit character, pine, grapefruit, and orange zest.
Boots First // West Coast IPA
Series: Synergy, collaboration with the Willamette Valley chapter of the Pink Boots Society
Releases: April 19th
Highlight: We’ll be brewing this beer on March 29th at the Tap Room with the Willamette Valley Pink Boots chapter, which J Pascoe, one of our Brewers, is co-leader of. This year’s collaboration will focus on a bright West Coast-style IPA made with Chinook, Nelson, and potentially El Dorado hops.
Sol Fresco // Mexican Lager
Series: Perennial
Releases: April 19th
Highlight: Sol Fresco is one of our seasonal lagers, which balances gentle corn sweetness, light hop bitterness, and aroma with a crisp, clean finish. And it’s Lagered by the Sun.
Board Shorts: Next Set // IPA
Series: Perennial
Releases: April 26th
Highlight: Brewed every year in honor of Seth, our original bar manager, this one really pushes into that new-age West Coast direction with a balance of bright fruit and sharp resin. A portion of beer sales will be donated to the OHSU Brain Institute.
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!
Beer 101: DAB Lab: Hop Sauce and YCH 702
Written by Matt Williams, Head of Brewery Operations
This week marks our latest beer being released as part of the DAB Lab program, Hop Sauce. This iteration is a West Coast IPA base featuring Yakima Chief Hop's new product, currently called YCH 702.
YCH 702 is a trial hop product, meaning it is not fully finalized or named, but they are allowing breweries to bring it in and try it out in their processes. YCH 702 Trial is a flowable hop extract at room temperature produced through supercritical extraction of hop pellets with CO2, utilizing a novel extraction technique. YCH 702 is designed to amplify hop aromatics and increase hotside yield. In simpler terms, it's a product that is stable at room temperature and designed for use in our hot-side brewing process, but ideally not at full boil. Available in variety-specific options, this is a very appealing product for how we like to make our beers.
DAB Lab: Hop Sauce was built around two specific varieties available in this new product, Citra and Mosaic. Since we are intimately familiar with these varieties, it was felt we would really be able to hone in on what the YCH 702 is contributing to the final product. We focused on using it as suggested, so both varieties were added post-boil in the whirlpool at about 170 degrees. This has the advantage of being hot enough to help dissolve the oils and get everything into suspension in the wort but not so hot that we are degrading and driving off those important aromatic and flavor compounds. We utilized a total of 3kg combined of these new products to help amplify the flavor and aroma components of this beer.
The results on the beer are quite promising. Hop Sauce has a vibrant, clean, aromatic profile of citrus, pine, and tropical fruits. A nicely balanced bitterness complements the flavors of pine, grapefruit, and tangerine that dominate the palate with a smooth, clean finish. It will be exciting to see how this beer settles in as it ages.
Further Reading:
From the Executive Chef
Food Feedback
Let’s kick up our food feedback! Last week I think we had a total of 3 things written down on the sheet. If everyone makes an effort to pass along at least one item per week on the sheet posted in the kitchen, we will end up with pages! Your and our guests well thought out feedback is vital to ensure we are consistently meeting all of our food and beverage standards! XOXO
Sol Fresco Beer & Food Pairing
April 19th, with the release of Sol Fresco, we will be running a paired special for the tap life of the beer!
Potato & Green Chile Flautas
Creamy, spicy potato and green chili fried flautas, served with salsa borracha, sour cream, queso fresco, radishes and smoked chili oil. $12.99
PUB UPDATES
As a reminder–any break needs to be run by a manager (or Lead in the kitchen/prep kitchen) before you step off of the floor or out of the kitchen. Even if it’s a quick smoke/vape or fresh air break, we need to know where to find you and who is covering you while you are out. You all are absolutely entitled to these rest breaks, but timing and ensuring coverage is essential for proper flow of the restaurant.
We are launching a new cocktail this Friday! The Chili Mango Pop (Think those Vero Mango Tajin Lollipops) that will have Tequila, Mango Puree, a Tres Chili Shrub, Lime Juice, Chocolate Bitters, and Topo Chico.
The “Don’t Panic” cocktail will be coming back this Friday! This includes: Crater Lake Gin, Blueberry Lavender, Lemon, Prosecco, and a spritz of Absinthe.
We will also bring back the Michelada when we have Sol Fresco on tap on 4/19. A michelada is a beer based drink that often has tomato, chiles, lime juice, and other spices. This is a savory beer cocktail–think of a “red beer” or “bloody beer” that are often served with bloody mary mix, but ours is a special mix that the prep kitchen makes that is smoky, spicy and slightly tangy. Guests can also choose to add a half shot of tequila or mezcal if they want to kick it up a little!
Pub Company Direction Objectives
Consistently promote and encourage teamwork and strengthen the ties within our team–we are our most successful when we work together and support/understand each other.
Promote ongoing education on all things Block 15 through monthly "Deep Dives" on items from the kitchen, and from the brewery/bar. Each month (roughly) Sarah and myself will send out our information on respective Deep Dives on menu items.
Demonstrate to every guest that we are happy they have joined us. Make connections and show genuine interest and excitement!
TAP ROOM UPDATES
Please make sure we are checking dates on packaged beer when restocking and always put the older date in the front. (Think FIFO!!) If you have any questions on whether something is in code or not please reach out to a manager!
As we start ramping up for summer, please keep 4 people on Friday and Saturday evenings until at least 6:30pm, dinner pops will start getting later as the sun starts to set later and it is always better to be prepared!
Reminder: we will stop taking reservations for the barrel room starting May 1st, reservations after that are for the outside grassy area only.
We got new blankets for folks to use out in the grassy area or for if they are cold, we are installing hooks outside that they will live on during open hours. The opener will put them out and the closer or pre-closer will need to bring them inside at night.
Please make sure that we are double-checking glassware before pouring beverages or putting them away. Please try to not pour beverages before the glassware has cooled down (at least rinse them for a longer period of time in either the sink or the physical glass rinsers) to prevent the glassware from cracking.
2024 Objectives
Elevate engagement through impactful community-centered opportunities and events
Enhance the visibility of the Block 15 Bakery and unique Taproom menu items
Amplify the customer convenience factor
Upcoming Events
April 22nd - Opening full summer hours and Earth Day
April 25th - Free bike adjustments event with Bike n Hike!
Bakery Highlight
Ciabatta/Tuscan Chicken Sandwich! Read more about the Tuscan here
Try to highlight and/or suggest this item to 3 different customers per shift you work!
Caves Updates
Fort George - Matryoshka w/ Vanilla Bean will be on tap this Thursday replacing the Kentucky Kilt! Also, don’t forget that we tapped the Wayfinder “Batch 666” Sparkling Lager last week and this will be reflected officially on the menus this Thursday.
Caves Direction Objectives
Deliver elevated consistency through the Caves experience
Hit our service and food standards every single time! Show our guests why we should be their regular spot and what sets us apart with our elevated experience.
Keep eyes up and out and move through the restaurant rather than just behind the bar when making loops. Offer to grab another beverage, refill waters, or pre-bus tables, even if they aren’t yours.
Amplify education and enthusiasm within our food and beverage programs
Through elevated and thorough education on new menu items and revisiting tried and true classics, or beverages with more history and information.
HIGH FIVE SECTION
Helen ONeill - Spent free time helping in the dish pit when the restaurant was packed.
Leighton Godwin - You're doing great. Keep it up!
Connor - He always makes a point to say hi, and brings a friendly energy into the kitchen.
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
Check back next week!
Office Hours
Monday: Pub 10am - 1pm
Tuesday: Tap Room 1- 4pm
Thursday: Pub 1 - 4pm
Friday: Tap Room 10am - 1pm
THE PEOPLE’S PINT / CHEERS FOR CHARITY / DINE OUT
Check back next week!
WHAT’S UP ON INSTA??
FEEDBACK
Hey friends! If you find yourself sitting at home, or out and about and something pops into your mind that you would like to pass along to the team, feel free to use this form! Please be mindful of keeping feedback or suggestions constructive and positively worded!