Internal Brewsletter - March 29, 2023
GENERAL
New Desserts! Starting this Friday we will have 2 new desserts at both Block 15 locations:
Chocolate-Coconut Panna Cotta (Replaces cheesecake)
Silky layers of chocolate & coconut panna cotta custard with house made coconut brownie brittle. $8
Cuatro Leches Cake (Replaces coco bell)
Our spin on the traditional Tres Leches Cake with the addition of bourbon-caramel. $8
Starting Wednesday (Today!) we will be making some minor menu adjustments.
We will no longer have piquillo peppers so the Alabama Slammer will come with house pickles and banana peppers! (It is really good!)
We are also phasing out the B&B peppers, so we will put house pickles on the meatloaf.
Lastly, we are also phasing out the quick pickled carrots. We will be replacing these with the daikon slaw on the kimchi rice bowl and fresh shredded carrots on the sesame ginger salad.
Employee Provision: This is 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 Tivey! Swing by the Pub this Thursday for a Philly Burger (Painted Hills beef burger on a brioche bun, with mayo and shredded lettuce. Topped with piquillo and pickled jalapeños, lightly marinated onions, and a scoop of our house bier cheese sauce.).
If that inspires you, we’re always looking for more submissions, so send in those ideas!
UPCOMING PACKAGED BEER RELEASES - cans
RELEASING FRIDAY 3/31
Illuminated // Brewed with a dynamic array of grains, select hops, and classic Belgian yeast. Classic to style, rich and characterful, and naturally conditioned with Belgian Candi sugar with a surprisingly crisp finish. // 8.90% ABV
Takeaways: Brewed with Belgian Pilsner malt and naturally conditioned in tank, Illuminated represents our commitment to authenticity with the abbey program.
Tasting Notes: Bartlett Pear. Nutmeg. Enlightened.
COMING UP ON DRAFT
Illuminated // Belgian Tripel
UPCOMING / IN PROCESS BEERS
*This list is subject to change based on the brewing schedule, so please keep that in mind!
Sol Fresco // Mexican Lager
Revolve // Bier de Champagne aged in Peach Brandy barrels
Crystal Ball // India Pale Ale
The Past // Amber Ale
The Present // India Pale Ale
The Future // Rice Lager
CROWLER/PACKAGE SALE
Crowler Sale: Nebula
BEER EDUCATION
Weekly Tastings of new releases and some classics is continuing:
Tuesdays at 2pm at the Taproom
Thursdays at 11am at the Pub
Beer 101
WHIRLPOOL EXPANSION
It’s new equipment week at the Taproom, we’re having a brand new Whirlpool installed on the brewhouse. All the rearranging we’ve been doing has been to make room for this new vessel. What exactly is it?
Whirlpools are a relatively new technology, only invented in 1960. The concept is that a wide cylindrical vessel, equipped with a flat base and an inlet port that is parallel to the side of the tank is used to separate the solids from the liquids after the boil, but before sending to the fermenter. You pump the hot wort through the inlet creating centripetal forces that pull the solids to the center, then you draw liquid from the outer edge of the tank.
Hops and proteins from the grain are emulsified in the wort during the boil, the advent of whirlpools allowed brewers to use pelletized hops instead of whole-leaf hops. Since the material in the pellets is much finer than the whole-leaf, brewers couldn’t use it without a means to separate it from the wort.
The kettles at both production and the pub have a combined kettle and whirlpool tank. The advantage of the new whirlpool is that it has a better geometry that will allow us to get a higher yield at knockout as well as create efficiencies in our brew day operations, shaving many hours a week in labor. It’s very common for larger breweries to have a standalone whirlpool. There are even more vessels that can be configured in a brewhouse to make it more efficient as well. Many very large breweries have five vessels; Mash-tun, lauter-tun, wort receiver, kettle, and whirlpool. Our system is now comprised of a mash/lauter-tun, kettle, and whirlpool.
PUB UPDATES
We are slowly phasing out the Blood Orange lemonade and will be switching to a Blueberry Lavender lemonade in mid-April. This will also phase out the Sparkle Motion and mark the transition into our Spring cocktail menu. Keep your eyes out for this official change, and get the Sparkle Motion while you can!
Thank you all for your positivity and flexibility as we launched Toast Tables this past weekend and navigated through changes and small kinks in the system! There are a ton of benefits to the new system, but also a lot of new pieces to get used to, so we appreciate you all rolling with it! If you have any questions, ideas, or constructive feedback, feel free to shoot Goody a HotSchedules message or an email at alex@block15.com!
TAP ROOM UPDATES
CAVES UPDATES
MARKETING
We will host our first Group Ride tomorrow, 3/30!
Meet up at 6:15pm at the water fountains on 1st st and we will roll at 6:30pm. We will be heading south down the waterfront towards the bike paths on Willamette and Crystal Lake heading towards the Block 15 Taproom. We will have twinkly string lights for the first 10 folks that show up! Bring your friends!
Check out the bike route HERE
Wear a helmet and bring lights to bike home. It is still fairly dark out around 7 ish. Maybe pair up with a buddy on your ride home too. DRESS WARM!
Make sure to sign up for our Strava group HERE as I will be posting rides to this group after this test!
Questions? Hollah at me kelsea@block15.com
-Kelsea
Corvallis Half Marathon!
Where are my runners at!? We’re doing another year of sponsoring the Corvallis Half Marathon and Blair was kind enough to give us a voucher to run for free! This is for either a 5k or a half marathon!
There are some rules though… if you use the voucher, you HAVE to run or you will have to foot (Ha! Get it?) the bill. The second rule is to make sure you have planned ahead with your work schedule and make sure your time off is covered. Third rule is just have so good ‘ol fashion fun.
If you’re ready to lace up your shoes for April 15th, shoot Kelsea an email (kelsea@block15.com) with the subject line, “I’m Ready to Run!!” and I’ll give you a voucher for free entry.
EVENTS
Save the Date for our 15th Anniversary Celebrations!
April 20th at the Pub “2008 Throwback Party”
April 22nd at the Tap Room “The 15th Anniversary: Past, Present, and Future Fest”
TICKETS GO ON SALE FRIDAY, MARCH 24TH AT 11AM!
VIP $45 - Limited number available. Includes early entry at 1pm, branded glassware, 10 tokens, and special merch.
General $30 - Includes entry starting at 2pm, branded glassware, and 10 tokens.
Non-Alcoholic Beverage $15 - Includes entry and 5 tokens.
Kids 12 and under are free with an adult.
Exclusive Beer Tastings from Block 15 and our friends in the industry
Block 15 Snack Shack & Portland’s Tastebud Wood Fired Pizza
Block 15 Cocktail Bar
Live Screenprinting
Live Music throughout the day
Brewery Tours
Shuttle from our Downtown Pub
Distribution Tour shortly afterward with dates TBD
HIGH FIVE SECTION
Joshua Gallegos - Spanked the best burgers I've ever worked with. Really helped during the weekend rush.
Ted O’Hanlan - Just noticing Ted working his tail off to make some seriously awesome beers and expanding on our research and development at Block. Glad to have him on the team. Our fans seem to be really stoked on what’s coming out these days. Thanks Ted!
Holly Amlin - Holly is great. Works hard, always looks to improve things at Block and does everything with a smile. A great problem solver and team member. We’re glad to have you Holly!
STAFF SECTION!
Congratulations to Ian F. and Kelsy E. for accepting lead cook positions!
Congratulations to Benny for accepting a Pub Manager position, and Donlon for accepting a Lead Server, Trainer, and Barback role! We are super excited to see these two behind the bar!
Congratulations to Taylor for stepping into a Host & Food Runner Trainer position!
SAFETY TIPS
Fire Safety Emergency Planning:
Do you know where your evacuation meeting spot is? If you have to evacuate the building for any reason, such as a fire, the Pub and Caves’ meeting location is the Jefferson Place parking lot on the corner of 4th and Jefferson. The Tap Room’s meeting spot is the sidewalk just to the south of the parking lot entrance.
THE PEOPLE’S PINT / CHEERS FOR CHARITY / DINE OUT
Dine Out for Greenbelt Land Trust - April 11th
On April 11th, 10% of sales from both Block 15 locations will be donated to help their cause to protect and restore the lands and waters that you care about in the Willamette Valley, for a more resilient future for all.
Greenbelt Land Trust will be on site at Block 15's South Town Tap Room from 5-7pm. Stop by and say hello!
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!