Internal Brewsletter - November 1st, 2023
General
Big News from Block 15 Distribution
Block 15 Family! I have big news from the Block 15 Distribution side of our team.
I am thrilled to announce that we have partnered with Wayfinder Beer as the newest supplier in our portfolio. We will be distributing them throughout Oregon in areas such as Corvallis, Eugene & Medford, as well as other regions around the state. They make some of the distro team's favorite beers including CZ AF Czech-style Pilsner, Cold IPA, and Hell Munich-style Helles.
About Wayfinder Beer: Located in Portland, Oregon, Wayfinder Beer’s portfolio consists of an array of brews that cater to a broad spectrum of tastes in styles. Since opening in 2016, Wayfinder has offered customers an extensive selection of bold hop-forward IPAs and timeless lagers, providing delightful and unexpected flavors. Awarded the 'Best Brewpub Experience in Oregon' four times at the Oregon Beer Awards, Wayfinder has become a cherished destination for many in Portland and beyond.
To find out more about them visit Wayfinder.beer or find them on social media @WayfinderBeer
– Erin Grey Kemplin, Sales & Distribution Director
Save the Date - Block 15 Holiday party
Save the Date! Sunday, December 10th will be our Block 15 Holiday party! This is an adult-only party that will be at the Marriott in the evening. More info to come next month.
New hours at the pub
Reminder: starting Monday, November 6th, the Pub’s hours will be Sunday-Thursday 11am - 10pm and Friday & Saturday 11am - 11pm.
LET’S RIDE!
This Fall, we sponsored Cycle Lab’s Biktoberfest. In return, we all get 3 free passes to try out their studio! Each class is around $25 so this is an AWESOME opportunity! And free!
Head to this link HERE to sign up/create an account and use the code BEER23 to redeem your classes!
They expire on 12/31/23 so let’s get fit before the Holidays arrive!
Employee Provision
This week’s Employee Provision will be brought to you by Lily & Niko! Swing by the Pub this Thursday for a Philly Cheesesteak, made with grilled onions and peppers.
If that inspires you, we’re always looking for more submissions, so send in those ideas!
UPCOMING PACKAGED BEER RELEASES - cans
RELEASING Friday 11/3
Sticky Hands: Turkey’s Pick // Using hop blend "Turkey's Pick" from Hop Revolution in New Zealand and PNW Crosby Hops with our Sticky Hands base. Expect loads of resin-dipped citrus and tropical fruit notes to share for the start of turkey season. // 8.10% ABV
Takeaways: Susan Wheeler, the owner of Hop Revolution, is known for calling everyone Turkeys – (in your best Kiwi accent) “What’s crackin’ ya turkey!”. The selection building they have on the farm is also referred to as “The Turkey’s Nest”. This is where they host their most influential NZ brewers for selection season and each harvest they choose their favorite “4 blocks” AKA favorite 3 lots (across all varieties) on the entire property. This year, that included the best lot of Motuere, Motueka, and Riwaka. We don't normally use commercial hop blends, part of our jobs as brewers is picking our own hop lots to blend, but this one is so unique we wanted to highlight it.
Tasting Notes: Ripe Papaya, Buddha's Hand, Good as Gold.
Series: Orbital
UPCOMING PACKAGED BEER RELEASES - Bottles
RELEASING Saturday 11/4
Imagine // A blend of Belgian-inspired imperial stouts matured for one and two years in freshly-emptied bourbon barrels. Deep, dark, and decadent, our strongest offering blended once a year. // 14.50% ABV
Takeaways: Belgian-style stout that each year is matured in different bourbon distillery barrels. Made with a Trappist yeast that has high attenuating power, this allows us to really push that starting gravity and make this one big-big-big beer.
Tasting Notes: Chocolate, Coffee, Roasty
Series: Perennial
Imagine “Chocolate Hazelnut” Edition // Are you a Filbert or a Hazelnut person? Anyone sitting on the fence can ponder this universal question while experiencing waves of sweet, earthy hazelnuts, rich chocolate, and decadent vanilla. This Belgian-inspired stout was matured in bourbon barrels for one to two years before being introduced to this delectable trio. // 14.50% ABV
Takeaways: Ten pounds per barrel of roasted Oregon Hazelnuts were steeped for an extended time on the base Imagine beer, after being racked out of barrels, along with whole cocoa nibs to impart a fresh and authentic hazelnut flavor and aroma.
Tasting Notes: Sweet Cocoa, Gentle Hazelnut, Coffee
Series: Cellar
Figgy Pudding // Our yearly holiday offering is brewed with specialty malts, blackstrap molasses, steeped with Ceylon cinnamon and nutmeg and matured in freshly emptied brandy barrels. The perfect beer to share with friends and family around a cozy fireplace or celebration. // 11.00% ABV
Takeaways: Each year Figgy Pudding is spiced according to its individual needs. There is no recipe or formula, we rely on taste and blending to make each year’s vintage taste just right.
Tasting Notes: Spice. Molasses. Warm.
Series: Cellar
Framboise Claret // This celebration of the locally grown black cap and red raspberries features a blend of spontaneously fermented wild ales matured over a year in oak barrels and conditioned on NW fruit. Striking berry character with a tart and fruity balance. // 7.80% ABV
Takeaways: Black-cap and red raspberries are harvested throughout the summer and added to blended barrels before bottling. The beer is not left on fruit for an extended amount of time.
Tasting Notes: Ripe Raspberry. Red Currant. Vibrant
Series: Cellar
COMING UP ON DRAFT
RELEASING Friday 11/3
Sticky Hands: Turkey’s Pick // Hop Experience Ale
Imagine // Belgian-Style Imperial Stout Matured in Bourbon Barrels
Imagine “Chocolate Hazelnut” Edition // Belgian-Style Imperial Stout Matured in Bourbon Barrels with Cocoa Nibs, Hazelnuts and Vanilla
Figgy Pudding // English-Style Barleywine Matured in Brandy Barrels with Spice
Framboise Claret // Wild Golden Ale Matured with Black and Red Raspberries
CROWLER/PACKAGE SALE
Crowler Sale: Specular Reflections
UPCOMING / IN PROCESS BEERS
*This list is subject to change based on the brewing schedule, so please keep that in mind!
Hair of the Peach // Barleywine Ale Matured in Bourbon Barrels with Peaches and Apricots, collaboration with Hair of the Dog
Punch Out & Prost // Dortmunder Export Lager
Hoppy Holidays // Imperial IPA with Spruce Tips
Willa 2023 // Red Farmhouse Ale
Fresh Pow! // Hazy IPA
Alt 15 // Altbier
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: Block 15 November Barrel Release
Written by Garrison Schmidt, Production Manager
Block 15 has been barreling beer for over a decade, and in that time our program has grown in size and influence. In February of 2010, we held the first bourbon month, and with it released Pappy’s Dark, a strong specialty ale brewed to compliment the use of freshly emptied Pappy Van Winkle barrels. The beer was aged for *gasp* three whole months in the sought-after barrels, but recreating it became impossible once the barrels became exorbitantly expensive. That fall, we released Figgy Pudding, a beer that has been in production ever since, and the November barrel-aged beer release was born.
While this was very early in the world of barrel-aged beer, it was not the first release in Oregon. Hair of the Dog in Portland filled their first barrel in 1994 and was even having small festivals based around their Barrel releases. However, what we were doing was incredibly rare for a brewery of our size. At that time, brewpubs simply didn’t have barrel programs.
We have continued the November Bottle Release since 2010, and it has grown and evolved. We added Imagine, our Belgian-style bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout, its variants that change every year, (this year chocolate hazelnut), and Framboise, which bounces between white, black, and claret vintages. We also traditionally accompanied the release with a brunch, but this year we are switching things up and instead doing smaller more intimate experiences like the brewer's dinner this Friday.
The November Bottle Release is one of Block 15’s biggest weekends of the year, and we are excited to share some bottles with those of you who have never experienced it before, as well as with those of you who have been with us for some time, cheers!
PUB UPDATES
Back when Toast launched the new POS version during Family Weekend, we hit pause to allow us to get through the busy weekend without a funky new layout to get used to. Now that we are a few weeks away from that weekend and starting some renewed focus on hospitality starting November 6th, we will also be implementing the improved Toast layout/system on the 6th. This will take some getting used to and some tweaking of muscle memory, but the new version does have some pretty nice features and time-saving pieces.
Now that we will be self-hosting more often Monday-Thursday in the afternoons, please be mindful of communicating when we seat groups of 5 or more people, or when we seat several tables in a row. As we all communicate with each other and are more confident and aware of the pace of the restaurant, we will be able to efficiently communicate the flow to the line lead. Check-in with your fellow servers and folks on the floor to ensure everyone is in the loop!
Revisit November's Specials with some added info here!!!
TAP ROOM UPDATES
We will be switching from 2Towns Cherry Sublime to Two Berry Dream (Berry Limeade) once we run out of the cherry cans.
We will be switching out the White Peach Guava Marg for a Cranberry Orange Gin and Tonic with a Thyme sprig and Dehydrated orange wheel garnish this Friday!
Big Fall Release this weekend! Please make sure you know all the events that are happening and if you are scheduled on Saturday expect it to be pretty busy!
We will be starting to use the dehydrated lemon and lime wheels for cocktail garnishes like the pub does this week. Please use the lemon ones for FVL, HH Cocktails, Hot Toddy, and the lime ones for Margs. We will still have small containers of fresh ones to use for NA lemonade and whatnot. This will help us to drastically reduce citrus waste for the winter.
We added a new tea flavor to our mix, English Breakfast! (black tea and does have caffeine) We still have Jasmine Green and Evening in Missoula.
Just a reminder that we close at 8pm which means we should be graciously accepting customers until 8pm and full food and drinks can be ordered until then. (if someone comes in at 7:55 they should still get full-service options of food and drinks)
We are pushing back the start of Themed nights at the TR until next Tuesday 11/7!
Revisit November specials with some added info here!
Caves UPDATES
Events
Late Fall Bottle Release Events
Updates! It’s next week!
Brewers Dinner 11/3
At the Pub at 6pm in the Gameroom
Guided Pairings 11/4
At the Taproom from 11am - 2pm around the facility
Bottles Release 11/4 for public. Beers on tap at the Pub and TR on 11/3.
HIGH FIVE SECTION
Gavin Thorud - Gavin has a willingness to take on difficult tasks and is plucky as hell. They are always someone we can rely on to see a job through and do it right. The whole brewery is really lucky to have them on our team.
Ted O’Hanlan - I really enjoy all the insight and education he provides between the Ted Talks and the articles in the brewsletter. Keep it coming Ted!
If you have kudos or kind words you want to share anonymously in the Brewsletter, use the button below!
STAFF SECTION!
Check back next week
SAFETY TIPS
Fire Safety Emergency Planning: where is your evacuation meeting spot? 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 on the sidewalk just to the south of the parking lot entrance.
THE PEOPLE’S PINT / CHEERS FOR CHARITY / DINE OUT
The People’s Pint Tap - November
People’s Pint Tap kicks off today! For the whole month, we will be dedicating a tap handle to give back to our community. The organization we chose this month is Corvallis Mountain Rescue. A portion of the proceeds from each pint and packaged beer to-go will be donated to the organization from both Block 15 locations.
Corvallis Mountain Rescue Unit offers 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.
More info here: https://www.corvallismountainrescue.org/index.html
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!