Block 15 Announces Figgy Pudding Bottle Release and New Brewery & Taproom

With word that Block 15 Restaurant & Brewery has broken ground on their new production brewery and taproom in south Corvallis with a tentative opening date of June 2015, the brewery also has set the date for their next highly coveted bottle releases. On November 22nd, Block 15 will release Figgy Pudding, Framboise Black, and Giving Thanks.

It may be some time for Block 15’s new facility to open at 3415 SW Deschutes Ave, by the old DMV building in Corvallis. But in the meantime they do have another set of bottle releases and brunch that’s coming up next month.

Going forward Block 15 has settled on a new, very desirable 500ml bottle for all of their future bottle releases. For these three upcoming releases both Figgy Pudding and Giving Thanks have been bottled in this new design. However, Framboise Black was bottled in the remaining 375ml bottles that the brewer had in stock. On Saturday, November 22nd, bottles sales will begin at 11:00am.

Here are the descriptions of the three releases from Block 15.

Figgy Pudding 2014

Our holiday offering was brewed with English pale & specialty malts, white & black figs, and black strap molasses. It was then matured in freshly emptied brandy barrels and gently spiced with Ceylon cinnamon and hand ground nutmeg.  This blend includes 9 of 12 barrels we had available. We made a couple slight tweaks this year by was adding the figs to our kettle at the end of boil instead of the conditioning tank. We also added just a touch more spice.  The Ceylon cinnamon throws a wonderful citrus note to the finished beer! The final blend is fantastic with rich caramelized fig character; gentle spicing, citrus, with warming brandy.  Each barrel was plated twice in our lab prior to bottling.
11.5% ABV
$11.00/500ml, Limit 6

Framboise Black

We brewed Framboise Black as we were not able to procure enough golden raspberries last year for Framboise White.  This beer is brewed in the same manner as Framboise White and is a blend of strong Belgian style witbiers matured in French Oak barrels with locally grown black cap raspberries. We open fermented the beer with our house blend of Belgian yeast, brettanomyces, and lactobacillus. Mysteriously purple black in color with rich jammy fruits, supporting body, and a balanced sour finish.  The bottle limits are low as we lost half our the barrels to flooding this past spring.
8.5% ABV
$9.00/375ml, Limit 2

Giving Thanks
From our wild cellar comes this blend of Belgian style Dubbels from 2nd use rum barrels and strong ale from brandy and 2nd use bourbon barrels.  All of these beers underwent an extended lactic fermentation in barrels for 11-28 months. Akin to an Oud Bruin, the final blend is balanced with gentle acidity and supporting malt character.  Implementing the use of 2nd run barrels allowed us to control the oak and spirit character to a supporting role. Giving Thanks is a wonderfully complex beer with notes of nuts, tobacco, plum and oak with supporting acidity.
10% ABV
$11.00/500ml, Limit 4

If you are looking for a more relaxed and surefire way to get these three beers in your hands you should consider Block 15 and Les Caves brunch that will once again be offered with online lottery reservations.

There will be two brunch options for this November release. A confirmed brunch reservation includes the right to purchase all bottles up to the limit amount. Bottle limits are set so that even if you do not secure a reservation, the first 50 people in line when they open at 11:00am will be able to purchase bottles.

Caves Bier & Kitchen
Enjoy their regular brunch menu, beer inspired specials, 20 taps, and over 150 bottles. All release beers will be on tap.

Block 15 Brunch ($14 Buffet to include):

• Mixed Artisan Cheese & Fall Fruit
• Figgy Pudding French Toast
• Buttermilk Biscuits with Honey Butter, Black Cap Jam and Sausage Gravy
• Farm Fresh Scrambled Eggs
• Veggie Sausage
• Pepper Bacon
• Home Fried Potatoes
• Pacifica Coffee

For Both Caves & Block 15 they will have a online brunch reservation form to reserve your brunch spot. This reservation form can be accessed here. Don’t delay as the online reservation form will only be available until 5:00pm on November 3rd. Block 15 will be selecting reservations via a lottery system.  You will receive an email by November 6th at 6:00pm regarding your reservation request.

If you want to get these bottles without their brunch, when Block 15 opens for regular business at 11:00am they will have enough bottles at their preset limits for at least 50 people in line. For those waiting in line the brewery will also have hot coffee, high fives, and Figgy Pudding doughnuts made by their friends at NutCakes.