News on Tap

Once a year, we get our collective heads together here at Standing Stone Brewing and organize a beer dinner, offering one fun, sumptuous event for beer lovers and culinary enthusiasts alike. We present our 2012 Winter Beer Dinner, Thursday, January 12th at 6:30pm!

This formal dinner features six courses of beer and food pairings. Chef Eric Bell has once again devised delicious fare, created to pair perfectly with six of our beers. We’ll highlight flavors of the season and the state, with Oregon coast Dungeness crab and rockfish, Mama Terra goat cheese from Williams, and potatoes from Klamath Falls, to name a few. This year, for the first time, our Beer Dinner menu features our very own Standing Stone Black Angus beef, served in a rib eye cut with wild foraged chanterelles. This grass-fed beef comes from our very own farm, just a few miles away in Ashland, OR!

Seats for this event are $60 a person. Seating is limited, with 80 seats available for this year’s dinner, so be sure to make your reservation soon to save your spot at one of our tables! We have tables in various sizes, and you’re welcome to reserve seats together with friends and family.

In the spirit of the holiday season, we’re also featuring a Beer Dinner Gift Pack as a great gift for your favorite beer aficionado. This gift pack includes two logo’d pint glasses, two half gallon growler bottles and a gift card for filling with a favorite Standing Stone beer, as well as a gift card for two seats at this year’s Winter Beer Dinner. It’s the gift that keeps giving! We also have gift cards available in any amount, so you can purchase seats separately, or put together your own gift package.

To make your Winter Beer Dinner reservation, call the restaurant at (541) 482-2448, or come in and speak with a bartender or server to learn more. You can also email us at Rachel@standingstonebrewing.com. We look forward to seeing you there!

Posted in Brewery & Beer, Events, Restaurant & Menu
Tags: beer & food pairing, Beer Dinner

Standing Stone Brewing Co regulars know the winter holidays bring a special gift from us – Barley Wine. We know our customers anticipate this every year and wanted to let you know…the wait is over! This annual favorite is now on tap for all to enjoy responsibly.

Barley Wine blends elements of beer and wine making, thus its name. It uses traditional beer ingredients but has a higher alcohol content (typically 9-12%) like wine, so we serve it in a wine glass as a half pint size.

About our 2011 Barley Wine

Our 2011 blend is reddish brown and full boded. It offers aromas of toffee swirl with vinous, prune and raisin-like flavors.  This beer will warm your heart, not to mention your soul, with its big malt flavors.  Best enjoyed at a cellar temperature of 50 F. 9.9% abv.

Malt

• Organic Two-Row
• Briess Extra Special
• Acidulated

Hops

• Bittering = Nugget
• Flavoring = Cascade & Golding

Food & Beer Pairings

Barley Wine is a bold, rich beer so pair it with dishes with lots of flavor intensity or rich sweet desserts. We suggest these items from our restaurant menu:

• Charbroiled 5-Spice Ginger Teriyaki Ribs
• Our Own Valley View Beef Cut
• Spicy BBQ Chicken Pizza

Also check our Specials Menu for the latest dessert.

Enjoy the holidays with a glass of Barley Wine. Like all our beers on tap, you can get this to go to liven up your celebrations at home and take to parties to be the most favored guest. To add even more fun for the beer lovers in your life these holidays, check out our gift selection, too.

Posted in Brewery & Beer
Tags: barley wine, beer & food pairing, specialty beer & seasonal beer

The holiday gift-giving season is here, and we’ve got lots of great ideas at Standing Stone for your nearest and dearest! From individual items like pint glasses and T-shirts, to Holiday Gift Packs in wrap-ready boxes, we’ve got goodies for every member of the family, young and old alike.

Shirts

We have a large selection of men’s, women’s and kid’s T-shirts in a handful designs and sizes. Our popular “Powered By Beer” shirt series makes a great gift for beer and bike lovers alike. Our kids’ shirts feature pint-size images of Standing Stone’s bikes and farm animals, as well as our restaurant and brewery’s namesake, Pilot Rock. Take home a Standing Stone shirt for every member of the family!

Glassware

We have Standing Stone logo’d pint glasses, half pint glasses and taster glasses for enjoying your favorite beer at home in stye. Throw in one of our rolled up t-shirts a gift certificate for a quick and easy beer gift set!

Gift Cards

Standing Stone has gift cards available for any amount – a great present for that hard-to-shop-for person on your holiday list. It also makes a great stocking stuffer! This hand held gift can be used for dining in the restaurant and brewery, or toward any of our retail items.

Beer To Go

Take Standing Stone home with any of our beers on tap in liter and half gallon logo’d bottles. These bottles make great gifts and are a hit at holiday parties. If you’re waiting to open until Christmas Day, make sure to refrigerate and keep sealed to maintain freshness, or purchase an empty bottle with a gift certificate to fill it later at the brewery. We also have several sizes of kegs available. Either way, nothing says “Happy Holidays” like a favorite beer in the comfort of home.

Holiday Six Pack

We’re bringing back our Holiday Six Pack with lots to cover all the bases for the beer lover in your life. This package includes a Standing Stone T-shirt (in your choice of size and design), a set of coasters, two logo’d pint glasses, and half gallon bottle with a gift card to fill with his or her favorite Standing Stone brew.

Brewer for the Day

For the true brewing enthusiast, we’re offering a Brewer for the Day package, which gives the lucky recipient an opportunity to brew a professional batch of beer with our brewer, Larry Chase. This is a great gift for anyone wishing to expand his or her homebrewing knowledge, or wanting a behind-the-scenes look into the beer making world. This pack includes a full day of brewing a 10 BBL batch of Standing Stone beer, followed by lunch, a pint of beer, and a sampler tray of all of our brews on tap.  The brewer for the day will also take home a Standing Stone T-shirt and a growler bottle, to be filled later with the finished beer product. You can read more from one of our brewer for the day recipients last year, who learned lots about homebrewing and had tons of fun!

Beer Dinner Gift Pack

Finally, we’re introducing our Beer Dinner Gift Pack this year, with reserved seats for our always popular annual Beer Dinner, this year on Thursday, January 12th at 6:30pm. This formal dinner will feature six savory and sweet courses, each perfectly paired with Standing Stone beer (blog post with more details coming soon!). This gift pack is just right for two, with a pair of dinner seats, two logo’d pint glasses, and two liter bottles with gift certificates for filling with two of our beers on tap.

Savor the flavor of the season and spread some cheer with Standing Stone at home. To purchase any of our gift items, come on in to the restaurant and talk with the bartender or your server, and check out everything on display near the bar. You can also view more pictures of our merchandise on our website photo gallery. Happy Holidays!

Posted in Other Good Stuff
Tags: Beer Dinner, gifts, Holiday Six Pack

Thanksgiving can seem hectic, with food to prepare and guests to tend to. To help you out, we thought we’d share some easy and appealing appetizer recipes, with beer pairings, to keep everyone happy and well-fed.

Our  chef, Eric Bell, was recently featured on Southern Oregon news channel KDRV where he shared the Thanksgiving Day appetizer ideas we’ve posted here, along with preparation tips. They’re are easy to prepare and perfect to enjoy while your other entrées and sides are baking away for dinner.

Eric suggests pairing these spreads, which we’ve highlighted at Standing Stone on both our daily and special menus, with fresh baked bread spread with olive oil and garlic (toasted at your oven’s highest temperature – see the KDRV video for tips). We think a loaf of our baguette, which is made fresh every morning, makes for a real Standing Stone experience. You can order these to go but sure you come by and grab your a day early, as we’ll be closed on Thanksgiving Day to spend it with our families.

Photo: KDRV

We also asked our brewer, Larry Chase to give us some perfect beer pairings for each of these spreads, since offering guests with some fun, flavorful pairings is a great way to entertain a houseful. We offer our beers to go in liter and half gallon bottles, and kegs, perfect for the holidays, and any day.

Heirloom Tomato & Feta Salsa

Ingredients

2 large heirloom tomatoes, or a few roma, juice removed & diced
1/2 red onion, diced
1-2 Tablespoons fresh thyme minced
1-2 Tablespoons fresh basil chiffonade
½-1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic
¼-1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil (like Rogue Brambles, available at the Growers and Crafters Market)
¼-1/3 cup Spanish sherry vinegar (12 years old- yes, you can find it!)
Pepper (coarse fresh grind) to taste
6-8 oz feta cheese
Salt (coarse sea salt is best)

Instructions

Incorporate all ingredients except salt in a large bowl. Since feta is already fairly salty, it’s good to taste first, and only salt as you need.

Food-Beer pairing

A great way to balance the acidity of this dish is pairing it with a maltier beer, like Amber Ale. Our current specialty beer, NPK Ale, also has delicate flavors and a light mouthfeel that wouldn’t overpower the light, fresh flavors in this bruschetta.

Artichoke Spinach Dip

Ingredients

12 oz chevre goat cheese (we like Mama Terra)
8 oz cream cheese
16 oz sour cream
1 can artichoke hearts with water, coarsely cut
6-8 oz shredded parmesan cheese
1 c chopped fresh spinach
1-2 cloves minced garlic
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructuctions

In a mixer, using the paddle, incorporate all ingredients except artichoke hearts. Mix on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. When smooth, add artichoke hearts and mix on low for 1 minute. Move to an oven-safe bowl and bake at high heat until the top starts browning. We suggest heating the oven as high as it will go, around 500 degrees, and toasting your bread at the same time to enjoy both servings warm.

Food-beer pairings

A great beer to go with this dip is the Oatmeal Stout. Both have a creamy mouthfeel and rich flavors. You could also try an India Pale Ale, or our Double IPA, as the hops offer an astringent property that cuts through richness, refreshing the palate after each drink.

Thanks Eric and Larry! We hope you enjoy these Thanksgiving food and beer pairing suggestions. Let us know how they go, and feel free to some creative twists and pairings of your own!

Posted in Food
Tags: beer & food pairing, recipes, Thanksgiving

At Standing Stone, we think a focus on wellness makes for happy employees! Last year we talked with Standing Stone server and yoga instructor, Lindsey Holy, about the launch of  Standing Stone’s “Tap Into You” employee wellness program. Initiated last summer, this program aims to spur employee participation in weekly yoga sessions by sponsoring classes and offering incentives for frequent participation – a free Standing Stone, hops-themed yoga mat after completing 12 sessions.

Since we loved Lindsey’s post about starting the program last year, we asked her to update us on her personal yoga practice and give us some insight into how yoga cheers her day, on and off the clock.

What kind of yoga are you teaching currently?

My teaching reflects the core values of the Krishnamacharya lineage with lots of fun modern day influence and infusion. The combination of Astanga Primary Series and Modern Vinyasa Flow sequencing is a perfect platform for me to draw inspiration from. I like my classes to be both physically challenging and thought provoking. I enjoy bringing my students safely to their edge and watching them in conversation with their own mind and body. It’s a powerful thing to witness and reminds me over and over that I am exactly where I need to be, doing exactly what I’m meant to do.

What keeps you motivated to practice everyday?

I have met my practice in love. I have met my practice in resistance. No matter where I am in my day or in my life, I practice because I believe that what I’m doing is so much greater than my emotions, my moods, my good and/or bad days.

What are some of the fun things you’re doing with yoga?

I’m always looking to make classes fun. By sticking to my personal practice and continued education, I bring in new and fresh ideas to class all the time. From music to sequencing, you’ll rarely, if ever, have the same class twice with me.

What are your personal goals for your own practice in the next year?

My goal with yoga is the same day in and day out – to release tension so that I am able to show up in my life every singe day. I believe it’s important to check in with one’s self and ask, “How am I showing up in my life?”  It’s imperative to recognize what things are coming between you and yourself, and the answer is more often than not related to some form of tension. So I practice to release the excess tension, expectations, and thoughts I have about myself and others, and instead make my self available to what’s truly going on around me – beautiful life.

Where can people take a yoga class from you?

I’m teaching here in the Rogue Valley, both at the Rasa Yoga Studios of Medford and Ashland, and Om Sweet Om in Talent.

Thanks for sharing, Lindsey!  For more on Lindsey’s style, inspirations, and more great photos you can visit Lindsey’s website, too.

Posted in Employees & Partners
Tags: employee health and wellness, Lindsey Holy

We’ve got a freshly harvested specialty beer on tap for you to enjoy: NPK Ale.

This craft brew is part of our Pints for a Purpose program wherein specialty beer sales benefit a nonprofit for three weeks. Rogue Valley Farm to School (RVF2S) is the beneficiary. You can learn more about this cause and program on a previous blog.  Join us for the kickoff on Monday, 11/7 from 5-9 pm, and enjoy a few pints from 11/7-11/26 to support this great cause.

About the name

NPK Ale is named after the NPK balance – nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium (K is its elemental symbol) that farmers seek to achieve in nourishing their soil. Soil amendments often list NPK proportions. These important nutrients help build productive, healthy plants with strong roots—analogous to what we’re doing by supporting RVF2S, and the work they’re doing to connect kids, schools and local farms to cultivate a resilient food system.

About the beer

NPK Ale has a soft amber hue and a light body. You’ll enjoy a toasted marshmallow aroma, a smooth mouthfeel, rounded sweet malt flavor and low bitterness.

Malt (2^nd runnings from a mash with these malts*)

• Organic 2-Row
• Briess Extra Special
• Acidulated

Hops

• Bittering:  Organic Magnum
• Flavor/Aroma:  Goldings, Cascade

* This beer was brewed from the second runnings of our upcoming barley wine.  So what’s that mean? During the later process of brewing, the sweet wort (sugar water) is separated from the malt and run to the kettle.  The initial wort sent to the kettle comprises the high content sugar water made up of the initial mash water added to the process.  More water is added to rinse the malt of remaining sugars through a process called sparging.  This next bit of wort is lower in sugar content and is called the second runnings.

We effectively made 2 different beers from the same mash:  a higher alcohol barley wine from the first runnings and a lower alcohol “small beer” from the second runnings. While they both have the same malt bill, albeit different sugar contents, the beers can be hopped differently in the kettle.  Our small beer was very low hopped to approximately 12 IBU, allowing the malt profile to shine through.  We also added a touch of lactose to add weight to its naturally light body.

Beer and Food Pairings

Schoolkids learning about seed saving (photo: RVF2S)

We suggest complementing NPK ale with lightly flavored foods so as not to overwhelm its delicate flavor.

• Wood Fired Pretzel
• Savory Chicken Soup
• Caesar Salad
• Sauteed Veggie Wrap
• Local food menu specials – support local farms and reward yourself, too!

Enjoy responsibly – and help RVF2S cultivate healthful eating and strong family farms!

Posted in Brewery & Beer, Community, Events, Sustainability
Tags: beer & food pairing, Pints for a Purpose, Rogue Valley Farm to School, specialty beer & seasonal beer

We’re excited to announce the next round of Pints for a Purpose, benefitting Rogue Valley Farm to School (RVF2S)! They connect local farms with students, teachers and school cafeterias to cultivate health and family farms. Please join us to enjoy great craft beer for a fabulous cause!

To refresh your memory, in Pints for a Purpose, we dedicate a batch of specialty beer to a nonprofit focused on the environment, local food and farms, education or community. Nonprofits apply and employees vote to select recipients. For three weeks, that nonprofit gets 25 cents for each pint of that beer sold. The specialty beer will be NPK Ale…more details in a blog post coming soon.

On November 7 from 5-9 pm, we’ll hold a kickoff at our brewery to maximize awareness and our donations. That evening, we’ll contribute 50 cents per pint if we sell up to 50 pints of NPK Ale, and $1 per pint if we sell more than 50 pints. Thereafter, through 11/27, we’ll contribute 25 cents per pint of NPK Ale sold. Please join the fun, and remember to celebrate responsibly!

To inspire folks to support RVF2S, we asked Executive Director, Tracy Harding, to tell us about their work and why it matterss

What does RVF2S do?

Our programs include farm field trips, nutrition education, school garden support and farm summer camps. Our cafeteria program helps get food from local growers into school lunchrooms. RVF2S works with school food service staff to evaluate produce needs and then assist farmers in seasonal planning. We stay appraised of local and regional product availability to facilitate the purchase of fresh, local produce according for school cafeterias. We’re also engaged in local to national efforts to improve school food though policies that determine funding and nutrition guidelines.

Why is it important to connect kids, schools and local farms?

It’s crucial to influence healthy lifestyle choices and to keep farmers farming. On-farm experiences connect students to where their food comes from using hands-on experiences that create immediate outcomes. Children who may have declined a serving of vegetables in another setting are excited to eat what they’ve helped plant, nurture, harvest and prepare on the farm.

What are some of the highlights of your work?

Tracy (ED) and Melina (Education) of RVF2S (photo: RVF2S)

Establishing relationships between school food service managers, farmers and kids, and connecting eaters with the origins of their food. Working with Grants Pass School District Food & Nutrition Assistant Manager Lisa Fisher is a true highlight. She and her staff all have their agricultural roots intact, they grow their own food and want students to eat the best food they can serve. Lisa works with local farmers and ranchers, and has made Grants Pass one of just a few schools serving local meat.

How can people support farm to school programs and RVF2S, besides coming in and getting a pint of the NPK?

We welcome and depend on volunteers. If you’re interested in helping with farm events, summer camps, school garden activities, cafeteria programs or office needs, please contact Melina.

Donations are always appreciated and we’d especially like to grow our Recurring Gift program to generate regular income to cover monthly expenses. People can start at as little as $5.00 monthly. It’s an easy way to give that maximizes the dollars going directly to our programs by reducing donation processing time.

Thanks Tracy, and everyone involved with RVF2S, for your great work. Enjoy a Pint for a Purpose and help us support this fantastic cause!

Posted in Community, Events
Tags: Pints for a Purpose, Rogue Valley Farm to School

Wow! We want to send a big thanks to everyone who joined us for the Pumpkins and Pints in Our Pasture celebration on Sunday, October 23rd. We enjoyed the fine company and fresh air on a full day out on our farm.

Record numbers of eager pumpkin carvers and friends flocked to our new farmland in Ashland, OR for the third year Standing Stone’s annual pre-Halloween event. We were so happy to host it on our farm this year to enjoy the weather and seasonal fare of fall and welcome everyone to our new land.

Together, everyone carved 120 pumpkins! We’re excited to see these great jack-o-lanterns on porches and doorsteps around town. We also went through lots of apple cider and ale on tap, as well as bratwursts, burgers, veggie burgers and pears, since the pumpkin carvers and bike cyclists worked up a thirst and hunger on the warm day.

A big thank you to the musicians who played for our guests! Standing Stone employees Sarah Goldberg, Alex Davis-Mauney, and Brandon Schilling all took part in furthering the ambiance by offering their musical talents. Local musician, Jeff Kloetzel also joined in the fun, bringing Jef Ramsey on mandolin to accompany him on guitar and vocals.

We had our farm gurus on hand to educate interested people about our practices and plans, and introduce everyone to our new cows, chickens and farm dogs (or puppies, for now). Folks got up close and personal with these new Standing Stone family members, as well as some visiting goats and horses from Valley View Beef’s Dave Westerberg, who rode in with cowboy boots and hat.

We’re excited to put together more events out on the pasture as our farm grows and grows. Stay tuned for more news and pictures of our land and our animal residents, as we’ll keep everyone up to date on this fun farm building. You can also visit our Facebook page to view even more photos of Pumpkins and Pints 2011. Thanks again for joining us!

Posted in Events, Standing Stone Farm
Tags: pumpkin carving, Pumpkins and Pints

We just heard some great news! The Ashland, OR Growers and Crafters Market that takes place out front of our restaurant on Oak Street every Saturday will extend its season one more week to coincide with the Ashland Chamber of Commerce’s 5th Annual Food and Wine Classic. We couldn’t be happier that these two fun festivities will be together downtown the weekend of November 5th and 6th, right next to Standing Stone! Both events have a ”local” theme in common, with workshops on shopping in your local community, and vendors at both venues offering fresh, local fare.

The Food and Wine Classic showcases our region’s premier culinary artists and local bounty through a weekend of workshops and a Chef Showdown at the Historic Ashland Armory from Noon to 4pm on Saturday and Sunday. This year, seven talented chefs will compete against 2010 Top Chef Chandra Corwin for the reigning title, creating dishes with surprise fresh ingredients, unveiled right as the cook-off begins.

During the Chef Showdown, Standing Stone will be pouring beer among over 30 other local vendors. We’ll be serving up tastes of some of our cherished brews, and selling pints for those who thirst for a bit more. There will also be wine and sweet and savory fare, and the beloved dessert competition on Saturday from 2-3pm.

The Food & Wine Classic will also include workshops to help you make the most of local foods. Guests can purchase a variety of admission packages to attend events over the course of the weekend. Visit the Chamber of Commerce website for ticket and package info. We suggest Saturday morning’s workshop How to Shop Your Farmer’s Market – Shop and Tour Ashland’s Saturday Grower’s Market.

Don’t miss out on the last chance to browse fresh, local produce straight from our local farms right downtown in Ashland. And if you live in the area, remember the Tuesday Ashland Growers and Crafters Market continues until November 22nd, with even more fall harvest to savor.

We hope to see you downtown this first weekend in November!

Posted in Events, Food
Tags: Ashland Food and Wine Classic, Growers & Crafters Market/Farmers Market

Melza, Alex Brandon and Rachel at our farm (photo: M. Schweisguth)

There’s an extra special buzz around here lately since we moved onto our new farmland on October 1^st, launching the Standing Stone Farm Project. To prepare this new home for our chickens and cows, our farm team is spending lots of time there, especially Co-owner Alex, Server/Sustainability Coordinator Brandon Schilling, Server/Chicken Caretaker Melza Quinn and our fence and irrigation team. We’re excited about this latest step in our journey to produce our own food and shrink our environmental footprint.

We’ve long made it a priority to purchase sustainable and locally produced ingredients to maximize quality, reduce environmental impacts and support our local economy. Our menu features produce from diverse family farms, beer made with Alpha Beta hops, Rogue Creamery Cheese, regional wines and Noble Coffee, among other regional delights. We’ve also undertaken significant measures to reduce waste through landfill diversion while slashing energy use and installing solar panels.

In 2009, we began using beef from Valley View Beef in Ashland, OR and started musing about raising our own food. Since Valley View raises grass-fed beef on expansive, chemical-free pasture using rotational grazing, we asked owner Dave Westerberg if we could start a chicken flock there. He heartily agreed, and we got hens that produce all the eggs we need. We started our own composting operation there, too.

Seeking to produce more of our ingredients, we developed a plan for our own farm and began looking for land. Our plan included adding chickens for poultry, purchasing our own cattle and composting kitchen waste. As luck would have it, the City of Ashland put out a Request for Proposals for City-owned pasture a mile from our restaurant, so we applied.

After the City approved our proposal (hooray!), we started preparing by raising breeder chickens for poultry and purchasing cattle from a neighboring farm. Melza, who plays a central role in caretaking our egg layers, took the lead in researching and selecting heritage chicken breeds  for full-flavored poultry. We purchased chicks this summer, which are now growing hens that will reproduce to create our poultry flock. They’re Delaware, New Hampshire, Wyandotte, and Australorp breeds, coloring the pasture white, red, orange and black feathers. We also bought three Anatolian Shepherd sheepdogs, named IPA, Stone and Ruby, whom we’re training to herd our cows.

On October 1st, we began preparing the site for our chickens and cattle, starting with fence building. We’re looking forward to seeing our livestock make themselves at home in their spacious digs. Like Valley View, we’re using a rotational grazing system wherein cows and chickens cycle through different sections of pasture to prevent over-compaction and over-grazing, and help the land rejuvenate.

We’re working on additional farm activities to localize more of our food (bees…honey..mmmmm), further our environmental goals and welcome our community to learn and enjoy. For starters, we’re holding our Third Annual Pumpkins and Pints there on October 23, and invite all to attend. In additional to the usual pumpkin carving, food and drinks, Brandon and Melza will share our vision and plans for the farm, and you’ll be able to get up close and personal with our chickens and cattle, who will be moved onto our farm by then. We hope to see you there!

Posted in Food, Standing Stone Farm, Sustainability
Tags: Brandon Schilling, local food & farms, Melza Quinn, Pumpkins and Pints, Standing Stone Farm Project