Two Summer Mixed Drink Recipes from Behind the Bar

•04/24/2013 • Leave a Comment

We love when our behind-the-scenes gurus put together recipes and tips for us to share with our readers and customers. Bar manager and house mixologist, Gina Velando, created two great summer-season mixed drink recipes that we debuted with our new menu release last month. Here, Gina shares how to make these tasty libations at home and explains how fresh herbs can take center stage in more than just your food. Take it away, Gina:

‘Tis the season to tap into your garden!basil specialty drink

With spring in full swing and summer around the corner we are out enjoying these sunny days and eager to bring a little taste of summer behind the bar.  Fresh, seasonal herbs can find their way into your glass in many ways, via infusions, muddled concoctions or an aromatic garnish.  Behind the bar at Standing Stone Brewing Company, our specialty cocktail list is reflecting the agricultural excitement of the season, and below we’re sharing a couple easy-to-prepare recipes for home to kick your spring and summer off!

Rosemary Cucumber Gin & Tonic:

Gin is a favorite spirit of ours as it accents herbaceous, spicy and organic flavors in fresh ingredients.  We strongly recommend always starting with a high-quality gin, and for this version we’ve chosen Batch 206 Counter Gin from Seattle, Washington.  This particular product tastes great on it’s own, and we looked to highlight what was already present in the bottle.rosemary cucmber gin and tonic

½ lime, cut into small wedges
3-4 slices cucumber
1 3/4oz Batch 206 Counter Gin
Splash(+) soda water
Splash tonic
Sprig of fresh rosemary

Start by muddling cucumber and lime in a bucket glass. Fill with ice, 1 3/4 oz. Counter Gin and top with sparkling water and a splash of tonic.  Finish this drink with a freshly cut sprig of rosemary to add the final touch.  With minimal prep, this refreshing libation looks just-picked from the garden and pairs oh-so-well with a table outdoors.

Basil Grapefruit Spritzer:

Again, starting with a high-quality spirit makes all the difference, and Superfly Vodka from Brookings, OR fits the bill.  Distilled from potatoes rather than grain this product offers a smooth finish, and it’s made right here in Oregon!  Beyond infusing spirits, don’t forget that you can create great tasting simple syrups at home as well. grapefruit basil spritzer

1 3/4oz Superfly Vodka
1/2oz Basil Simple Syrup (instructions below)
Splash grapefruit juice
Splash soda water
Fresh basil

To build the Basil Grapefruit Spritzer you’ll first need to make Basil Simple Syrup: In a saucepan simmer 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, and 1 cup freshly picked basil. Simmer until sugar dissolves completely then strain into a clean container and cool. Fill your favorite cocktail glass with ice and top with 1 3/4 oz. Superfly Vodka and 1/2 oz. Basil Simple Syrup. Fill with equal parts Grapefruit Juice and Sparkling Water.  Add a healthy basil leaf or two to top this one off and add great aroma.

Use these suggestions to get you started, and get creative with your own cocktail garden by planting herbs and berries at home. Or, if you’re in Southern Oregon, use the Rogue Valley Growers and Crafters Market as a great resource for locally grown ingredients. Cheers!

Thanks for sharing, Gina! Be sure to come by and find Gina shaking it up behind the bar if you have questions, comments, or just want to try either of these drinks before diving in at home.

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A Taste of Ashland & Oregon Garden Brewfest

•04/20/2013 • Leave a Comment

a taste of ashland 1Every April we are pleased to take part in A Taste of Ashland, the Ashland Gallery Association’s signature fundraising event of the year. Restaurants and wineries pair up at 17 art galleries in town for an all-weekend walking and tasting tour. This year’s event spans Saturday and Sunday, April 27th and 28th, from noon-4pm each day.

Last year we were thrilled to participate at Hanson Howard Gallery, just two doors down from the brewpub on Oak St. Our artistic neighbors moved into the renovated space in August 2011, after the Standing Stone crew revamped and restored the historic building. Now, we’re fortunate to have Hanson Howard, a longtime Ashland, OR gallery, on our block year-round and are eager to join with them for A Taste of Ashland again this year.oak street ashland

We are also happy to announce RoxyAnn Winery will join us in representing fine Southern Oregon flavor as our wine pairing partners. We have RoxyAnn Pinot Gris on our brewpub wine list full-time, and love their attention to quality. Look forward to their Viognier and Sky Hill Red, two excellent Rhone style wines.  Our bite-sized pairing is still to-be-announced, so be sure to come taste for yourself and mark Hanson Howard on your list of stops if you’re fortunate enough to make it to this great yearly affair. Tickets can be purchased online, and this event is often sold out!

If you’re planning to be further north next weekend, we strongly urge you toBrewfest logo final make the Oregon Garden Brewfest a priority. Held in Silverton, Oregon April 26th-28th at the beautiful Oregon Garden, this festival hosts 62 breweries pouring 125 beers (yours truly included, bringing I Heart Oregon Ale). They’ll also feature live music, yummy food, tasting classes and a homebrew competition. Advance tickets available at the Oregon Garden Brewfest website.

If you jump into A Taste of Ashland next weekend, be sure to stop by Standing Stone for a bite to eat and place to rest between galleries. All the walking, tasting and socializing are bound to boost your appetite for a mid-day meal. And if you are lucky enough to attend the Oregon Garden Brewfest, stop by our table and enjoy the I Heart Oregon Ale. We wish you a weekend full of flavor wherever you end up!

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Latest Specialty Beer: Return of Hop Night

•04/14/2013 • 3 Comments

There’s a handful of specialty brews we anxiously await the release of year after year. To the glee of Standing Stone coworkers and our IPA-loving customers we welcome Hop Night back to our seasonal beer list! This Cascadian Dark Ale, or Black IPA, or India Black Ale (we’ll get to all that later) boasts the hop aroma of an IPA and rich, roasted flavor of dark malt – making it a savory, complex beer to imbibe on its own or pair with hearty, robust foods.

The official name of this beer style is a topic of heavy debate in the craft brewing world. Brewing communities around the globe claim rights to call this recently acknowledged beer style by their own favorite names, including Black IPA, Cascadian Dark Ale and India Black Ale. To straighten things out, the Brewer’s Association defines the variety as an American-Style Black Ale – “with medium high to high hop bitterness, flavor and aroma with medium-high alcohol content, and balanced with a medium body.” The beer style also boasts moderate caramel malt character and medium to strong dark roasted malt flavor and aroma.

We think Hop Night is all that and more, with lots of organic malt and certified Salmon-Safe Cascade hops from Goschie Farms in Silverton, Oregon. And being in the Pacific Northwest, we’ll go ahead and say we’re partial to the name Cascadian Dark Ale.

About the Beer

This is an opaque black Cascadian Dark Ale with herbal citrus aroma, medium body and pine and black currant flavors. Enjoy a robust mouthfeel and fresh, hoppy finish. 7.7% abv, 65 IBU

Maltdark beer drinking woman

• Organic Two Row

• Organic Munich

• Briess Blackprinz

• Organic C-60

• Oat Flakes

• Organic Chocolate

Hops

• Bittering: Apollo

• Flavor/Aroma: Golding, Cascade, Simcoe

• Dry Hops: Cascade, Simcoe

Food Pairing Suggestions

This beer’s bold character matches equally hearty, rich foods. Its hoppy backbone also pairs well with spicy foods if you like to kick up heat, or use the fresh, bitter finish to clear your palate between heavy bites. Here are some suggestions from the brewpub, including a few new items from our latest menu face-lift:

• Black and Blue Burgercarlos spicy pizza

• 5-Spiced Teriyaki Ribs

• Chorizo & Arbol Chili Pizza

• Vietnamese Pork Sandwich

• Penne Marinara with Italian Sausage

• Black Bean Nachos

• Andouille Sausage & Jalapeno Pizza (recurring daily special)

Give Hop Night a whirl, and if you decide you love Cascadian Dark Ales as much as we do, try any of these additional brews from other great West Coast microbreweries: Secession CDA from Hopworks in Portland, OR, O’Dark:30 from Oakshire in Eugene, OR, and Sublimely Self-Righteous from Stone Brewing in San Diego, CA. Be sure to grab a pint of Hop Night at the brewpub while it lasts, and toast innovative, enthusiastic craft brewing!

Posted in Brewery & Beer
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Sourcing Salmon-Safe Hops

•04/03/2013 • 1 Comment

In brewing, cooking and tending to our farm, we are always looking toward environmentally sustainable practices that benefit land, health and community. This year, in a move to source even more ingredients for our brews from farms that practice similar missions, we are welcoming Centennial and Cascade hop varieties from Goschie Farms in Silverton, Oregon.hops2

Goschie Farms grows over 500 acres of predominantly organic hops in the Willamette Valley, along with 600 more acres of grapes, corn and other crops. Their commitment to agricultural research together with Oregon State University means they are constantly moving to improve operations and help educate other growers and the craft brewing community.

One thing in particular about Goschie Farms that draws us to their delicious hops is their pioneering drive to become the first hop farm in the nation to be certified Salmon-Safe. Salmon-Safe certified farms use organic operations and biologically-based pest management to help protect water quality and local salmon logofish habitat. This program extends across the region with more than 60,000 acres of farm and urban land certified in the Pacific Northwest.

With a mission of saving the wild salmon population through transforming land management practices, Salmon-Safe works with farms, vineyards, college campuses, nurseries, parks, golf courses and more. We’re thrilled to source a portion of our hops from an Oregon farm involved in this beneficial and widely successful program! Other microbreweries in the state that source hops from Salmon-Safe certified farms include Full Sail in Hood River and Deschutes Brewing in Bend.

We know that Salmon-Safe is good for more than just the local salmon hops3population – healthy salmon represent a thriving environment and unsoiled waterways. In turn, we enjoy cleaner water for drinking and brewing craft beer. You can find Centennial and Cascade hops from Goschie Farms in our Amber Ale, I Heart Oregon Ale, Twin Plunge Double IPA and a handful of Seasonal Brews. Find out more about Salmon-Safe and where to find certified producers and growers on their website, and enjoy a Standing Stone brew to toast water wellbeing in the Pacific Northwest.

Posted in Brewery & Beer, Sustainability
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Is a Local Drumstick a Better Drumstick? We Think it is

•03/27/2013 • Leave a Comment

Spring is in the air on our farm and brewpub, and we are breaking out of the farm entranceshell of restaurant norms and serving our own Standing Stone Farm chicken on our menu and specials board! This fresh start stems from our priority to source socially and environmentally responsible ingredients for our kitchen and brewery, and we’re especially proud to bring this delicious, local option to our beloved customers.

A little background: We started farming in October 2011, raising hens and cattle for restaurant eggs and beef on a 265-acre pasture just a few minutes down the road. These animals co-exist on the land using a rotational grazing system, in which the animal species follow each other in a pattern around the field to maximize land health and natural fertilization. Last spring, we startedtwo chickens raising more poultry for meat, too, and constructing an on-site poultry processing facility, completed in January 2013.

Our Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA)-licensed facility enables us to hatch, raise and process the chickens ourselves, and bring fresh and healthful protein straight from the farm to our kitchen. We hatch eggs from our existing flock and raise them outdoors on pasture before bringing them back to our poultry processing site to be prepared for kitchen use. This farm-to-menu chicken never travels further than one mile away in its lifetime!

Out in the field, we start our chicks on organic chicken feed from the time they hatch. They then graze freely on pasture, following the cows and sheep in a pattern around the field, and organic supplemental feed. The entire time it proc roomtakes to raise a full-grown chicken, from hatching to harvesting, is about 13 weeks, compared with 6 weeks for conventional chickens. These Heritage Breed birds are also physically capable of living healthy and naturally for years, compared with conventional chickens that are bred to live only a few weeks until processing.

Based on our menu needs, we will raise over 5,000 chickens a year to meet brewpub demands. Right now, we are the only restaurant in the state of Oregon to have our own processing facility as a resource, and quite possibly one of the first in the nation to have this operation on such a large scale. We are delighted to bring this fresh-food undertaking to Ashland, OR!

This new poultry-sourcing method is creating a big transformation in our kitchen. Our chicken recipes are starting in the field, and the food offerings are changing to reflect the meat that comes from smaller breed chickens, such as poultry cooked on-the-bone using more traditional methods. Our Chicken and Rosemary Noodle Soup now features our farm chickenchicken year-round, since the flavorful meat is great for roasting and boiling. There’s lots more adjustments to come with the operation launching into full swing early summer, so keep an eye on our upcoming new menu and specials board.

At Standing Stone, we all agree this whole practice certainly gives us a deeper respect for the food that goes onto our plates, and we feel it’s important to have a closer relationship with the meals on the table. We’re certain this is an all-around win-win for our brewpub, customers and community since the grazing system we use benefits the land and animals, our employees get to be involved in all the steps, and we are able to serve a fresh product that tastes delicious!

Posted in Standing Stone Farm, Sustainability
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Fresh Takes on Favorites with Our New Menu

•03/20/2013 • 1 Comment

We’re chomping down on some exciting changes at Standing Stone. This week, we debuted our new Standing Stone menu, with an updated look, fresh recipes and new wines and cocktails. We’re thrilled to bring the final product of hours of experimenting, tasting and meetings to our guests’ tables!

Our goal in creating a refreshed menu is to feature some of the delicious ingredients we _GEO8889_edited-7source from our farm down the road. The beef from our cows on Standing Stone Farm takes center stage on the burger list, and eggs from our chickens headline a category of their own with a handful of breakfast items available all day long. We’re featuring our own Heritage Breed poultry in our Rosemary Noodle Chicken Soup, and drizzling honey from our bees over a new pizza.

We also brought some favorite specials to the menu full-time, like Deep Fried Brussels Sprouts and Wood-Fired Oysters. The Lamb Kabob Greek Salad we featured as a special a few weeks ago made the cut since it sold like crazy and got rave reviews. We’re revitalizing our Fish Taco Plate to include the house-made salsa trio from our special tacos, and introducing a Quinoa Veggie Burger as well. We continue to feature our local and organic suppliers and partners on our menu, including:

eggscoffee and espresso from Noble Coffee Roasting, cheese from Rogue Creamery, organic potatoes from Noonan Farms in Klamath Falls, spirits from Organic Nation and Bendistillery, and lots of local produce from Southern Oregon farms in season.

As for our wines and cocktails, we’re adopting several new wines to our list and highlighting some of our alleyway-garden ingredients in mixed drinks. Try the new Cucumber Rosemary Gin & Tonic with rosemary from our garden for a great sunny-weather refresher. As always, all our wines are available by the glass and bottle, so feel welcome to try a sample before ordering a bottle for the table.

Of course, our beer list is ever changing and rotating as well. Our newly renamed Twin Plunge Double IPA is joined by another freshly named brew, Steel-Cut Stout, previously Oatmeal Stout. The popular Noble Stout and I Heart Oregon beers remain at the top of our list, and seasonal and specialty beers are rotating in all the time. Currently, our Chocolate Ale is a hit with its unexpectedly orange color, smooth mouthfeel and chocolate-berry IMGP2643_edited-1finish. Ask for a taste of any of our brews, or order a Sample Tray for a 2oz. pour of them all.

Enjoy these latest additions to our brewpub menu, and expect to see new changes every season as ingredients and recipes rotate throughout the year. Please tap your server or bartender for more information about any of the dishes, beverages or ingredients, and please let us know what you think! We hope you have as much fun trying these new items as we are.

Posted in Restaurant & Menu
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Latest Specialty Beer: Brewer’s Surprise Ale

•03/11/2013 • 1 Comment

Experimenting with new recipes, preparation methods and flavor combinations can be the best part of being a brewer or chef. When new ideas and ingredients brew into something delicious, we all enjoy the final reward! Hence, we’re proud to debut our latest specialty (never before brewed) beer at Standing Stone: Brewer’s Surprise Alelarrybrewery

This new beer stems from our brewer Larry Chase’s craving to use a few new Breiss Malt varieties in a specialty beer. He mixed Briess Goldpils® Vienna, Caracrystal Wheat and Bonlander for color and flavor contributions. Larry also used the “hopportunity” to feature a new organic hop variety we’ve never used before: Ahtanum. We dry hopped with 2lbs per BBL (31 gal.) in this new beer, compared with 1.4lbs per BBL for our Twin Plunge Double IPA, to create hoppy, herbal aroma. We welcome this proprietary hop as part of our mission to move toward all organic brewing ingredients.

About the Beer

This Hoppy Wheat Amber style ale features an orange-rust color, herbal aroma and medium mouthfeel. The mild bitterness and hop flavor are reminiscent of green tea and spicy herbs. 6.1% abv, 15 IBU

Malt

• Briess Goldpils® Vienna

• Briess Caracrystal Wheatbriess

• Briess Bonlander

• Briess Oat Flakes

Hops

• Bittering: Willamette

• Flavor/Aroma: Galaxy

• Dry Hops: Willamette and Ahtanum


Food Pairing Suggestions

This beer’s fresh, citrusy aroma and medium body pairs well with fried foods and spicy meats. We recommend hearty, though not creamy, dishes to let the mouthfeel shine through. Here are our suggestions from the menu:fishnchips

• Three Meat Pizza

• Calamari

• Fish & Chips

• Black Bean Nachos

• Tacos de Carne Asada

Come try Brewer’s Surprise and Chocolate Ale side by side while they last. They started out as the same batch, and then Larry separated them to add the final ingredients and fashion two new concoctions. Be sure to let us know what you think about the Ahtanum hops and the aroma and flavor this variety adds to our new beer.

Posted in Brewery & Beer
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