Earlier this month we cheered a small handful of coworkers who took on the 15K Siskiyou Outback Run (S.O.B.) at the top of Mt. Ashland. On August 15^th, we’ll cheer on another handful of running coworkers, this time trekking from Lithia Park TO THE TOP of Mt. Ashland for the annual Mt. Ashland Hillclimb Run. They’ll scale 13.3 miles and climb more than one vertical mile (5,600 ft.) to the peak. They’re nuts, and awesome.

We’ve been proud sponsors of this local race for years, giving gift certificates and pouring free Standing Stone beer for all the runners at the finish line party in the Mt. Ashland Lodge parking lot. The runners have to continue past us for the last steep crawl to the peak, but we like to think we’re good motivation rather than just a tease. We wave and clap for their efforts, and pour the athletes a cold one when they arrive on the shuttle to the parking lot. You’ve never seen such grateful faces.

This year, we’ll be applauding the extreme running skills of Gina, Alecia, and John – all Standing Stone employees who’ve been training tirelessly for the big day. We’re excited to see your (maybe smiling?) faces at the top!

The top male and female winners get an additional claim to fame –their names engraved on our dedicated Mt. Ashland Hillclimb keg displayed at our brewpub! Since 2004 we’ve been updating our keg with the winner’s names each year, and we only have room left to continue until 2017. Once finished, it will be an irreplaceable part of Standing Stone/Hillclimb history. Ahhhhh, nostalgia.

Come to the Mt. Ashland lodge on Saturday, August 15^th and help us cheer on all these intrepid trail-lovers on their big day. You don’t have to be a runner to enjoy watching other people work, trust us. The views are great, the weather is always beautiful (and several degrees cooler), and the Mt. Ashland Hillclimb is always well-organized and fun. Bring water and sunscreen, and toast the efforts of all the awe-inspiring runners who journey to Ashland for this awesome annual event.

To coincide with the tapping of our latest specialty beer, Whittle Wit, we thought we’d give some background on our historic building and the story behind the name. Here’s a bit of history about Standing Stone’s abode, the old Whittle Garage, as told by local writer Nancy Bringhurst when Standing Stone first opened in 1997:

Floyd Whittle built his one-story, fire resistant, reinforced concrete structure and concrete floors to last. If he thought about how his building would be used in the future, surely a micro-brewery restaurant would not have entered his mind. After all, that was 1925, eight years before the 21st Amendment repealed Prohibition. And the Amarotico brothers, responsible for converting the Whittle Garage Building into the classy Standing Stone Brewing Co, surely have trouble believing that Whittle built that garage for $6,000. It took a half million dollars for them to renovate the garage before it was suitable for public assembly in 1997.

By the time Whittle arrived in 1909, Ashland, founded in 1850, had already developed a substantial industrial base. Whittle formed a moving and storage operation, and in 1925 built a new industrial building in the commercial area. The plan he chose was an adaptation of the Falsefront form used extensively in the towns of Oregon since 1850. The extended facade gave the appearance that a one-story building was larger and more formidable than it was; it also hid the simple gables and sloped roofs from the public view. During the early years of the 20th century, the automobile became the main source of personal travel. New buildings were needed to accommodate the growing businesses needed to service the cars, while existing buildings were simply modified.

Upon completion, Whittle leased the garage to Sim Morris and Sons, owner of Morris’s Oak Street Garage. Over the 20 years they occupied the space, Morris’s garage and machine shop business expanded to include other services related to automobile repair. Eventually, they found their niche in the manufacture of welded steel tanks. No one is certain how the building was used subsequent to the Morris’s relocation, but there is speculation that Lithia Motors may have used a portion of the building for repairs and storage. Regardless, the garage remained essentially unchanged for almost 30 years, until August 13, 1953, when a fire at the Busch Motors Building spread and damaged the Whittle building.

Whittle hired E.H. Nicholson and Charles Delsman, owners of the Pioneer Glass and Cabinet Shop, to repair and replace the windows, to tear down the rear wing ruined by the fire, and to build a wooden deck for storage. Nicholson and Delsman, in need of additional space, then rented the newly repaired garage and moved their shop in November. When Nicholson died the following September, James Delsman joined his brother Charles to run the company. In 1977, they purchased the property from the Whittle estate, and ran the operation there until their retirement in 1994.

In March, 1996, the ownership was transferred to the Amarotico brothers. From the beginning, they recognized the importance of retaining the original integrity and industrial character of the building. All renovation was designed with the intent to appear as though the brewery/restaurant was simply tucked into the open original space. Most of the flooring is still exposed concrete, though now it is sealed with clear polymer. The original or similar raw concrete and brick walls remain exposed, and the original open truss system is still apparent. Requirements to meet seismic, sanitation and the ADA (American Disability Act) codes were installed so as not to detract from the original interior. The wooden storage deck, demolished in the early l980s, has been rebuilt and now serves as a large outdoor dining area.

The building was officially registered with the National Register of Historic Places in 1997. According to George Kramer, an historic preservation consultant and the preparer of the nomination’s The Whittle Garage Building, completed in 1925, remains Ashland’s best surviving example of the simple utilitarian Falsefront form as it was employed in southern Oregon during the 1920s. Substantially unaltered from its historic exterior appearance, the Whittle Garage Building retains exceptional integrity in appearance, workmanship, setting, and use of materials. Floyd Whittle should be pleased.

At our Ashland brewery you’ll find our five year-round brews on tap everyday – Twin Plunge, Milk & Honey, I ♥ Oregon Ale, Steelcut Stout and Noble Stout. We fill in our other tap lines with rotating seasonals throughout the year, and every once in a while we brew something brand-spanking-new when we get a whim. Well, we got a whim, and we’re excited to debut our first ever Whittle, a Belgian-style witbier.

Historic Whittle Garage, also previously Pioneer Glass & Cabinet Shop. Now we make beer here.

Belgian style wits are often brewed with unmalted wheat, like the hard red wheat we used from Dunbar Farms in Medford. Dunbar is a 102 year old family-owned farm producing hay, grain, flour, eggs, produce, breads, beans, and more. Their growing practices (which we find totally marvelous) include rotating crops, saving seeds for reuse, diversifying produce, and serving as a drop-off site for local arborists and landscapers to compost clippings. We’re excited to share the fruits of their labor in our favorite form – beer!

About the Beer

Our first ever witbier is named after our historic building, Whittle Garage. The beer is pale and hazy, with aromas of coriander and warm spice. The low hop bitterness and high carbonation give this brew a refreshing mouthfeel and light finish. 4.9% abv, 20 IBU

Malt

• Unmalted Wheat (hard red) from Dunbar Farms in Medford
• Organic Pilsner
• Acidulated

Hops

• Organic Hallertau

Spice

• Coriander from Spice and Tea Exchange in Ashland
• Dried Curacao Bitter Orange Peel

Yeast

• Organic Belgian strain from Imperial Organic Yeast

Food Pairing Suggestions

Our wit (or “white”) beer features coriander and bitter orange peel, giving it a bright spice alongside a light body. We think shellfish, carrot cake, and fruit salad all make great summertime pairing options. Heck, why not all three and call it a meal! Here are our suggestions from our brewpub menu:

Salmon Springroll Salad

Mussels and Clams in Jalapeno Beer Broth

Fish & Chips

Marionberry Cobbler a la Mode

Did we mention the coriander comes from the Spice and Tea Exchange, just down the road in Ashland? We love our local partners who helped make this beer awesome. Raise a glass of Whittle on your next visit, and let us know your thoughts on this fresh, new special!

Summertime brings along so many good things: Lazy afternoons by the lake, cold beer in the shade, and the 2015/2016 application period for Pints for a Purpose. Every summer we send a shout-out to local nonprofits for our upcoming donation season, and now’s the time to rally your favorite Southern Oregon organization to join in the fun.

With Pints for a Purpose, we give $2 for every beer sold from 5-10pm to a chosen recipient on a dedicated benefit evening. It’s a chance to gather fans and beer-lovers together to toast great nonprofit work in our community! The more people who show up, the more money we’ll donate to a cause. What could possibly be better than having a beer to benefit a local nonprofit? You generous beer-connoisseur, you.

In the last two years we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming ten local groups to our program: Ashland Food Project, CASA of Jackson County, Friends of the Animal Shelter, Friends of the Ashland Public Library, OSF’s Daedalus Project, Rogue Climate, Rogue Farm Corps, Rogue Valley Earth Day, Rogue Valley Farm to School, and WaterWatch of Oregon.

Our staff of over 70 employees chooses the organizations each fall. We’ll collect applications now through October 1^st, and then ask our coworkers which top five they’d like to see as Pints for a Purpose recipients. We then dedicate one night of every month, November – March, to a different nonprofit. They rally as many supporters as possible and have a big donation-raising party at Standing Stone.

Now’s the time to submit your application for the 2015/2016 season! Applicants must be locally based, grassroots organizations with 501c3 status. To benefit as many causes as possible, we’ll limit eligibility to organizations that were not recipients in the last year. Know of any local groups that would be great partners? Please let them know! The application is now available online.

We’re excited to debut the five chosen nonprofits for this year’s Pints for a Purpose donation program after the application period closes. Stay tuned for the rollout in mid-October, and stop in all winter long to toast local beer in the name of great local causes.