Helles in a Hand Bock-sket (Batch 356) and Chicken

It is almost May. 

Well, when I post this (and likely when you are reading), it will actually be May.

I don't know if I've mentioned it on this blog, but I'm making an effort this year to brew a Seasonal Beer for every month this year.

In SheppyBrew Seasonals, I identified 12 Seasonals.

Last year (see 2023 Seasonals), I brewed 8 out of 12 of those beers.

I missed March (McShepardSons Irish Ale) and May (Helles in a Hand Bock-sket) along with a couple of other months.

This year, I've already hit 2024 McShepardSons Irish Ale (Batch 352). Last weekend (as I type this ... by the time I post it, it will have been 2 weekends ago), I got my "May Seasonal" brewed as well:

Helles in a Hand Bock-sket

Usually when I brew in my Foundry, I get the water prepared and the timer set to get the water heated up by the time I get up in the morning.

However, it was raining pretty hard Saturday night, and I was hoping to brew outside, so I decided to wait until the morning to get started.

I was up before 6am, and had the mash going by 6:20. 

As we have to get going to church by 8am, I decided to get the mash done and set the controller to heat up just below boiling while we were at church. 

With the amount of grain in this batch, it seems that there was more liquid taken up by the drained grain. And, my mash efficiency suffered.

My pre-boil gravity and volume was very low. I compensated some with table sugar, but decided to not worry about getting the OG all the way up to plan.

The boil itself went well. I remembered to add all the right ingredients when I planned on adding them.

Chilling went well also. I got the wort to mid-50's using just the hose through the wort chiller. 

I had lots of yeast harvested from 2024 Mardi Bock (Batch 351), and with a nice yeast starter, fermentation took off before bedtime.

Like is usual on my lager fermentations, my plan was to ferment in the 50's for the first week and let the temperature rise to ambient of my basement for the rest of the time.

Unfortunately, I forgot to switch out ice on Tuesday night and that meant my cold fermentation was done early. In my experience, when this happens I don't get any negative impact. I just roll with it.

After my Brew Day, I went on a bike ride, returning to watch the Avs beat the Jets.

Then, I made a chicken for dinner. Like I've done the past few times, I spatchcocked the chicken and cut it in half.

I cooked the bird at just over 300 degrees for most of the time, letting the grill rise up to 350 at the end.

About 1/3 of the way through, I flipped the pieces over.

And, then another 1/3 of the way through I flipped them again.

The chicken turned out great. Very tender and juicy with wonderful color.

Delicious.

As always, stay tuned on the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with beer and other things: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.

Go Avalanche!

April #7100MilesIn2024 Progress

I'm probably the only one who cares ... but I've been tracking my 2024 Strava goals every month on this blog. This year, I'm targeting 7,100 miles and 319,500 feet climbed (11 Everests).

Knowing that I'll ride more in warmer spring and summer months, I planned for less riding in the snowy winter / early spring months.

I was behind my plan at the end of January. I caught up by the end of February.

I moved ahead of my plan in March, and extended my lead quite a bit in April, logging 576 miles and 29,429 feet climbed.

 

KFC Thighs Again

I made dinner last Wednesday.

I was planning on cooking chicken thighs, and at some point during the day, I was looking through this blog and came across my KFC posts.

Kettle Fried Chicken (KFC)

I grill / smoke chicken thighs quite often, but I don't think I'd made KFC in almost two years.

Since it had been awhile, I decided to give it a try again.

I went with a pretty simple KFC coating this time. I oiled the thighs up, put a few tablespoons of Progresso Italian Style Bread Crumbs into a plastic bag, added some random spices, and shook the thighs in the mixture.

Beef Back Ribs

If you read 2024 Melting Stream Spring Saison (Batch 354), you know that I brewed beer last Sunday.

Interestingly, completely coincidentally, the last three times I brewed Melting Stream Spring Saison, I also made Pork Spare Ribs.

(see 2023 Melting Stream Spring Saison (Batch 332),  2022 Melting Stream Spring Saison (Batch 309), and Melting Stream and Spare Ribs)

This time, I mixed it up a little, making Beef Back Ribs.

This is actually the first time I've smoked Beef Back Ribs. I never see them at the grocery store or Sam's Club I usually go to.

However, when I drop my kid off at college, we quite often stop at his grocery store, and I see the beef ribs there.

2024 Melting Stream Spring Saison (Batch 354)

Colorado Spring Time means we get snow, then it gets warm out and melts the snow.

It snows again.

It melts again.

Repeats again and again and again. This cycle is one of the reasons I love living here.

Mountain streams are full and fast rushing this time of year thanks to all the melting snow.

It being Spring also means it is time to brew my Spring time Seasonal Saison.

Sunday, I brewed ...

Melting Stream Spring Saison

O is for Odyssey Beerwerks

It's been awhile since we posted N is for 4 Noses - Park Hill.

We've just been doing other things, and have not had an opportunity to head out to another brewery.

This past Saturday, though, the SheppyBrew Beer Model (aka my wife) decided it was about time to hit our next A to Z Brewery.

Since we did "N" last time, now it was time to find an "O" brewery.

According to the Colorado Brewery Map & List, we had a few to choose from, and the Beer Model picked out ....

O is for Odyssey Beerwerks

Roll-a-Style 11 ... 14C. Scottish Export

After brewing McShepardSons Irish Ale (Batch 352), I thought I'd like to do another "Roll-a-Style" beer.

In case you are not familiar with the concept ... I made a list of BJCP Styles that I've never brewed, and assigned them to the numbers 1 - 20. When I want to brew, but am not sure what style to go after, I "roll" an online 20-sided die. Whatever number I roll is the style of beer I brew next.

My most recent list was on Roll-a-Style 1 ... 3A. Czech Pale Lager.

Most recently, I rolled an 11:

11 corresponds with 14C. Scottish Export.

A moderate-strength, malty beer with light caramel, toast, toffee, and fruit flavors. A slight roast dryness offsets the residual sweetness in the finish, with the bitterness perceived only to keep the beer from being cloying.