Smoked Pulled Pork Sandwiches

I didn't brew last weekend, but I did Barbecue.

Last time I got Pork Butt, they were on sale for 99 cents per pound. I got two and froze one of them for later.

I decided to cook it up last Sunday (12/16/2018).

As you may know, last Sunday was the big Bears vs. Packers game. The Bears won the game and the division.

I love to see the Packers lose. It is even better when the Bears do the beating. Of course, it has been a loooong time since that happened.

Hurray for the Bears!

Anyway ... I decided to smoke pork shoulder. Since it was frozen, I had to thaw it over the week before, so I was committed by the time Sunday got here.

Resilience IPA

As a general rule, I don't brew clone beers.

However, late in the year, the "Camp Fire" devastated Northern California and it hit close to home for Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. While the brewery was spared, many of Sierra Nevada’s employees, patrons and neighbors lost everything as the Camp Fire ravaged northern Californian.

To help raise much needed support for the recovery efforts, Sierra Nevada created a beer called Resilience IPA. Sierra Nevada, along with many of its professional brewing peers, brewed and sold Resilience IPA with all proceeds donated to the Sierra Nevada Camp Fire Relief Fund through Golden Valley Community Bank Foundation.

On the AHA Website, they posted a clone recipe for Sierra Nevada Resilience IPA, and wrote:

"It is our hope that homebrewers will make a batch of Resilience IPA in solidarity with Sierra Nevada and pro breweries across the country. While we can’t sell our creations and donate the proceeds, please consider donating to the Golden Valley Community Bank Foundation if you are able."

X is for WestFaX Brewing Company

Well ... Damn.

I was so close to finishing up my little A to Z Breweries project.

After V is for Vine Street Pub and Brewery, I cheated a little with "W is for Wits End Brewing Company" ... I only had X, Y, and Z left.

I even visited WestFaX Brewing Company back in the summer of 2017.

And then I just never finished up writing this post. After a few months, I thought that I should visit it again.

And then I forgot about the whole thing for awhile. I got lazy I guess.

Just in case you're new to this blog, and the concept of what I'm talking about ... check out Sheppy's Blog: A to Z ... I think you'll be able to figure out the concept. Pretty simple, I'm attempting to visit local breweries that I have not been to. I decided to go down the alphabet.

Cherry Wood Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey

Well ... as you know if you've been following this blog, I've taken up barbecue as a hobby.

My wife bought me a smoker as a gift last Christmas, and I've been using it pretty regularly.

One of the things I've really been looking forward to doing is smoking a Thanksgiving Turkey.

If you follow the SheppyBrew Instagram Feed or Facebook Page, you probably know that I did make our family's Thanksgiving Turkey this year on the Smoker.

If I'm honest, I was a bit nervous about doing it. I've never really smoked anything that big, and I certainly didn't want to screw it up.

I've done quite a few whole chickens, though, and a turkey is basically just a big chicken ... right?

As it turns out, it was great, so I was ok.

Learning to Homebrew

So ... Saturday, November 3 was the AHA's Learn to Homebrew Day.

My homebrewing friend, "Doc" invited me to his house to brew. You may remember that earlier in the year, I went to house for Big Brew Day (see Cinco de Bealtaine Irish Stout).

In addition to the two experienced homebrewers, there were a couple of people there to watch us, and a new homebrewer doing his first "real" homebrew batch.

Again, I packed up my brewing equipment and brought it "on the road". Again, it is a little awkward for me to do this.

I need a checklist.

But I was able to get enough of the stuff to Doc's house that I wasn't missing anything. The only thing I had to borrow from him was his wort chiller.

2018 X-Mas Ale and Tri-tips

So, I brewed my 2018 X-Mas Ale a couple Sundays ago.

As you may remember, every year I brew a different X-Mas Ale. You can read about most of them right here on Sheppy's Blog: X-Mas Ales.

They are all winter warmer base beers with various flavorings.

This year's version was designed to be slightly lighter in color.

The unique flavoring this year is Peanut Butter.

As you might have noticed over the years from my GABF posts, that my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) really enjoys trying out Peanut Butter beers.

I've been surprised quite a few times since this year's GABF, when I mention peanut butter beers (or chocolate peanut butter beers) how surprised / disgusted people initially are.

2018 Q3 SheppyBrew Stats

The 3rd quarter is done.

As you may know, the Brewery likes to post quarterly updates on how much we have brewed. You can see all these updates (including the one you are reading right now) by following this link: Sheppy's Blog: Brew Stats.

Hail Storm Summer Saison brew day

2018 Falling Leaves Autumn Saison

On the last day of September, I brewed my 2018 version of Falling Leaves Autumn Saison.

Falling Leaves is, of course, the Autumn version of my Seasonal Saisons series of beers. It is darker in color than the Spring and Summer Saisons, but not as dark as the black Winter Saison.

Just for the fun of it, I threw some pumpkin in the recipe as well.

The beer is pretty interesting.

It gets most of its color from a Dark Munich malt from Gambrinus Malting Corporation. The malt flavor is heavily Munich breadiness, but it does have the distinct French Saison taste from the yeast and lots of late Saaz hops.

It is a delicious beer.

2018 #GABF Photos

Well, as you probably know, the SheppyBrew Beer Model and I go to the Great American Beer Festival almost every year.

Like last year, since I'm so far behind getting blog posts up, I won't say much about this year's except:

• It was fun as always
• The food trucks they had this year were much better food than the regular vendors
• I do not like Brut IPA's
• I do seem to like Milk Shake IPA's
• It didn't feel quite as crowded this year
• I really liked hitting the State Brewery Guilds.
• For the first time, I used the GABF Phone App to take notes, and it was much better than carrying pen and paper.
• Getting into the building was even a smoother process than in past years.

Scallywag Czech Dark Lager

Barbecue and Homebrew. Can you think of a better combination on a beautiful September afternoon?

I can't think of one.

Add in some football; it doesn't get much better than this.

I brewed and barbecued exactly two weeks ago today.

The homebrew of the day was a new SheppyBrew recipe called Scallywag Czech Dark Lager.

I'm not real familiar with the Czech Dark Lager style. It is there in the newest BJCP guidelines, but I don't think I've ever actually had one.

I am in love with Czech Pilsners (now referred to as Czech Pale Lagers in the BJCP Guidelines). I figured I would simple make my My Ello Poppet Czech Pilsner and add some color.

That is what I did.

Scallywag Czech Dark Lager

2018 Q2 SheppyBrew Stats

Ok. This is embarrassing.

We are only just now getting around to posting our 2nd quarter results. As I start to type this, the 3rd quarter is almost done. Like it ends tomorrow.

Embarrassing.

As you may know, the Brewery likes to post quarterly updates on how much we have brewed. You can see all these updates (including the one you are reading right now) by following this link: Sheppy's Blog: Brew Stats .

Anyway ...

We didn't brew a whole lot in the 2nd quarter.

The beers we brewed were:

• Sasquatch Hunter Altbier
• Cinco de Bealtaine Irish Stout
• Pomegranent Biker "Radler"

That is it. Only 3 batches. Only 15 gallons of beer.

2018 Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale

I have gotten bad at getting my blog posts out. This post should have been published at least 2 weeks ago.

But ... oh well ...

Here we go.

On Sunday, September 9 I brewed the 2018 Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale.

For some strange reason, my wife REALLY loves pumpkin spice beers.

That being the case, in 2014, I designed a pumpkin spice ale. And I brewed it.

Happy wife ... happy life ... right?

It is actually pretty good. The base beer is fantastic and the pumpkin spice is subtle enough that I can drink it, while still being present enough for my wife to enjoy the beer.

Only highly skilled brewing craft men can walk that fine line. Good thing I'm awesome like that.

Some people will tell you that you don't need pumpkin in a pumpkin spice ale. I disagree. So, I put pumpkin in.

Rocktoberfest Lager 2018

The Colorado Rockies are in the hunt for the playoffs this year.

As I type ... they are 1.5 games out of the 2nd wildcard spot, but only a game out of first in the NL West. They have plenty of games left with Arizona, so they basically have their playoff destiny in their own hands.

But ... they are the Rockies ... so they are likely to need all the help they can get.

You may not know this, but the Colorado Rockies have never won a division title.

And so ... I figured it was time for me to do my part and help by brewing some

Rocktoberfest Lager.  

A couple of weekends ago, I did just that.

Brewing Near-Sighted Swine IPA

I don't make a lot of IPA's, but the other day I started thinking I really should get one brewed.

Quite awhile ago I brewed an IPA that I really enjoyed, named Near-Sighted Swine IPA. Rather than come up with a new recipe, I decided to use this one.

I did update the hops a little. But, it is essentially the same recipe as it was back then.

Last Sunday (not this past Sunday ... the one before), I brewed the beer.

I started the brew day somewhat late for me ... after the sun was up ... around 6AM or so.

The skies looked like rain, but I started on the back patio.

About the time that the mash was done, I felt a bit of rain hit me from the skies and I made the decision to move the garage.

2018 Hail Storm Summer Saison

Summer time. Hooray for summer. It is going too fast.

Of course, with the change of seasons, I am required to make another Seasonal Saison.

Hail Storm Summer Saison to be more precise. Yum.

Yes ... Sunday, I brewed my Summer Saison.

If you follow my brewing patterns on this blog or social media, you probably have realized that I brew at least four Saisons a year. One for every season (saison is French for season). I call them my Seasonal Saison Series.

The Summer Saison is fairly light in color. Golden to light orange. It is designed to be around 5.5 to 6% ABV. It is fairly hoppy with Tettnang hops, but not at all bitter. Like most of my Seasonal Saisons, I use WY3711 French Saison (The Real Super Yeast).

Delicious.

Fermented Cauliflower and Broccoli

At work the other day people were talking about cauliflower. Weird thing to talk about at work ... right?

Lately, I've seen quite a few posts on instagram and facebook about cauliflower. Or at least more than I ever remember seeing before. I guess it is healthy. It seems to be a big part of some popular diet at the moment.

Anyway ... I mentioned that I sometimes ferment cauliflower. People were intrigued. I said I would bring some in sometime and let a few people try it.

And ... as you might have seen on the SheppyBrew Instagram Feed or Facebook Page, I prepared some.

Actually, I got myself some Cauliflower and Broccoli.

Of course, I had to also add in some jalapenos.

Obviously.

RMNP Photos

We went camping again this Fathers' Day Weekend.

Here are some pictures:

Beer Can Chicken

Over the years, I've experimented quite a bit with grilling or smoking whole chickens.

I've tried Beer Can Chicken.

I've made Rotisserie Chicken.

I've done simple indirect heat Grilled Chicken.

I've grilled chicken standing up like Beer Can, but without the beer.

I've smoked Apple Wood Smoked Chicken.

Yum!

I like grilling / smoking chicken. As you can probably tell, I always do it a little different. It always turns out awesome. I'm not convinced one technique is significant'y better than any other. As long as you cook for the right amount of time at a decent temperature, it turns out great.

Last Sunday, I added a new twist on my latest Smoked Chicken.

Pulled Pork Green Chili Recipe

Remember that a couple weeks ago, I smoked a port shoulder and had pulled pork sandwiches?

Well, if not feel free to check out Smoked Pork Shoulder and Brew Day. Go ahead. I'll wait.

I had a pound or two of the butt left over in the freezer.

I have decided that one of the best ways to use up extra smoked pork shoulder is to put it in a crock-pot of chili.

This past Saturday, I decided to make some green chili to use up the most recent pork butt.

It was delicious. Yum!

You may remember my Smoked Chicken Green Chili from a few weeks ago. It was fantastic, but some of the steps I used in that were dependent on having time to smoke some stuff.

Saturday, I didn't really have much time, so I changed up the recipe some. A couple people on various social media channels asked for the recipe.

Here it is:

Smoked Pork Shoulder and Brew Day

You may remember that back in January, I smoked a pork butt for pulled pork sandwiches. See Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork if you need a reminder.

It turned out great. And it was lots of fun.

At least it was lots of fun for most of the day.

To get that 9 lb pork shoulder done in time for dinner, I got started very early in the morning and kept the meat on the smoker for 13 hours.

My smoker is not a set and forget cook, so I was paying attention to the cooking meat most of the day.

At the end of Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork, I mentioned that in the future I would consider getting the butt to the wrap and then finish off in the oven.

Electric Smoker Guy

So, you may remember that I got a grill / smoker for Christmas. Technically, I got a picture of the grill / smoker ... but that is a story of its own. And ... eventually I got the actual grill and the actual smoker box.

As a result of this gift, I've gotten into smoking meats.

If you want, you can take a look at all the blog posts about the smoking I've done so far: Sheppy's Blog: Smoked

I have started looking at different Barbecue / Smoker forums because ... well ... because I now have a smoker.

Cinco de Bealtaine Irish Stout

The 5th of May was the American Homebrew Association's Big Brew Day.

One of my Homebrewing Friends ("Doc") hosted an event at his house and invited me to brew at his house.

I usually brew alone, and I've never brought my equipment "on the road". Generally, I'm pretty inefficient at fetching and readying my equipment during brew day. I usually get the next piece of equipment or brewing ingredient "Just in Time", and quite often take several trips down to the basement rather than bringing everything up at the same time.

This helps my fitbit stats, but is rather inefficient. A manufacturing engineer would never approve of my process. A Time and Motion Study would yield all kinds of low-hanging-fruit-improvements to make the process smoother.

I don't care. It works for me.

However, it does mean that I'm not used to getting everything I need together for a brewing road trip.

Smoked Chicken Green Chili

So ... I had a work potluck on May 4th (May the Forth Be With You). We had a weird Mexican / Star Wars theme. Strange, but it works.

I decided I wanted to make green chili with smoked chicken Thursday night.

Given that I would not have a lot of time for smoking the chicken, it being a work-night and all, I decided to start with boneless skinless thighs.

Along with the chicken, I smoked some Anaheim and Jalapeno chilies. It took around 2 hours to smoke the things and stuff and not too much longer to get everything combined in the crock pot.

It really turned out great. My dish did not last long at all at the potluck.

Shipping SCOBY

As you may remember, I have been brewing Kombucha on a regular basis.

I basically have two one-gallon batches of Kombucha going at any time. One with a standard black tea base. The other is made from green tea.

According to my "records" I've done 22 batches of kombucha since September 30 last year.

Anyway, the SCOBY (Symbiotic Culture Of Bacteria and Yeast) gets pretty big after a few batches and I end up separating it and throwing most of it out periodically.

That is somewhat of a waste. I've reached out on facebook and instagram asking if anyone was interested in taking SCOBY off my hands. No one took me up on the offer.

Until this past weekend.

This past weekend, my sister texted me about the possibility of shipping SCOBY to her brother-in-law for his birthday.

Sasquatch Hunter Altbier and Smoked Pork Loin

I brewed and Barbecued last Sunday.

My award-winning Sasquatch Hunter German Altbier and my first time smoking pork loin on the grill.

I also drank a fair amount of homebrew, but ... well ... it was Sunday ... so of course I drank homebrew.

The Sasquatch Hunter German Altbier is the beer that won a Blue Ribbon in the Denver Region of the 2013 National Homebrew Competition.

It was my first homebrew to win any kind of recognition, so it was a pretty big deal.

More importantly, I really liked the beer.

For some reason, it has been 3 years since I brewed this recipe. Sunday seemed a good time to do it again.

Smoked Mac and Cheese

So ... I got to use my smoker a couple times last weekend.

Recently, I posted articles about Bacon Wrapped Onion Bombs and Smoked Salsa. I cooked both of these last Saturday on the smoker.

On Sunday, I made something else on the smoker.

Something even more delicious.

Macaroni and Cheese.  Yum! Yum! Yum!

It was sooooooo Guuuuuuuud.

So Good.

Really when it comes right down to it, there are tons of baked Mac and Cheese recipes out on the internet. Smoked Mac and Cheese is simply doing the same thing ... only cooking it on the grill.

Smoked Salsa

Homemade salsa is the best salsa. Last year around March, I made some fermented salsa, which turned out great. Fresh salsa is wonderful too.

I can actually put salsa on all types of foods. Brats. Burgers. Chips. Dips. Chains. Whips.

I digress.

Somewhere. Somehow. I came across the idea of smoking salsa.

I'm embarrassed to say that I don't remember where I got the idea.

I'm sure it was on the interwebs somewhere. It was probably a youtube video.

It might have been this youtube video: Brisket Tacos with Smoked Salsa at All Things Barbecue

Bacon Wrapped Onion Bombs

Since I got my Smoker, I've watched lots of Barbecue YouTube videos about smoking and grilling.

I've subscribed to some channels that I enjoy, and the other day a video came across my subscription list.

Bacon Wrapped Onion Bombs on No Hippie BBQ & Cooking

Hmmm ... Bacon! Thank you, Lyle!

The recipe looked guuud, and relatively easy. I decided to try it last Saturday. If you follow SheppyBrew's Instagram Page or SheppyBrew's Facebook Page you probably saw pictures.

2018 Q1 SheppyBrew Stats

It is already April.

I think that means that the 1st quarter of 2018 is done.

As you may know, the Brewery likes to post quarterly updates on how much we have brewed. You can see all these updates (including the one you are reading right now) by following this link:  Sheppy's Blog: Brew Stats .

The SheppyBrew Brewery brewed 6 batches of beer in the first quarter:

• Arctic Vortex Winter Saison
• Oompa Loompa Mango Pale Ale
• Pats Disliker New England Pale Ale
• Imaginary Dragon Brown Ale
• Melting Stream Spring Saison
• Gringo Cerveza Popcorn Ale

Arctic Vortex Winter Saison

These 6 batches yielded 30.5 gallons, putting me easily on pace to surpass 100 gallons for the year.

Gringo Cerveza Popcorn Ale

I brewed Wednesday. I had the week off work, so of course I had to get a brew day in.

Wednesday was the day.

The beer I brewed was based on a long-time SheppyBrew recipe. Gringo Cerveza.

Originally, I used this name for a Mr. Beer recipe. I even had a partial mash recipe.

And ... eventually it become an all-grain recipe.

Sometime along the way, it became a Popcorn Beer.

"Popcorn?" You ask. Yes Popcorn.

A popcorn jalapeño beer. The jalapeños have become optional.

I got the idea of using popcorn in a beer when I listened to an episode of The Session on the Brewing Network about Sun King Brewery of Indianapolis, Indiana. One of their beers was a popcorn beer.

I decided to try the popcorn mash. Seemed that concept would work well with a jalapeño beer.

Smoked BBQ Drumsticks

We had a busy day yesterday at SheppyBrew Brewery and Smokehouse.

We didn't brew any beer, but we started the day early by kegging Melting Stream Spring Saison.

We bottled a batch of green tea kombucha and stared a new batch.

And .. we prepared and made barbecue drumsticks.

I bought a package of drumsticks at Sam's Club in the morning.

I decided to make the whole package even though I knew it would be too much for our family of four. I like having leftovers for lunch. Yummy barbecue drumsticks for lunch will be great this week.

2018 Melting Stream Spring Saison

It isn't Spring yet, but here in Denver, it feels like it is close. I'm hoping we get a couple more big snow falls still this year, but right now the weather is starting to get very warm.

I decided it was a good time to brew my Spring Seasonal Saison this past Sunday.

The Spring version of my is Seasonal Saison very light in color. It uses WY3711 for that delicious and refreshing saison flavor. It is hoppy.

Yummy yummy beer. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

Melting Stream Spring Saison

Imaginary Dragon Brown Ale

I'm brewing today.

I'm brewing today and I have not posted about my last brew day yet.

Lazy blogger.

I better do that now.

So ... I've been brewing quite awhile. I started with a Mr. Beer kit my sister bought me for the 2008 Christmas.

I used the hell out of that Mr. Beer Kit.

One of the recipes I came up with using the kit, was an American Brown Ale intended to mimic Big Sky Brewing Company's Moose Drool. I named it based on some dragon art work my child had done and another word for drool.

Not knowing that the name I came up with is slang for something horrible. You can look it up if you like (if you don't already know). You can't unknow once you know.

Pats Disliker NE Pale Ale

I'm glad that the Patriots didn't win the Superbowl LII.

Yes, I am a hater of the New England Patriots.

Not really like I hate the Red Wings or Packers. More like I dislike the Cowboys or the Raiders.

I'm a Patriots Disliker.

Lately if you're a craft beer geek like me, you've almost certainly noticed an alarming influx of "New England Style" IPA's.

I'm fine with a hazy IPA, but if there is yeast clouding up the beer, it is visually unappealing to me, and usually I don't find them all that great to drink.

I don't hate them like the Red Wings or Packers. I dislike them like the Patriots.

At the same time, there are some beers labeled "New England Style IPA" that I quite enjoy. As long as it is hazy rather than cloudy.

Reverse Seared Ribeyes

So ... you probably know I've been playing with my new grill / smoker recently.

See SheppyBrew: Grilling. Or SheppyBrew: BBQ. Or SheppyBrew: Smoked.

I've really been enjoying the food I've been making on the smoker.

Last weekend I decided to make some Ribeye Steaks. I love steak. Bone-in Ribeye Steaks are the ones that always turn out best for me. And that is what I got from the grocery store Sunday.

This time, I decided to try "Reverse Searing" the steaks. It is something I've read about, this this is really the first time I've done it.

In case you don't know, "Reverse Searing" is a technique used in grilling. Most of the references I've seen are around steak, but you can do it with other cuts of meat too.

SheppyBrew YouTube Channel

SheppyBrew now has a YouTube Channel ...

See SheppyBrew Smokehouse and Brewery

Currently there is just one video on the channel ... a short video of me making Kombucha. Eventually there will probably be more.

Check it out. Subscribe. Hopefully the content and quality of the videos will increase over time.

Oompa Loompa Mango Pale Ale, Kombucha, and Turkey Bacon Burgers

After brewing the Where'd My ManGo Wheat, I had some of the Mango Flavoring left.

Also, my Muggled Pale Ale didn't last real long.

I decided that it would be fun to make and drink a Mango Pale Ale.

Oompa Loompa Mango Pale Ale

I brewed it last Sunday

No big deal.

Some Pale Malt. Some Vienna Malt. Some Munich and some Pale Chocolate for a bit more color.

Equinox (aka Ekuanot aka HBC 366) hops. Centennial hops.

Apple Wood Smoked Chicken

If you've following this blog lately, you've noticed more BBQ articles.

That is because I got a new grill / smoker for Christmas this year, and I've been learning how to use it.

This past Saturday, I smoked a whole chicken.

Of course, I've done whole chickens on my older gas grill a few times. This was my first time adding smoke flavor.

The past two smoking sessions (see First time Smoking Ribs and Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork) both used hickory wood for the smoke. This time I decided to try something different, and I went with Apple Wood chunks.

SheppyBrew 2017 Year-End Brewing Stats

As you may know, the Brewery likes to post quarterly updates on how much we have brewed. You can see all these updates (including the one you are reading right now) by following this link: Sheppy's Blog: Brew Stats.

In the 4th Quarter, we brewed 4 beers.

Killer Cricket Porter brew day

• Killer Cricket Porter
• Where'd My ManGo Wheat
• 2017 X-Mas Ale
• Muggled Pale Ale

Hickory Smoked Pulled Pork

So, you may remember from First time Smoking Ribs that I recently got a new grill / smoker.

The ribs turned out really good. There are some improvements I think I can make, but I was pleased with the result. And my family liked them.

After the success of the ribs, I decided to try smoking a Pork Butt. You probably all know this, but a Pork Butt is actually the shoulder of a pig. I'm a little unclear as to why the shoulder is referred to a butt. I think it has something to do with Boston - area people not being all that bright.

But don't quote me on that.

So, I bought a 9 pound pork shoulder (8.92 pounds to be exact) from Sam's Club last week. I had Monday off work for MLK Day, and I used that day off to smoke some pork.

Fizzy and Pink Cherry Pomegranate Kombucha

So ... do you remember that I've gotten into brewing homemade Kombucha?

I like kombucha enough to drink. I like it a lot more than soda, and it is a good alternative to water or coffee for me to drink at work with my lunch. However, it is way too expensive for me to want to actually buy it.

It is easy and inexpensive to brew at home, so I just make it myself.

My process is simple:

1. Dissolve 1 cup of sugar in enough water to brew 8 to 10 tea bags worth of concentrated sweet tea.
2. Pour the tea into a gallon glass jar with a little ice to cool it down. Fill the jar the rest of the way with water.
3. Add a SCOBY and a little kombucha from the last batch to the jar.
4. Let the tea ferment for a couple of weeks. 
5. Pour the fermented kombuca along with some fruit juice or other flavoring into bottles.
6. Let those bottles carbonate for a few days.

First time Smoking Ribs

I got a picture of a grill / smoker for Christmas.

My wife did everything she could to get me an actual grill / smoker, but due to a delivery SNAFU, the picture was all I received.

While waiting for the delivery SNAFU to get fixed, I spent a significant amount of time reading books and websites about smoking various meats. I also watched lots of youtube videos on the same.

I think my favorite videos came from BBQ Pit Boys. Those guys amuse me, and I think they do a good job clearly explaining the process of smoking meats.

Anyway ... last week, I finally got the grill delivered. Separately, I got the smoker box delivered.

Saturday morning, I attached the smoker box to the grill.

Sunday, I smoked my first meat ... a rack of pork spare ribs.

2018 Arctic Vortex Winter Saison

It is winter. Time to brew a Winter Saison.

Arctic Vortex Winter Saison

Yes, here at SheppyBrew Brewery, we brew at least 4 saisons every year.

Winter Spring Summer Autumn.

I call them my Seasonal Saison series of beers.

The Arctic Vortex Winter Saison happens to be a black saison, because winter is generally dark ... and it would be boring to make all my saisons look the same.

This weekend, I brewed this year's Arctic Vortex Winter Saison.

When I went to buy ingredients last week, my Local Homebrew Shop didn't have my favorite Saison yeast (WY3711 French Saison). I ended up picking up WY3724 (Belgium Saison) instead.

I'm a real fan of WY3711, and I almost decided to wait to brew this beer until they could get more in, but I had already crushed my grains. It doesn't hurt to try new things. I guess we'll see how it turns out.