Brewing the 2019 X-Mas Ale (Batch 242)

Well ... not too long ago I posted "What will I make .... X-Mas Ale 2019".

I brewed the base beer this past weekend, but I still have not decided what my 2019 X-Mas Ale will be.

The recipe I have on SheppyBrew.com, calls for White Chocolate Flavoring, but I'm not 100% sure that is the direction I want to go.

I don't have to decide until the primary fermentation is done.

We'll see.

This past Sunday was very windy. There was a strong wind warning in area. So, I brewed in the garage.

X-Mas Ale 2019

I is for [The] Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project

As far as I know ... there are not very many "I" breweries in the Denver area. Last time through, I was only able to come up with one, and I've already used that one. (See I is for IronWorks Brewery and Pub)

This time, I was thinking I would have to skip "I" because I couldn't find another one.

However, while going through the list on Denver Brewery Guide, I spotted The Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project. The name starting with "The" made it a little harder to spot, but "Intrepid" certainly starts with the letter "I".

That works for me!

Full disclosure, technically, the brewery has changed its name in the last month. They now call themselves "Next Stop Brew Co.".

However, I do see this still referred to as "Next Stop at the Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project", and I decided I can still use this as my "I" brewery.

So ...

I is for [The] Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project

What will I make .... X-Mas Ale 2019

Every year since I started home-brewing (way back in 2009), I've brewed an X-Mas Ale to have around the holidays.

Over the years, they have been very similar base beers. They range in color from a darker amber ale to a dark brown ale. They range in ABV from around 5.5% to over 8.3%.

Most have had non-traditional beer flavoring. A couple have simply been base beers.

The very first one (2009) was an extract Brown Ale at about 5.7% ABV. Along with the extracts, the beer had Cherries, Honey, Almond Extract, Vanilla Extract, and Ground Cloves.

2019 #GABF Pictures

Well, as you saw if you follow SheppyBrew on Instagram or Facebook, the Beer Model and I attended the Great American Beer Festival again this year.

As always, it was fun.

I didn't do a great job of documenting the beers that I really liked this year. The GABF app changed, making it more difficult to use. I didn't bring paper and pen as I did in past years.

However ... I did note a couple beers / breweries that stood out for me.

I really liked everything I tried at Drake's Brewing Company.  1500 Pale Ale and Smoked Brette Davis Eyes were both fantastic.

There was a Neapolitan Milk Stout at Saugatuck Brewing Company. This isn't the kind of  beer that I would drink a bunch of, but I was really impressed with the way the brewers nailed a beer whose flavors reminded me of the name.

My favorite beer of the first night was "Barrel Aged Edison" from Chapman's Brewing Company.

2019 Q3 SheppyBrew Stats

This year is really flying by. Here is it October and 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.

As you may remember, I didn't brew very many times last quarter, although I did some bigger batches so my volume was still pretty high.

I brewed a whole lot more often in Q3. I brewed 6 batches which yielded a 34 gallons of beer.

Hail Storm Brew Day

• Hail Storm Summer Saison
• Muggled Pale Ale
• Alabama Pelican Brown Porter
• Schreck Gartenzwerg Pilsner
• Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale
• Falling Leaves Autumn Saison

2019 Falling Leaves Autumn Saison (Batch 241)

Until the last couple days ... it really has not felt very Autumn-like in Colorado.

But, it is Autumn ... and you know what that means .... right?

Time to brew my Falling Leaves Autumn Saison.

Last Sunday, I did. I brewed it. I brewed the SheppyBrew 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.

I was just looking at my brew day blog post for the 2018 Autumn Saison . Apparently last year I thought I had pumpkin. Didn't have it. Went to the store to buy some.

This year, I thought I had some. Didn't have it. And decided I didn't need it.

I might be getting lazy in my old age.

Anvil Stainless Bucket Fermenter with Cooling System (Part 1)

As I mentioned in the Schreck Gartenzwerg Pilsner post, I treated myself to a new Anvil Stainless Bucket Fermenter.

It's nice. I like it. Not sure it will brew beer any better, but it looks cool. It should be easy to clean. I like having a valve to take samples. It is sturdier than my plastic fermentors. It's an upgrade to what I have now.

Actually, the reason I got this particular fermentor is that I was thinking about ways of temperature control (especially for lagers) without taking up space in a refrigerator or freezer.