Already over 100 Gallons in 2020

Last year, I brewed more gallons of beer than I ever had before. I hit 100 Gallons in 2019 before December.

That is ridiculous!

This year, has been even more ridiculous. In fact with Lithuanian Strong Pale Ale (265), I've now surpassed 100 gallons.

Spoiler alert, I'm going to brew more before the end of the year, and I only need two more batches to surpass last year's record setting volume. I am likely to do that before the end of the 3rd quarter.

Wow!

Lithuanian Farmhouse Yeast

So ... if you've been following along on this blog, or SheppyBrew's Facebook Page or SheppyBrew's Instagram Page, you know that the brewer / owner of one of my local breweries, Great Frontier, pulled some  Lithuanian Farmhouse Yeast off his fermentor and gave me a quart of slurry.

That was certainly nice of him. I really appreciate that he did that for me.

So far, I've brewed 3 batches of beer using this yeast.

• Sveikas Lithuanian Farmhouse (262)
• Lithuanian Lovin' Wheat (263)
• Lithuanian Strong Pale Ale (265)

The radical thing about the Lithuanian Farmhouse Yeast is that it ferments hot and fast with a fairly clean flavor. I fermented all three between 80 and 90 degrees for basically 2 days. 

For reference, most of the ales I brew at between 60 and 66 degrees, and are ready to keg in about 2 weeks. Most yeasts would kick out off-flavors if fermented in the 80's.

The yeast-derived flavors that I'm getting from these Lithuanian Farmhouse beers are real subtle. There is a little saison-like peppery flavor, and some citrusy lemony esters in these beers, but not overpowering at all, and in fact, I probably wouldn't notice these flavors if not "looking" for them.

Lithuanian Strong Pale Ale (265)

So ... if you've been following along on this blog, or SheppyBrew's Facebook Page or SheppyBrew's Instagram Page, you know that I've been playing around with Lithuanian Farmhouse Yeast. 

The brewer / owner of one of my local breweries, Great Frontier, pulled some off his fermentor and gave me a quart of slurry.

It is one of those yeast strains that has evolved to handle hot fermentation temperatures with a fairly clean profile.

I've brewed a couple times with it, fermenting beer in the 80's and 90's (Fahrenheit). With that hot fermentation, the yeast rips through the sugars very quickly, and I've been able to get beers into the keg in 3 or 4 days.

The yeast produces a really subtle pepper flavor, similar to saison strains, but much more restrained. It also has a really nice citrus ester.

I thought the citrus of the yeast would compliment traditional American hops in a Pale Ale or IPA, and thought I'd give it a try in my homebrew version of Colorado Strong Pale Ale. 

Lithuanian Strong Pale Ale

Lithuanian Lovin' Summer Lovin' (263 and 264)

So, you may remember that I procured some Lithuanian Farmhouse Ale Yeast from one of my local breweries.

My first batch using it was Sveikas Lithuanian Farmhouse (262).

I decided to follow up fairly quickly with another batch ... mostly because out of town guests helped reduce my beer inventory.

Because I am likely to kill a few kegs soon, I decided to brew a double batch of beer this past weekend.

I decided to brew up 11 gallons the base beer of my Summer Lovin' Wheat. I split up half to be fermented with the standard US05 and half to be fermented with the Lithuanian Farmhouse Ale Yeast.

To be honest, I reduced the amount of wheat in the batch to help reduce the likelihood of a stuck sparge with a larger than usual mash. I also decided to reduce the boil time to half an hour in the spirit of the Short and Shoddy philosophy. This helped save some time.

You can see the recipe at ...

Lithuanian Lovin' Summer Lovin' Wheat

Brisket Flat

I cannot tell a lie. I. Love. Brisket. 

I love cooking it. I love eating it. I even love having left-overs. It is GUUUD!

For quite awhile during the whole Covid Shelter in Place reality, it was difficult to get brisket. Then, you could get it, but it was too expensive for me to want to buy.

Recently, it has become more available and much less expensive.

My wife was going to Sam's Club a week or two ago and asked if I wanted her to pick up anything.

Sveikas Lithuanian Farmhouse (262)

If you follow the SheppyBrew Facebook or Instagram pages ... you may have seen that I was able to pick up some yeast from Great Frontier Brewing Company.

Great Frontier makes a beer called "Lithuanian Farmhouse Ale". 

It is my favorite beer they make, and I was interacting with the brewer / owner on facebook. He offered to pull some yeast from one of his tanks and let me play with it.

Of course, I didn't need to be asked twice. 

I stopped by the brewery and as promised, he got me a mason jar full of the Lithuanian Farmhouse yeast.

The yeast apparently comes from a local Denver yeast lab, but isn't something they offer to just anyone.

I'm told they literally collected it from a farmhouse in Lithuania. 

This Lithuanian Farmhouse yeast is similar to Kveik strains in that it ferments real hot (80's / 90's / 100's) and finishes in 2 or 3 days. Even at these ridiculous hot fermentation temperatures, it ferments (fairly) clean.

Barbecue Sauce Recipe

If you follow this blog ... especially the BBQ posts, you might have figured out that I make my own BBQ Sauce.

This past weekend, I made some pulled pork for my son's graduation party. Along with that, I made my BBQ Sauce.

A bunch of people said they really liked it and a few said they'd like the recipe.

I sort of have a recipe. I don't really follow the recipe. But, I thought I'd publish a starting point.

July Progress on #5000MilesIn2020

If you follow this blog fairly regularly, you might remember that I've made it a goal to ride 5000 miles in 2020.

If you don't know what I'm talking about ... you can catch up by checking out Sheppy's Blog: #5000MilesIn2020.

Now that July is complete, I thought I'd give another quick update.

As you may remember from June Progress on #5000MilesIn2020, my July goal was to ride 700 miles.