Grist Brewing Company (Rare)

If you've been following along on my Sheppy Brew's A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts ... you know that usually the Beer Model (aka my wife) and I try to bike to various breweries around our area.

About a year ago, we bought her a new Pedego E-Bike, which helped tremendously increase her biking range, and allowed us to cycle at about the same general speed.

I know a lot of cyclists look down on E-Bikes, but I personally am a fan. I think our situation where I cycle a ton and she doesn't is a perfect example of what is great about them. She and I can ride together without either one of us being frustrated by the speed or intensity of the ride.

I had never ridden one, though. This past Saturday, I decided to give one a try and rented one at a local bike shop ... GoodTurn Electric Cycles.

And what better destination to try, but the next brewery on our list ...

G is for Grist Brewing Company (Rare)

T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager (batch 292)

I brewed Sunday.

If my accounting is accurate, this was the 292nd batch of beer I've brewed in my "career".

It was SheppyBrew's 16th batch of 2021, and our 21st batch done in the Anvil Foundry.

This is actually the 4th time I've made this recipe.

T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager

T.Ra.Sh. Light isn't really a "typical" Mexican Adjunct beer like Corona or Dos Equis. It actually is all-malt ... mostly Vienna with some pilsner mixed in.

As a result, it isn't as pale or thin as the prototypical "Mexican Lager". It also has a bit more noble hop flavor in the finish than you'd associate with the mass-produced versions.

It is something I really like to drink during hot summer days, though. And the "T.Ra.Sh" family seems to appreciate it.

Whole Chicken in the Vortex

So ... if you've been following along for the past couple of weeks, you might remember that I've been using a (knockoff version) Vortex in my Weber Kettle for some of my weekend meals.

I've done Chicken Thighs and Steaks with corn.

One of the specific reasons I asked for a Vortex was based on a Weber Kettle Facebook group post I saw awhile ago where someone cooked a whole chicken inside the cone with charcoal surrounding it.

The main advantage to this (at least in my mind) is that the chicken can sit upright without being in danger of hitting the top of the kettle lid.

In my experience, whole chickens seem to turn out best when sitting upright like this.

So, on Saturday, I got to try this Vortex configuration with a whole chicken I had thawed from my freezer.

6th Everest of 2021

According to Strava ... I'm up to 174,890 feet of elevation gained on my bicycles so far this year, putting me just over 6 Everests in 2021.

It's true. 29,032 x 6 = 174,192.

I'm still ahead of schedule to hit my 300,000 goal by the end of the year.

F is for Fiction Beer Company

It's been almost 2 months since I posted E is for Evergreen Brewery.

With covid restrictions loosening up, I really thought I'd make more progress on our A to Z Denver Breweries Project.

But, with other things going on, we just have not had a chance to visit new breweries. 

This past Saturday, though, the SheppyBrew Beer Model wanted to go to our "F" brewery.

Obviously, she almost always gets what she wants, so that is what we did.

We got in the car, stopped by Qdoba to pick up some food, and then headed to .... 

F is for Fiction Beer Company

More Paddle Board Pics

As I mentioned in Paddle Board, I got my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) a paddle board for her birthday.

This past weekend, she and I packed up her board,  one of our kayaks, some sandwiches, and some beers to head over to Chatfield Reservoir. 

We spent an hour or so on the water and then came back and had lunch.

After lunch, we packed up a few beers and headed back onto the water.

The weather was great ... sunny and in the mid-80. Not too terribly hot.

It also wasn't as crowded as Chatfield Reservoir is quite often on a summer Saturday mid-day.

Here are some pictures:

Summer Lovin' American Wheat (Batch 291)

I brewed Sunday. My 15th batch of the year. My 291st batch in my brewing "career". This was also my 20th batch brewed on the Anvil Foundry.

The beer I brewed was the original Summer Lovin' American Wheat, 

Summer Lovin' is the base recipe of a bunch of beers that I brew. Lots of my fruit wheats use this as a base. But, it's been almost 4 years since I brewed this as a stand-alone beer.

Both my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) and myself were shocked when I looked up when the last brew day was.

And ... as I am spending 2021 exploring older recipes, I thought I had to brew this one up.

Summer Lovin' American Wheat

Vortex Steaks and Corn

On the 5th of July (Independence Day Observed), I had some ribeye steaks and corn on the cob to grill.

As you may remember from First Vortex Use, I received a (knockoff version of ) the Vortex, and I mentioned that it could be used in various configurations.

Monday, I thought I'd try another configuration. I turned it upside down and placed it towards the side of the trusty Weber kettle, filling it about 75% with lit charcoal.

I then started reverse searing the steaks with pecan wood chunks for awhile.

Paddle Board

If you've been following this blog for awhile ... you may know that the family has a couple of kayaks we use from time to time.

Good family fun.

My wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) has tried out paddle boarding a few times and seemed to enjoy it.

I thought that getting her a paddle board would be a something she would enjoy.

She had a birthday over the weekend, and this is the year I decided to buy her one. 

Nothing too fancy. I decided to get an inflatable one that could be packed up so that transporting it would be fairly easy.

Over the weekend, we headed up to the Lake Dillon area to have her try out her new toy.

First Vortex Use

On Fathers' Day, I received a new accessory for my Weber Kettle. It's a cheap knockoff of a Weber Vortex called a "Whirlpool". For the purposes of this blog, I'm going to refer to my new toy as a "Vortex".

The Vortex seems to be very popular on various Weber / BBQ forums I look at. It's shaped like a cone with the tip cut off. 

It can be used in various configurations, but I think the most common way to use it is to fill it with charcoal in the center of the kettle and have it concentrate the heat to allow a really high concentration of heat up the center.

It is supposed to provide an air-fried effect and many people swear it helps give really crispy skin on chicken (most often I see posts specific to wings).

A couple of Saturdays ago, I tried it out with this configuration for the first time with some chicken thighs. 

2021 Q2 SheppyBrew Stats

Q2 of 2021 is already over, which means its time to report our brewing stats for the year so far.

I didn't brew quite the ridiculous amount that I brewed last quarter, but still quite a bit.

I brewed 6 batches and 31 gallons of beer.

Helles in a Hand Bock-sket

I'm not nearly on the same pace of last year's total, but I am on pace for the 2nd most batches and gallons I've ever brewed. Currently, I'm on pace for about 140 gallons in 2021.