Pecan Smoked Potatoes Au Gratin

We received a Honey Baked Ham as a gift this year.

My kids had already told me that they wanted Ham for Christmas dinner, and I decided to just heat up the gift ham.

The ham came with various sides, some of which we prepared with Christmas dinner, but my wife told me she wanted "real" Au Gratin Potatoes.

So ... I made some.

As I rarely cook inside, I decided to cook my Au Gratin Potatoes on one of my Weber Kettles with a little Pecan wood to add a little smoke flavor.

As far as I remember, this is the first time I've ever made Au Gratin Potatoes. I googled recipes and decided to use one I found on All Recipes as a starting point.

Soapy Mole

My wife has this box of recipes, and one of the cards in this box is labeled "Sopa & Mole".

It is an old family recipe from a grandmother or great-grandmother or something. One of those that my wife had to write down by interrogating her mom, because it actually was never written down.

It's sort of been a tradition to have this on Christmas Eve when my in-laws are in town for the holidays.

I love it. One of my favorite meals. I usually refer to it as "Soapy Sheep" or "Soapy Mole". Weird, I know.

This year, for reasons I won't go into, I cooked for Christmas Eve and decided to try it out ... sort of.

You know me and the trouble I have following recipes ... luckily, it isn't a real precise recipe anyway, so I feel like it is sort of expected that you take liberties with it.

Kombucha

Until recently, it had been quite awhile since I've made any Kombucha.

In fact, I neglected my SCOBY  last year, and let it die. I have not made any since then.

A month or two ago, I tried propagating up SCOBY from commercial kombucha, but that never ended up growing.

So, I went the lazy-man way and simply ordered one from Amazon.

On 11/13, I brewed up a batch of Green Tea kombucha for the SCOBY to start working on.

The process is really simple.

• Dissolve 1 cup of sugar into water.
• Steep tea in the water.
• Add to a gallon jar, cooled with ice / water.
• Put in the SCOBY with a little "starter" to keep the pH down.
• Let the kombucha ferment for a few weeks.
• Bottle with whatever flavoring you would like.

Decemberfest Lager (Batch 303) and Pork Butt

I brewed my 303rd batch of beer this past weekend.

It was my 27th batch of beer in 2021, and my 29th brewed in my Anvil Foundry.

It might be my last batch of the year.

Or ... it might not. We'll have to see.

Regardless, this will be my 2nd most volume of beer brewed, behind only the ridiculous amount of beer I brewed in 2020.

I feel like I say this a lot ... but it blows my mind that 2021 is already almost over. I don't feel like I'm ready for a new year yet.

Anyway ... the recipe I brewed this past Sunday was ...

Decemberfest Lager

This is the 2nd time brewing this recipe, although this time I substituted the Vienna malt with some from local maltster Colorado's Root Shoot Malting.

The Root Shoot Vienna malt lists its color as 6 Lovibond vs the 3.5 Lovibond Vienna malt I usually use, so this batch is likely to be a couple of shades darker than last year's version. 

Caliente Fuerte Mexican Stout vs. Copper Kettle Mexican Chocolate Stout

Remember Caliente Fuerte Mexican Stout? It was my Homebrew 6 Pack Project beer inspired by Copper Kettle Mexican Chocolate Stout.

I brewed it on Halloween (see Caliente Fuerte Mexican Stout (Batch 300)). I kegged it around 3 weeks later.

Since then, I've carbonated and been drinking it.

The design (see Designing Caliente Fuerte Mexican Stout) was intended to be chocolatey with a bit of heat from cinnamon and Ancho and Cayenne Chile powder.

I purposely took it easy on the spices. 

As it turns out, I was too easy on the spices. It is nice, rich and chocolatey, but the cinnamon barely comes through and the peppers not at all.

R is for Raices Brewing Company

It was only a few days ago that I posted Q is for barQuentine Brewing Company.

If you've been following my A to Z Denver Breweries series of blog posts, you know that next up, I needed an "R" brewery.

As a reminder ...

Back in February of 2015, I was embarrassed by the huge number of Denver Breweries that I had never visited.
It struck me that if I went down the list, the starting letters of the brewery names represented almost every letter of the alphabet. That was when I started my A to Z Denver Breweries Project on this blog.

And ... as I mentioned in Q is for barQuentine Brewing Company, I had an "R" brewery in mind.

R is for Raices Brewing Company

X-Mas Ale 2021 (Batch 302)

It blows my mind that we're already in December and so Christmas is just around the corner.

This also means that it is time to get the Annual SheppyBrew X-Mas Ale made.

Actually ... it is sort of late to get the X-Mas Ale brewed. I usually like to be drinking it by Thanksgiving.

Last year, I had the X-Mas Ale brewed on Learn to Homebrew Day, which is the first weekend in November.

For various reasons ... I didn't get around to brewing the 2021 version until this past weekend, about a month later than last year's version.

I even considered not making an X-Mas Ale this year, but eventually, my desire to maintain the tradition overroad my laziness. It might be ready later in the year, but ... Oh Well ...

X-Mas Ale 2021

Country Style Ribs

Last weekend I made some more Country Style Pork Ribs.

I'm still not sure why they are called "Ribs". 

I do make them similar to how I do spare ribs .. 

• Apply rub. 
• Smoke for a couple or three hours. 
• Wrap for a couple more hours.
• Remove from wrap and finish off with BBQ Sauce. 
• Serve and Enjoy.

They turn out delicious.

This time, I used the Vortex to hold the charcoal, but other than that, exactly the same as last time. 

Yummy!

Q is for barQuentine Brewing Company

If you're following along, you know that I recently posted P is for Prost Brewing Company.

You are probably familiar enough with the English alphabet to know that after "P" comes "Q".

Q is tough for my A to Z Denver Breweries series of blog posts.

In round 1, I wasn't able to find and "Q" breweries in the Denver area, but I was able to use a Meadery with Q is for Queen Bee Brews.

In round 2, I still couldn't come up with any "Q" breweries, so I had to take "artistic license" with Q is for LiQuid Mechanics Brewing Company.

Here it is ... round 3 ... as far as I know, there are still no breweries in the Denver that start with the letter "Q".

So, once again, just like last time ... I had to take "artistic license" to come up with a "Q" brewery.

Q is for BarQuentine Brewing Company

2021 Thanksgiving Turkey

This past Thursday (yesterday) was Thanksgiving.

The Sheppy Family generally eats turkey on Thanksgiving. 

Weird ... right? (no not really)

Since 2018 ... I've been in charge of cooking the turkey (see Cherry Wood Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey).

It generally turns out better smoking it on the grill than in the oven. Plus, it is one less thing we have to juggle the plans around what gets cooked in the oven.

Plus, I really enjoy doing it.

So ... 2021 Thanksgiving was my forth time smoking the Thanksgiving turkey.

YUM!

At some point, my wife picked up a 14 pound frozen turkey from our local King Sooper. The kind that is always on sale this time of year.

300,000 feet in 2021

According to Strava, over the weekend, I passed 300,000 feet climbed on my bikes this year.

#10EverestsIn2021

300,000 feet was my yearly goal for 2021. I still have over a month of cycling to go before the end of the year, but with the cold weather, I probably won't do a whole lot of climbing in the next month.

As I mentioned when I first mentioned the goal, to get to 300,000 feet in the year, I was going to have to average 822 feet climbed every day. 

That is quite a bit. As of today, I've averaged 928 feet per day, which is even more. This is certainly the most climbing I've done in my life.

For what it is worth, I've also cycled more miles this year than last year, which makes this the highest number of miles I've ever ridden in a year. 

Not bad for an old couch potato.

I'm not sure what cycling goals I'll have for next year. We'll see what I come up with.

Stay tuned and you can find out ... Sheppy's Blog: Biking

P is for Prost Brewing Company

2021 started out pretty slow for my A to Z Denver Breweries series of blog posts.

It was December of last year that I posted C is for Cerveceria Colorado.

Mostly due to covid guidance, it wasn't until May until I posted D is for Dead Hippie Brewing.

I got in E is for Evergreen Brewery a couple weeks later.

Then, it was another couple months before I posted F is for Fiction Beer Company.

After that, though the SheppyBrew Beer Model (aka my wife) and I have been speeding through the alphabet. We seem to be making pretty good progress.

We got from "F" to O is for Oasis Brewery pretty quickly. 

Now ... as you can imagine if you've been paying attention ... it is time for a "P" brewery. As I mentioned, I had a brewery in mind.

Big P Little P what begins with P?

P is for Prost Brewing Company

Mr. Awesome vs. Mountain Time

As you may remember if you follow this blog ... not too long ago I brewed Mr. Awesome Merican Lager (Batch 300).

This is my first recipe that I've called an American Lager style of beer. 

I was inspired by New Belgium's Mountain Time Premium Lager, which has become a favorite local commercial beer for the Beer Model and myself over the summer.

I kegged a couple of weeks ago. I added gelatin a couple days later, and it has been carbonating since then.

I poured some a couple days ago and noticed its carbonation and clarity was about perfect. Not to mention it was delicious.

I had some Mountain Time in the fridge and thought it would be fun to compare the two beers.

So, I did.

Learn to Homebrew Day: Dudocs English Mild (301)

This past Saturday was the AHA's Learn to Homebrew Day.

This year, my friend "Doc" decided he wanted to host a brew day, so I packed up my equipment and traveled to his brewery.

The recipe that I designed for this brew day, was Dudocs English Mild.

It is a pretty simple English Mild recipe fermented with Lallemand Voss Kveik Ale Yeast.

It should be an easy drinking flavorful dark, malty session beer. I'm looking forward to trying it out.

As usual, I started the mash at home and let the amylase enzyme do their thing while I was driving.

This way, when I got to Doc's I just had to drain the wort into the kettle and start heating to boil.

10th Everest of 2021

According to Strava, I've climbed 291,913 feet on my bikes this year. This means I passed up my 10th Everest in my #10Everestsin2021 goal.

Mission accomplished. Sort of.

For my official Strava climbing goal, I rounded up to 300,000 feet. (see #10Everestsin2021), so I still have some climbing to do over the next couple months.

With shorter days, especially with the end of daylight savings time, I'll have less time to bike outside, so I'll probably slow down.

Even so, another 8,000 feet should be easy to accomplish.

I'll probably let you know when I pass up 300,000 feet. Follow Sheppy's Blog: #10Everestsin2021 to see.

Go Bears!

O is for Oasis Brewery

It is somewhat amazing that I'm already over halfway through my 3rd round of the A to Z Denver Breweries series of blog posts.

As a reminder ...

Back in February of 2015, I was embarrassed by the huge number of Denver Breweries that I had never visited.

It struck me that if I went down the list, the starting letters of the brewery names represented almost every letter of the alphabet. That was when I started my A to Z Denver Breweries Project on this blog.

I finished my first round in February of 2019 with A to Z Denver Breweries.

I finished round 2 in November of 2020 with  A to Z Denver Breweries Round 2. 

Now, I'm up to "O" in round 3. As I mentioned in N is for Novel Strand Brewing Company, we had actually visited our "O" brewery already. I just had to write and publish this post.

O is for Oasis Brewery

Caliente Fuerte Mexican Stout (Batch 300)

When I bought my Anvil Foundry ... there were two main reasons I thought I would like electric brewing. 

The first thing is something I take advantage of quite a bit ... I can set a timer on the Foundry to start heating strike water while I'm sleeping so that I can start brewing right when I get up in the morning.

The other big thing is that the electric boil doesn't get affected by a windy day as much as my propane burner.

As I've brewed with the Foundry, there are two disadvantages I've found over my old mash tun / propane burner system.

The first disadvantage isn't that big of a deal to me, but especially for bigger ABV brews, my mash efficiency isn't as good as it was with the "older" method.

The second disadvantage is that it takes much longer to get from mash temperature to boiling. Generally, it takes about 45 minutes to get from 155 degrees to 200, which is boiling for me at my high-altitude.

N is for Novel Strand Brewing Company

It has been awhile since we biked to M is for Mountain Toad Brewing.

I actually don't think the Beer Model had been on her bike at all since Mountain Toad.

But this past weekend, we decided to continue our exploration of A to Z Denver Breweries.

As I mentioned in M is for Mountain Toad Brewing, there was really only one logical choice for our "N" brewery.

I'd actually ridden my bike by this brewery a couple times on my various biking journeys.

It is a nice ride from our Home Brewery along bike paths to ...

N is for Novel Strand Brewing Company 

Rocktoberfest vs. Odell's Oktoberfest

In Mid-September, I brewed  Rocktoberfest Lager (Batch 296). It was the 7th time I've brewed this beer, although I had not brewed it since 2018 before this batch.

I have a few cans of Odell Brewing Company's Oktoberfest Marzen Style Lagers in my beer fridge and thought I'd do a quick comparison. 

Stylistically, my Rocktoberfest Lager design is right in the middle of Style Guidelines for OG and Color. 

It's actually on the low end for ABV. It's on the high end for bitterness.

Mr. Awesome Merican Lager (Batch 300)

If you were paying attention to the SheppyBrew Instagram Feed, you know that I brewed this past Sunday.

This was my 23rd batch of beer of 2021, and my 9th lager of the year.

It was the 28th batch that I've brewed on the Anvil Foundry.

It was my 299th batch of beer that I've brewed since I started this whole homebrew thing way back in 2009.

My past few batches have been very Autumn themed.

Rocktoberfest Lager (Batch 296)

Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale (Batch 297)

Falling Leaves Autumn Saison (batch 298)

I thought it was time to brew something lighter and drinkable. I decided to brew an American-style lager.

Mr. Awesome Merican Lager

Designing Caliente Fuerte Mexican Stout

It has been awhile, but in Updating the Colorado 6 Pack, I mentioned that I was updating my Homebrew Colorado 6 pack, replacing 3 beers that no longer exist.

The first replacement was T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager vs Ska Mexican Logger. That really turned out well.

Next up ... I want to try to make a beer inspired by another one of my local favorites ... Copper Kettle Mexican Chocolate Stout.

"Dynamic stout with cinnamon, local organic chocolate, and habanero, ancho and guajilo peppers!"

Bridesmaids Gift Boutique: Koozie Couple

My old friend "Joe" from Bridesmaids Gift Boutique: Ice Ice Baby emailed me again. He wanted to know if I'd like to try out another gift from Bridesmaids Gifts Boutique.

He thought I might like to try the "Koozie Couple" in exchange for posting about it on this blog.

I thought that was a cool idea, so I let him know "Sure, I'd be willing to write a post about the Koozie Couple."

He was kind enough to send me out a set to try. One for me. One for my wife.

9th Everest of 2021

I finished up my 1000 miles of the Great Cycle Challenge. I'm blown away by the generosity of everyone who donated. I blew away previous years' totals of donations.

And ... the page will remain open through the end of October. So ... if you wanted to donate, but have not had a chance yet, feel free to visit the page between now and November 1st ...

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

Along with the 1000 miles, I climbed around 42000 feet of elevation during the month. 

This also means I passed up my 8th and 9th Everest in my #10Everestsin2021 goal.

2021 Q3 SheppyBrew Stats

Q3 is over. 

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.

Summer Lovin' American Wheat

Falling Leaves Autumn Saison (batch 298)

As you know if you follow my Instagram feed, I brewed Sunday.

If I'm counting correctly, it was my 298th batch of beer.

My 22nd of the year. My 27th on the Anvil Foundry.

It is Autumn. For the most part, the weather here in Denver isn't really cooling down THAT much, but regardless, Summer is technically over.

My last couple of batches have reflected the passing of Summer. 

A couple weeks ago, I brewed a Märzen, Rocktoberfest Lager (Batch 296).

Last week, I brewed a pumpkin Ale, Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale (Batch 297).

This past weekend ... I continued the Autumn-themed beers with my Autumn Seasonal Saison ...

Falling Leaves Autumn Saison

Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale (Batch 297)

It's that time of year again ... pumpkin spice beer time.

Sigh.

As you probably know if you've been following this blog for awhile, the SheppyBrew Beer Model (aka my wife) likes pumpkin spice ales.

Unfortunately, back in September of 2014, I brewed a pumpkin spice beer that she really liked.

Unfortunately, I've been brewing this beer every year since.

Unfortunately, last Sunday it was time to brew it again.

Fortunately, the Beer Model was willing to help. So we brewed it together.

Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale

M is for Mountain Toad Brewing

I wasn't invited to L is for Lady Justice, but the SheppyBrew Beer Model did a great job on that brewery visit.

I guess that's fair. I did most of round 1 without her, and the "L" is the first one I've missed.

Anyway ... last weekend, after logging some morning miles on my Great Cycle Challenge, we decided we should bike a brewery together.

As you probably know, after L comes M. 

There are tons of "M" breweries on the Colorado Brewery List, but most of them are outside the Denver area. 

I used one of them on X is for Mad Jack's [JaX] Mountain Brewery ... which ... again ... wasn't my idea/

Molson / Coors or Miller / Coors (whatever you prefer to call them) is a possibility, but not ideal.

When it came right down to it, I really only had one choice for this trip ... 

M is for Mountain Toad Brewing

Sin Lima Mexican Lager vs Ska Mexican Logger

Well ... Hell. The summer is almost over. How did this happen so quickly?

Blah.

Last time I was at my local liquor store, I didn't see any of Ska's Mexican Logger. That probably means the Mexican Logger season is about over. 

Luckily, I had a can of it in my beer fridge to compare with my Sin Lima Mexican Lager (batch 293).

Smoked Mac and Cheese Pictures

A couple of weekends ago, my son wanted Smoked Mac and Cheese. So, I made Smoked Mac and Cheese on my Weber Kettle.

I pretty much followed the recipe from Smoked Mac and Cheese. 

Rocktoberfest Lager (Batch 296)

The weather here in Denver doesn't agree, but we're getting close to Autumn.

I'm seeing all kinds of local breweries on social media announce their Oktoberfest celebrations.

I thought I should probably get on making my own 2021 Oktoberfest Lager.

So, I brewed Sunday.

It was my 20th batch of the year. My 296th batch in my brewing "career". My 25th batch done on the Anvil Foundry.

I've been brewing this recipe since 2010. According to my notes, it was my 2nd all-grain batch back when I was still only doing 2.5 gallon batches.

Sunday was the 7th time I've brewed this beer....

Rocktoberfest Lager

 

8th Everest of 2021

Well ... my Great Cycle Challenge continues. I've passed my 8th Everest of 2021.

As I type this, I've climbed a little over 234,346 feet of elevation on my bikes.

At this point, Strava says I'm 24,600 feet ahead of plan to hit my #10Everestsin2021 goal. By the end of this month, I wouldn't be surprised if I'm a whole Everest (29,032 feet) ahead of schedule.

L is for Lady Justice - By Guest Blogger, known by many names but for this purpose, MBW (Main Blogger's Wife)

 

I have known my friend, Kristi, since we were about 3 years old. I moved away when I was 6. We maintained contact through the years, first through letter writing, then through email, then Facebook. She has started her own company, focused on creating a safer and more equitable world for women. She recently wrote a book (titled Quit being so Good), and her summer book tour brought her to the Denver area. She wanted to contact a women-owned brewery, and I told her about Lady Justice, although Sheppy and I had not been there yet. We were considering making it our “L” brewery when Kristi messaged me at work one day and asked me to meet her there. I agreed, and since Sheppy did not visit the “L” brewery, I am making the entry as a guest blogger.

On this 3^rd round of the A to Z Denver Brewery series, the last brewery we had visited was a K brewery, so next up is:

“L” is for Lady Justice – “Great beer can make the world a better place”

Another #GCCUSA Century Ride

To be honest, when I wrote "I might attempt Century Ride # 4 this Labor Day Weekend" on 3rd Century Ride #GCCUSA, I was mostly kidding.

Century Rides are hard. They take a lot out of me. I didn't think there was any way my legs would be ready for another long ride before the end of the long weekend.

But ... honestly, I was feeling pretty good after a rest day, and I had Friday off work.

I got up early for a bike ride. 1000 miles were not going to ride themselves. I had to keep up with my commitment to the Great Cycle Challenge.

I knew I would do a long one. I didn't really plan for 100, but I thought I'd see how it went.

After 10 or 20 miles, I was fairly sure I wouldn't be riding more than 50 miles. My legs didn't feel like they had much in them.

3rd Century Ride #GCCUSA

It is September, so I've begun my Great Cycle Challenge. 

I've committed to cycling 1000 miles in September to help raise awareness and money for Childhood Cancer Research.

If you'd like to help out with a donation my "Rider Page" is at:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

I'm extremely pleased with the support I've gotten so far. I've actually far exceeded my expectations for the amount of money I would be able to raise.

So ... with all those generous folks donating money to my "ride", presumingly expecting me to meet my 1000 mile goal, I certainly want to make sure I do my best to get all my miles in for the month.

K is for Kettle, Copper Brewing Company

On my 3rd round of the A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts, I have not had to take any artistic license on any of the names yet.

I've gone from A is for Altitude Brewing & Supply to J is for Jackass Hill Brewery following the alphabet.

When it came to "K", though, the Colorado Brewery List didn't have any breweries close enough for me to want to visit.

I could have gone to Boulder or Longmount, but I didn't want to drive that far (and the Beer Model certainly didn't want to cycle that far).

And I had a brewery that I thought was close enough ...

K is for Copper Kettle Brewing Company

N.T.S. Faux Pilsner (Batch 295)

As you know if you read Shoddy Pale Ale Take II (Batch 294), I had a problem with my Lithuanian Farmhouse yeast and had to pick up a pack of dry LalBrew Voss - Kveik Ale Yeast to ferment the beer.

I fermented out that batch of Shoddy, and harvested some of it to brew again.

This past Sunday, I decided to brew up a beer with it.

I have to take advantage of the hot August days.

One of the things I see people talk about online quite a bit, is using Kveik yeast for "Pseudo-Lagers". 

To be honest, I'm not sure I believe that Kveik yeast ferments out that clean, and actually Voss is not a strain that is supposed to produce a lager-like profile.

Even so, I thought I'd give that concept a try, and came up with a recipe very similar to some of my real lagers.

N.T.S. Faux Pilsner

T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager vs Ska Mexican Logger

What the hell happened to the summer? August is almost over. My kid is back in school. WTF?

It seems like just a little while ago that I posted Updating the Homebrew Colorado 6 pack. However ... that was back in MARCH! Almost 5 months! Almost half a year ago!

WTF?

So ... at the time I had Sin Lima Mexican Lager on tap and figured I could get Ska's Mexican Logger any time. But apparently, I misjudged how quickly the seasonal Mexican Logger would be available, and by the time I found it in any stores, Sin Lima was gone.

J is for Jackass Hill Brewery

Well, we're moving right along on the A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts. 

It wasn't too terribly long ago that I was stuck on E is for Evergreen Brewery for a couple months.

I've gone from F is for Fiction Beer Company to I is for Iron Mule Brewery in less than a month.

The Beer Model (aka my wife) has been keeping us going from brewery to brewery.

And so far this round, I have not even really had to take creative liberties with any of the names.

As I mentioned in My Second Century Ride, I stopped by our house at mile 70 and picked up The Beer Model to go to lunch. 

If you looked closely at the pictures in that blog post, you realize that we hit a "J" brewery.

J is for Jackass Hill Brewery

Shoddy Pale Ale Take II (Batch 294)

It's August in the Denver area. Hot. The highs have reached into the 90's pretty consistently for quite some time now.

As you know, if you remember my Lithuanian Farmhouse posts ... I go a Lithuanian Farmhouse yeast from a local brewery and have been propagating for over a year.

This yeast loves hot fermentation temperature. High 80's into the 90's are just fine.

Shoddy Pale Ale (Batch 288) used this Lithuanian yeast. I mentioned in that post that the beer is designed to make for a quick brew day.

As I mentioned in that blog post, I thought I could cut the brew day down even more by using my propane brew kettle for the boil (in addition to the overnight mash and half hour boil I used in that batch)

So ... on Sunday, I brewed up this batch with this small change to the process

Shoddy Pale Ale

My 2nd Century Ride

 I did my second Century Ride last Saturday. 100 miles on my gravel bike.

Yep, 100 miles.

That's right ... On my bicycle.
Yep, in one day.
No, my butt is fine.
Nope, I'm not crazy.
Yes, I know you don't like to drive that far.

If you've been following me, on this blog, you know I'm "training" for September. 

In September, I'm riding 1,000 miles to help raise awareness and money for the Children's Cancer Research Fund with the Great Cycle Challenge.

If you can afford it and are against childhood cancer, you should donate some money to help with the cause. If you want to help my fundraising effort ... you can donate at

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

Spare Ribs and Corn

As usual, I barbequed this past Sunday. A family favorite ... Spare Ribs.

Spare Ribs are certainly a time commitment, but well worth the effort. 

Not only does it provide a delicious dinner, but I always cook a couple of large racks, which always results in left-over that I can enjoy as lunches the following week.

For the first time in quite awhile, I used the Weber Rib Rack to smoke these ribs.

I guess I still have not decided on the best way to smoke my ribs.

I also made Corn on the Cob. I am still in the process of fine-tuning grilling corn. I think I'm close.

Sin Lima Mexican Lager (batch 293)

I brewed this past weekend.

You may have noticed that I am slowing down a little bit. Earlier in the year, I was on track to match the amount of beer brewed last year. Now, I'm tracking to brew about 20 less gallons.

We'll see how things progress going forward the rest of the year.

Sunday was my 293rd batch of beer that I've brewed in my brewing "career".

It was SheppyBrew's 17th batch of 2021, and the 22nd batch done in the Anvil Foundry.

It is the 2nd Mexican Lager in a row that I am making.

It is also the 2nd time I've brewed this particular recipe this year.

I really like this beer, and I am wanting to add it to my "Homebrew Colorado 6 Pack" to replace commercial beers that don't exist anymore.

Sin Lima Mexican Lager

I is for Iron Mule Brewery

If you're following along on this round of the A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts, you know that we recently checked "H" off the list.

H is for Holidaily Brewing Company

If you're familiar with the English alphabet, you realize that next up is "I".

The first time through the list, we did I is for IronWorks Brewery and Pub. At the time, it was the only "I" brewery I could find in the Denver area.

By the time we got to round 2, Iron Works had closed, but another "I" brewery had popped up, and we did I is for [The] Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project.

Again, there was only one "I" brewery in the Denver area.

Sometime between the time that Intrepid Sojourner disappeared and now ... still another "I" brewery popped up for us to go to.

I is for Iron Mule Brewery

Friendship Bread on the Kettle

It has been awhile that I've talked about Amish Friendship bread.

See Sheppy's Blog: Friendship Bread.

What is "Friendship Bread"?

“Amish Friendship Bread is a type of bread or cake made from a sourdough starter that is often shared in a manner similar to a chain letter. The starter is a substitute for baking yeast and can be used to make many kinds of yeast-based breads, shared with friends, or frozen for future use.”

Or ....

“It’s a gloopy, unappetizing substance in a bag that you mash for ten days before baking the most heavenly bread in the world.”

Either way ... you can find information about how to make it and what to make with it at The Friendship Bread Kitchen.

KFC on the Vortex

I've been playing around with Kettle Fried Chicken (KFC) for a few months now. 

When I got my "Vortex" for father's day, one of the things I really wanted to try on it was KFC to see how it affected that recipe.

This past weekend, I had chicken thighs I wanted to grill, and I decided to use them to make KFC and test out the "Vortex" to make them.

So. That is what I did.

I started early in the afternoon by combining flour, bread crumbs, corn starch, and various spices in a bag.