U is for BlUe SprUce Brewing Company

It wasn't too long ago that I posted T is for Tommyknocker Brewery.

Of course if you're familiar with our  A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts, you know that next up comes "U".

Even if you're not familiar ... it isn't really all that difficult to figure out.

You see ... Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company .. and worked my way through the alphabet.

We're on our 4th round of the alphabet ... almost done ... we're up to "U".

Anyway ... there are no "U" breweries on The Colorado Brewery List.

2023 Melting Stream Spring Saison (Batch 332)

It is springtime here in the front range of the Rocky Mountains.

Here, that means it gets warm, melting snow ... followed by getting cold and making more snow.

Followed by warm weather snow melts. Followed by cold and snow.

Repeat.

My Spring Seasonal Saison is called "Melting Stream", which is what jumps out to me as the image I most associate with Colorado spring time.

Yesterday, I brewed this beer. Interestingly enough, I also made Spare Ribs.

I didn't plan this, but apparently I made spare ribs when I brewed my 2021 Melting Stream and my 2022 Melting Stream.

Well ... ok ... maybe it isn't THAT interesting, but I thought it was sort of note worthy.

Melting Stream Spring Saison

More Ginger Kombucha

Well back in February, I made some Ginger Kombucha.

I liked it. It needed some carbonation, but other than the lack of carbonation, I really liked it.

More recently, I made Ginger Beer. It was a little too sweet for my taste, but it was nicely carbonated. 

Last week, I decided try Ginger Kombucha again.

Easter Brisket

I like brisket. I like making brisket. I like eating brisket. It's GUUUUD.

I would probably make it more if it wasn't usually quite so big. 

A 10 pound brisket is about perfect to fit on my 22 inch Weber Kettle, but it is rare to find a brisket in my local Sam's Club (which is where I get my briskets) under 15 pounds.

15 pounds is just a little too big. I can make it work, but it isn't ideal.

So ... whenever I see a 10 pound Prime "packer" brisket at my Sam's Club, I grab it.

Well ... about a week and a half before Easter, I saw an 11 pound packer brisket at Sam's. Close enough. I grabbed it.

Pressure Transfer 0 for 2

Well ... I'm 0 for 2 on pressure transfers.

The first failure (Pressure Fermentation (sort of) Fail) was really a bone-headed mistake. Really I wasn't paying attention to what I was doing.

My second failure doesn't make much sense to me. I know how I'm going to adjust next time, but I'm not sure why this time was as bad as it was.

Anyway ... I brewed No Drums Jack Black Lager (Batch 331) on March 26th. Fermentation started off great. I was seeing signs of fermentation very quickly.

This time I set the spunding pressure to 20psi. I think this was my mistake. I should have had a lower pressure so carbonation wasn't so high during the eventual transfer.

2023 Q1 SheppyBrew Stats

Here it is ... already April, which means that the first quarter of 2023 is done. It's time to report on the  SheppyBrew Brewing Stats for the quarter.

I keep claiming that I will brew less beer in 2023 than I did last year, but so far I have not slowed down. At all.

Last year, in Q1, I had brewed 5 batches, 30 gallons.

This year so far I've brewed 6 batches for 31 gallons. 

• Grumkins and Snarks Oatmeal Stout
• Arctic Vortex Winter Saison
• Doodle Bop Belgium Single
• Mardi Bock
• Dubbel Minor
• No Drums Jack Black Lager

Grumkins and Snarks Oatmeal Stout

T is for Tommyknocker Brewery

Well ... as I'm sure you know if you've been following along on the A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts, we've made our way all the way through "S" in our 4th round.

We posted S is for 6 and 40 Brewery just a couple weeks ago.

If you're at all familiar with our concept ... it doesn't take much intellectual ability to figure out that next we need a "T" brewery.

There are tons of "T" breweries on the Colorado Brewery Map & List.

However, after filtering out breweries the start with "The", breweries that are too far away from our house, and breweries we've already blogged about in the A to Z Denver Breweries list ... there is really only one good choice....

T is for Tommyknocker Brewery

Tapache!

While going down the whole Ginger Bug rabbit hole, I came across another home-made-soda-type drink called "Tepache".

"What is Tepache?" you ask:

Tepache is a fermented beverage made from the peel and the rind of pineapples, and is sweetened either with piloncillo or brown sugar, seasoned with powdered cinnamon, and served cold.

The natural bacteria and yeast on the pineapple rind ferments the liquid, but not enough for much alcohol.

I thought I'd have to give it a try, and had my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) pick up a pineapple from the grocery store.

No Drums Jack Black Lager (Batch 331)

As I was composing 2021 BCJP Styles to Brew, I was thinking about what I'd like to brew next.

The first style on that list is 2C. International Dark Lager, and as I'm playing around with Pressure Fermentation of Lagers, a Dark Lager seemed like a good choice.

One of the commercial examples of the a Dark Lager is Shiner Bock.

I came across BYO's Shiner Bock clone. One of the ingredients on the clone jumped out at me ...

Grits.

I've never brewed with grits, but I've considered trying it out as a replacement for flaked or popcorn that I've used in other recipes.

I wasn't really that interested in brewing a Shiner Bock clone, but I decided to make my own recipe of an International Dark Lager using grits in the fermenatables.

Hostile Takeover of SheppyBrew

The beer model has been plotting with big beer to execute a hostile takeover of SheppyBrew Brewery.

Shocking, I know. I feel like I've been stabbed in the back.