I screwed up the Potato Beer

If you follow along on this blog and/or SheppyBrew Brewery, you know that I recently brewed Potato Barley Rye (PBR) ... Batch 395.

I thought it would be fun to brew a Potato Beer. 

The potatoes I used came in the form of Idahoan Real Premium Mashed Potatoes, which is basically flaked potato. Add water and you get mashed potatoes.

I checked to make sure that the box said "no added flavorings" and no extra fats. 

The thing I guess I didn't notice on the nutrition facts is that each serving has quite a bit of sodium in it. WAY more than brewing salts I'd ever add to a batch of beer.

Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch (Batch 394)

I brewed a couple Sundays ago for the first time since Bad Lands Kölsch (Batch 393).

Over a month between brew days. I'm still "on pace" for less than 75 gallons of beer, which would be the least amount of beer I've ever brewed in a year since 2009, the first year I brewed.

And ... back then I only did 2.5 gallon batches, so even though the volume was less, the number of batches would have been much higher that year.

Oh well! My beer supply isn't in danger of running out. 

Anyway ... as I mentioned in Bad Lands Kölsch vs. Spotted Cow, I recently traveled to Wisconsin, and picked up some Spotted Cow.

Back in 2020, I came up with a "tribute" recipe to Spotted Cow, but didn't have any to compare the two beers to.

I thought now would be a perfect opportunity to re-brew ...

Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch

Pork Belly Burnt Ends

So ... it has only been fairly recent that I've been able to get Pork Belly at my local Sam's Club, which is where I buy most of my BBQ meat.

And in mid-June I finally attempted Pork Belly Burnt Ends.

They turned out delicious, but I didn't give myself enough time really, so they were not as tender as they could have been.

Saturday, I decided to try Pork Belly Burnt Ends again ... with a couple of little modifications ...

My kids are both away, so it is just me and the wife. I therefore only used half a Pork Belly.

Pork Belly Burnt Ends

So ... I've tried making "Burnt Ends" a couple times, but not really in what I would consider a "traditional" way.

And ... it has been quite awhile.

I tried Pork Butt Burnt Ends a couple years ago, and "Poor Man Burnt Ends" made from a Chuck Roast a little later.

It could be just me, but when I think "Burnt Ends", I think it should be made from a Brisket point or Pork Belly.

Part of the reason I've never done them is my Sam's Club didn't sell Pork Belly for quite awhile. But, recently I started seeing it there. Last time I was there, I picked a 5.88 lb. Pork Belly.

And ... about a week ago I used it to make Pork Belly Burnt Ends.

Brisket!

I love brisket, but OMG beef is expensive now-a-days.

The cost and the time commitment make smoking a brisket less than ideal, and the last time I actually did one was Humdinger of a Brisket in November of 2023.

I've had a 10 pound full packer in the freezer for awhile, so it certainly isn't simply the cost.

I decided that I would smoke this brisket the Sunday before last and so a few days before I pulled it out of the freezer to thaw.

And on Sunday, I smoked it.

Saturday, I applied Montana Steak Seasoning to the meat to sit on there overnight. 

Chicken Wings on the Weber

If you follow this blog, you probably know from Paint Mines: Mini - Bad Lands, C is for Cerberus Brewing Company ... and other breweries, and Garden of the Gods Photos that we spent Memorial Day Weekend away.

After returning from the trip, I grilled some wings.

It's been awhile since I posted anything about cooking Chicken Wings, so I thought I'd do this quick post.

Grilling Chicken Wings is fairly straight-forward on the Weber Kettle.

Apply SheppyBrew Rub. Fill up the Vortex with hot coals targeting 400F or so cooking temperature. Cook for about an hour.

Sometimes I'll substitute lemon pepper or Crack for the rub. Sometimes I'll cook a little longer at a slightly lower temperature. But for the most part the process is pretty much the same every time I grill wings.

2026 Easter Ham

Well ... I let my kids talk me into making ham again for Easter dinner.

While ham is not my favorite holiday food, I aim to please, so I went ahead and decided to do my "typical" Double Smoked Ham.

My wife got the standard spiral cut ham, around 10lbs.

On Easter morning I made a glaze / sauce with a coke base, a little honey, and various spices. 

I also made a special "rub" for the ham.

After church, I placed the ham in a cooking pan and applied the rub and let it sit while I prepared my Weber Kettle.

Random Things

The SheppyBrew Beer Model and I went on a cruise. My first. Her second.

I don't really consider myself a "Cruise Guy", but the drink package and the people we were with made it lots of fun.

I ate too much. Drank too much. Didn't get enough sleep. My Garmin watch health stats said "what the hell are you doing?"

It was a ton of fun, and I'm only now feeling recovered from the trip.

 

Over the Top Chili and Poppers

So ... on Super Bowl Sunday, after my famous Super Sunday Fun Run B-Race I made some food for us to eat while watching the game.

Of course, you know I had to make it outside on one (or more) of my grills.

It's become a tradition that I make Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño Poppers, and of course my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) demanded that I do it again.

So, that was a no-brainer. Happy Wife. Happy Life. (nothing rhymes with husband)

Lately, I've seen various posts on online BBQ forums of people doing "Over the Top" Chili.

And ... until this recent trend, I had never heard of such a thing.

But, it is pretty simple, and I thought I'd give that a try as well.

2025 Thanksgiving Turkey

This past Thursday was Thanksgiving.

Since 2018 (Cherry Wood Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey), I've been the one in charge of cooking / smoking / grilling the turkeys at the SheppyBrew house.

It's fun for me, and it frees up the oven for the various sides my wife generally makes.

And, I think smoked turkey tastes better than it would if we cooked it in the oven.

Over the years, I've tried several techniques for actually cooking the turkey.

I've smoked a few roasted whole. I've done spatchcocked. I've halved the bird and last year, I quartered the bird.

My plan this year was to repeat the Quartered bird like I did with the 2024 Thanksgiving Turkey. However, for whatever reason, this bird was just being difficult when I was cutting it.

I ended up just deciding to try the spatchcock method again.

Crock-pot Smoked Pork Butt

There are quite a few posts on this blog about my Pork Butt cooks.

Generally, this is an all-day commitment (or at least a significant portion of the day), and although most of the time allows multi-tasking, I have to mostly stay around to make sure things are going ok.

The past few pork-butts I've cooked, I've borrowed a "technique" that I've been using for Chuck Roast for quite awhile, and it helps free up time for other things.

Basically, I'll smoke the pork for 2 to 3 hours on my Weber Kettle and then move the butt inside and finish it off in the crock-pot.

Double Spare Ribs

So ... remember not too long ago I did "hot and fast" Individual Spare Ribs for the first time.

I really liked how they turned out.

The past Tuesday I had another rack of Spare Ribs, and decided I would do something similar.

I trimmed the ribs on Tuesday morning. This time, I cut them into pairs of two ribs instead of the singles I did last time.

Then, I applied rub and let them sit until the afternoon.

As I mentioned in Individual Spare Ribs, I thought I could have put them on the grill about half an hour later than I did. This time I did wait and got them on just after 3:30 for a 6pm supper time.

Individual Spare Ribs

So ... I have not shared any of my BBQ adventures recently.

I've been smoking / grilling every week, but just have not had anything I've taken the time to share.

Sunday, I did something new, though.

I've tried various ways to smoke BBQ Spare Ribs. all of which take several hours to make.

On various BBQ forums, I've seen pit masters do ribs "hot and fast". Some of them cut the ribs into individuals before putting on the grill.

Theoretically, individual ribs cook faster than a big rack of ribs.

With all the riding I'm doing this month, long cooks are a little more difficult to pull off. So, I decided to give this technique a try on Sunday.

Hickory Smoked Mac and Cheese

So ... I don't make it a whole lot, but my kids REALLY like my smoked mac and cheese.

Well ... not just my kids. Just about anyone who has ever tried it has raved about it. I love it too. Unfortunately, it isn't the healthiest of meals, and that comes from someone who makes a ton of BBQ.

Anyway ... a couple weeks ago, my older son had his girlfriend over and my son requested that I make my smoked mac and cheese.

 

Stuffed Peppers on the Kettle

So ... this past Sunday, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner. 

I feel like I've been in a little BBQ rut lately, making the same things. Not experimenting all that much.

While thinking about making something new, my google notifications showed that Hey Grill Hey had posted a new youtube video: Grilled Stuffed Peppers.

I had never made Grilled Stuffed Peppers, and figured it would be easy to get ingredients. So, I decided that is what would be for dinner Sunday night.

Big Brew Day ... Halfway to Helles (Batch 375)

It was the American Homebrew Association's annual Big Brew Day this past Saturday.

If you follow along on this blog, you may remember that Big Brew Day is quite often a day that the Beer Model and I brew with one or more our homebrewing friends "Du" and "Doc".

But, "Du" recently moved out of state and "Doc" was busy doing something else this year. So, the Beer Model and I did a brew day all by ourselves.

I had a Pork Butt thawed, and we decided to make a feast even though it was just the two of us.

If you are a regular on this blog, and were paying attention to the Roll-a-Style posts, you might actually have a guess as to which beer recipe we brewed:

Halfway to Helles Leichtbier

Easter Ribeye Roast

I know that it has already been awhile, but I did holiday cooking on Easter.

Of course I did.

If you follow along at all on this blog, you know that Ribeye Roast is one of my favorite holiday meats.

As luck would have it, I had a Ribeye Roast vacuumed packed and waiting in the freezer. 

For whatever reason, we must have purchased extra last Christmas.

And ... that is what I cooked this past Easter.

The process is pretty much the same as always. I smoke the meat to a rare internal temperature. Then, I sear the roast for a bit to get a nice crust on the meat.

Ribs and Belgian Beers

I made some spare ribs a few weekends ago.

I have not really published many BBQ posts on this blog this year, and I took photos when I made the ribs. 

So I thought I might as well go ahead and share. 

My spare rib process has changed some over the years, but for the most part it remains basically the same.

I set up charcoal in sort of an ugly snake with chunks of (usually) hickory wood.

For a 6pm dinner, I'll aim to get the ribs on the kettle around 5pm.

I cook the ribs between 250 and 275 for between 2 and 3 hours ... usually closer to 3.

Oisin Owl Irish Stout (Batch 371)

I brewed this past Sunday.

This was already my 4th batch of beer of the year, and if I'm counting correctly, my 371st batch of beer I've ever brewed.

Of course, if you've been following along on this blog, you know that this year I'm concentrating on brewing BJCP styles that I've never brewed.

In the 16 years I've been brewing, I've brewed at least one beer in all 34 categories in the BJCP Style Guidelines, but now I've decided to check off most of the individual styles.

If you're curious, you can see which beers I've brewed in each category / style as of 2024 Update on the 2021 BJCP Goal.

And ... the beer I brewed this past Sunday was the 3rd new style in 2025 I've been able to mark off the list.... (4th if you count Tasman Devil Pilsner (batch 368))

Oisin Owl Irish Stout

X-Mas Ribeye Roast

Well ... you may remember that I generally really like to grill / smoke / reverse sear Ribeye Roast on holidays when they go on sale at our local grocery stores.

This past Christmas, my wife had picked up a 9 pound roast and I cooked it up for our family along with some visiting guests.

I gave myself about 4 hours before our dinner to get the roast to a rare to medium rare doneness.

There were a couple of people who prefer the meat more "well done", and I figured that I could give them the ends, but it was probably a little less done than they claimed they liked.

But, they also say they loved the meat.