King Fergus Wee Heavy (Batch 373)

I brewed a couple weekends ago ... the last Sunday of March.

I've been brewing quite a bit this year so far, but the last time before this one was Kemosabe Quad (Batch 372) at the beginning of the month.

I actually got ingredients for this beer the same time I got the ones for the Kemosabe Quad brew day.

So, the fact that I've had these grains for awhile and a couple days before, I killed the keg of Merida Scottish Ale, I thought I should get a brew day in.

If you follow along with this blog, you probably read Roll-a-Style 19: 17C. Wee Heavy and knew what was coming ...

King Fergus Wee Heavy

Kemosabe Quad (Batch 372)

Fat Tuesday / Mardi Gras was last Tuesday. Even though this year is as late as Easter can be, it blows my mind that we've already entered Lent.

Time flies.

If you've been following along, you might have caught that I've been picking beers to brew off my Roll-a-Style list rather than actually rolling to pick what to brew.

Part of the reason I've been doing this, is to use my harvested Belgium yeast to step up to a big Belgium Beer ... Roll-a-Style 9: 26D. Belgian Dark Strong Ale.

For quite awhile, I've been planning on using the whole yeast cake from Mardi Blonde (Batch 370) Birthday Brew to brew this big beer.

But, then when I kegged Mardi Blonde, I wasn't ready to brew yet. So, I kept putting off the brew day.

I finally got around to it last Tuesday on the same day I smoked a Chuck Roast for pulled-beef-sandwiches.

Mardi Blonde (Batch 370) Birthday Brew

Here it is ... February already.

We've made it through January and the Groundhog (or Marmot ... whatever your rodent of choice) has seen its shadow.

My plan was to brew on Sunday, but my birthday is early February and my kids decided they would like to celebrate it Sunday.

So ... I postponed the brew day.

The recipe I had picked to brew called for an overnight mash and a shorter-than-usual boil, which meant it wouldn't take quite as long a brew day.

So, on Monday I decided I would brew on Tuesday before work (which was actually my birth day).

Mardi Blonde

2024 McShepardSons Irish Ale (Batch 352) and Chicken

I was originally planning on brewing McShepardSons Irish Ale this past weekend, but my son had an Ultimate Tournament, and I would rather watch him play when I have the opportunity.

St. Patrick's Day is coming up, and I wanted the beer to be ready to drink by the 17th. 

So ... rather than delay the brew day, I brewed it earlier than originally planned. 

February 25th.

This is the 2nd time I've brewed this beer, and is the 4th batch of beer I've brewed this year. It is the 352nd batch of beer I've brewed all time.

If you're interested in seeing the recipe ...

McShepardSons Irish Ale

Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale (Batch 342)

If you follow along on this blog, you might have caught that I try to have the Beer Model (aka my wife) brew from time to time.

In the United States, an individual homebrewer is allowed to brew 100 gallons of beer a year. A household with two or more adults over 21 years of age is allowed a maximum of 200 gallons.

The SheppyBrew "Brewery" brews significantly over 100 gallons most years, and we're on track to get over 100 again this year. 

So ... mostly jokingly, I say that the Beer Model has to brew in order to keep me out of jail.

I'm honestly not sure who is supposed to enforce this 100 (or 200) gallon limit. I suspect that no one actually does, so I don't think I'm in any real danger of going to jail for brewing too much beer.

Helles Won't Kellerbier (Batch 340)

Well, I brewed again this past Sunday.

This is already my 15th of batch of beer this year, and my 340th batch all-time.

I'm getting to a point where I might have to stop claiming that my 2023 brewing totals will be down from 2022.

I'm not quite there, yet, though. I still think my 2023 totals will be less than last year.

Sunday's batch was a new recipe and new style for me.

If you follow this blog at all, you can probably guess what I brewed after reading Roll-a-Style 10 ... Kellerbier.

Tryna get girls from a brand? Man, you hella won't

Man, you hella won't

Helles Won't Kellerbier

Alpine Tundra IPA (Batch 337)

If you follow this blog, you knew it was coming ... 

I told you I was brewing an IPA soon.

I did it. Sunday I brewed an IPA. I do believe this is the IPA-est IPA I've ever brewed.

A total of 8 ounces of hops. 4 ounces in the boil. 4 ounces in dry hop.

Citra / Galaxy / Mosaic / Talus.

Up until this past Sunday, I've brewed 336 batches of beer, and only about 11 of those batches could be considered IPA's.

Unfortunately, it feels like most craft beer fans consider IPA the only craft beer style. 

It is sad that for a movement that is supposed to be so much about variety, so many people have such a narrow view.

Regardless, I do love a good West Coast IPA, and will brew one to have a hoppy beer on tap.

Alpine Tundra IPA

T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager (batch 335)

I had a rare Friday brew day yesterday. 

We actually will be having a few sets of visitors coming by in the next few weeks, so I need to make sure we have plenty of beer to serve.

And ... it being a long weekend, the CEO of the company I work for told us to take off early ... so I used some of the extra time to brew.

I'm actually planning on brewing another batch tomorrow or Monday.

That should get me caught up, but we'll see how much the Beer Model's family wipes out my inventory.

Anyway ... The beer I brewed yesterday was ...

T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager

Captain Serious Pressure Transfer

Well ... I've finally gotten a pressure transfer to work.

It happened slower than I would have liked, and I still wish there was a way to know where the level of the beer in the keg was, but at least I got Captain Serious Pilsner into the keg from a pressurized fermenter.

So, I pressure fermented Captain Serious Pilsner (Batch 333).

Four days into the fermentation, I dry hopped the beer by pulling sous vide magnets that were attached to hop bags in the fermenter.

That worked really slick.

Captain Serious Pilsner (Batch 333)

As you probably know if you follow this blog at all, the Chicago Blackhawks are my favorite professional sports team.

And ... my favorite recent player has to be Captain Jonathan Toews (Captain Serious)

The Blackhawks really have not been a good team for several years now, and Toews has had health issues.

This past year, the team decided that Jonny would not be coming back to the team as they are concentrating on bringing on young (cheap) players to go all-in on their rebuilding process.

While, I don't disagree with the decision, the separation makes me sad. 

But, in honor of "Captain Serious" I decided to brew a beer named after him.

Captain Serious Pilsner

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.

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.

Pressure Fermentation (sort of) Fail

As I'm typing this blog post, I'm drinking the Mardi Bock that I brewed on Super Bowl Sunday. 

You may recall (if you read that article) that this is the first (and so far the only) batch on which I've used my new 7.9 Gallon Fermenter King Chubby.

I got the "Chubby" because I thought it would be fun / interesting / educational to try Pressure Fermentation.

Pressure fermentation is the process of fermenting beer inside a closed and pressurized vessel. 

Typical fermentations allow CO2 to escape the fermenter through an airlock or blow-off tube. In pressurized fermentation, the fermenter is sealed and the CO2 produced by the fermentation is trapped inside.

You can't just let all the pressure remain in the fermenter, you need a valve that allows pressure to escape above a certain psi. This valve is called a "spunding" valve.

Mardi Bock and other Sunday Activities

Yesterday was Super Bowl Sunday. 

It was also my first Brew Day after Fixing the Foundry.

And ... it was my first brew in which I'm using a new toy and trying out Pressure Fermentation.

Of course, it being Super Bowl Sunday, I had to make food for the game.

And ... it was beautiful out, so obviously I had to get a bike ride in.

It was a busy day for me.

I was up ridiculously early. Not necessarily because I wanted to be. I just couldn't sleep.

But, regardless, I woke up at 4:00am. I sort of half heartedly tried to go back to sleep, but it was not happening. I got up and started brewing ....

Mardi Bock