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.

Recent BBQ Photos

I have not posted much about my BBQ adventures recently.

I've been posting about Brewing and local breweries and biking.

Just no BBQ.

I believe the last time I posted about BBQ was over a month ago with Pork Butt Burnt Ends.

Of course, I have been cooking BBQ between then and now.

I thought I'd share pictures from some of those cooks.

On Sunday, August 11, I cooked some spare ribs on the weber kettle.

Summer Lovin' American Wheat (Batch 357)

I don't know about where you live, but here it is starting to feel quite a bit like summer. I've had to fire up the air conditioning a few times already.

Although I drink just about any beer style at any time of year, there are a few beers that I would consider summer beers.

One of these beers is my "June Seasonal": Summer Lovin' American Wheat.

It honestly doesn't have to be consumed in summer, but it certainly doesn't suck in beautiful warm weather.

This is one of the SheppyBrew Beer Model's favorite beers, and therefore, it is one of my most brewed beers.

I like it too, but she really really really likes it. I think that when we brewed Alex's GPT, what she really wanted was 

Summer Lovin' American Wheat

Photos of Poppers and Ribs

I'm sure this will come as a shock to all of you .... but ...

I. Love. Ribs.

I really really like smoking and eating just about any kind of ribs.

Pork spare ribs. Baby back ribs. Beef ribs. Country style ribs (which are not really ribs).

The kind that I make the most are Spare Ribs, for sure, and the weekend before this past one I made spare ribs for dinner.

Just for the fun of it, I added on some Jalapeño Poppers as well.

If you've followed along on this blog at all, you probably know how I make both of these things. If not you can check out Sheppy's Blog: Spare Ribs and Sheppy's Blog Jalapeño Poppers and find lots of information on how to make these.

Tuesday Ribs and Cheesy Rice

Historically, the cooking I do is usually over the weekends, but my wife and I have agreed that I should be in charge of dinner at least one time each work-week.

Usually Wednesday. 

Since I work at home, and most of what I make is very easy to multi-task with, there really isn't any reason I can't do long cooks during the day.

Last Tuesday, I decided to cook pork spare ribs during the day.

I didn't really do anything special with this batch of spare ribs. If you need to see my process / "recipe" ... take a look at past posts on Sheppy's Blog: Spare Ribs.

Spare Rib Coil

So ... Spare Ribs are one of my favorite meals to smoke.

They are easy to find and comparatively inexpensive, and when done right, they are delicious.

Not too long ago, I was watching the BBQ Pit Boys YouTube Channel, and they were doing "St Louis Beer Can Split Ribs".

And then ... a few days after that video, I saw them doing "Crown Pork Ribs the King of Ribs".

When I make Spare Ribs, one issue I have is the amount of space they take up on the grill.

It isn't really a problem when the kids are away (like they are now), and even when they are here, 2 racks is more than enough to feed us all.

But two racks pretty much takes up my whole 26 inch Weber Kettle, and it is a little crowded. I don't have room for anything else.

New Year's Ribs

Happy New Year!

I got a couple of BBQ gifts over the holidays that I thought were really cool, and that I really wanted to give a try.

I'm really a fan of the BBQ Pit Boys and especially their youtube channel.

I really thought it would be cool to have their "Customized 10" Chapter Knife" with "SheppyBrew" on it.

My in-laws were kind enough to buy me one for Christmas.

The knife also came with a container of one of their BBQ Rubs.

Pretty awesome! For dinner on New Year Day this year, I smoked some Spare Ribs, which gave me an opportunity to try out both the knife and the rub. 

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.

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

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

Spare Ribs

Just yesterday, I posted that the previous Sunday I had brewed my 2022 Melting Stream Spring Saison (Batch 309).

Later that day, I smoked a rack of Spare Ribs on my Weber Kettle.

At some point between the time I wrote that post and now, I was looking at Sheppy's Blog: Melting Stream, and noticed the title of blog post last time I brewed Melting Stream ...

Melting Stream and Spare Ribs.

I thought it was a cool coincidence that I smoked ribs last time I brewed this recipe.

I guess it isn't that amazing. I brew the Spring Saison every year, and I almost always smoke something on Brew Days.

I just thought it cool and I thought I'd share. So, that is what I'm doing now. Here are some pictures of my ribs:

Disappearing Beer

I discovered something sad on Sunday afternoon. 

I was intending to write a blog post about my two recent "Colorado" beers. Both Colorado Strong IPA and Colorado Vienna Lager feature a malt bill completely composed of malts from local Root Shoot Malting.

On Friday, I noted that Colorado Vienna Lager was

 "pretty much perfect now. Carbonation and clarity right where I want them. Yummy flavor. Beautiful color."

In other words ... this beer was ready to start drinking more than just samples. Drinking "for reals".

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.

Weekend BBQ Photos

I didn't brew this past weekend, but I did Barbeque and Bike.

As you know, I'm not afraid to BBQ in the Snow.

Good thing, because Saturday started out real snowy.

One of the things I really like to smoke is Chuck Roast for shredded beef sandwiches.

Chuck Roast is almost as guuud as Brisket, but it takes less effort to cook.

Generally, I smoke the Chuck Roast for 3 or 4 hours and then pull it off the smoker and put it in the crock pot until dinner time. (see Chuck Roast on Weber Kettle and Crock-pot as an example)

The result is tender and juicy and nicely smoked.

Great sandwiches that everyone in my family can enjoy. It also makes great leftovers. I love to make chili with chuck roast.

Melting Stream and Spare Ribs

In February of 2014, I brewed Arctic Vortex Winter Saison for the first time.

Since that day, I've been brewing at least one saison for every season.

I call these series of beers, my Seasonal Saisons.

Summer. Autumn. Winter. Spring. 

They all use French Saison yeast except the rare occurrence that my LHBS is out of stock and I have to substitute some other yeast. 

They are all dry with simple malt bills. They are all fairly hoppy and use mostly noble hops.

None of them use spices or other flavor additives other than malt / water / hops / yeast.

They range in color from very light (summer) to very dark (winter).

Obviously, I find these beers delicious (otherwise I would stop brewing them).

As this past weekend was the beginning of Spring 2021, it was time to brew my Spring Saison ....

Melting Stream Spring Saison

More Spare Ribs on the Kettle

I smoked some spare ribs on my Weber Kettle last Saturday.

Last time I posted about spare ribs, I mentioned that I haven't really figured out how to best fit them on the kettle.

I think I've settled on trimming them to square them up (what some people call St. Louis Style).

But then, I add the extra pieces on as well.

Last Saturday I tried doing a (sort of) snake method over half the kettle and placing the two racks on the indirect heat half of the kettle.

I think I like this setup more than other things I've tried.

I may have found my preferred set up for spare ribs on my Weber Kettle. Or maybe I'll try something different next time. 

Spare Ribs

I smoked some spare ribs last Sunday.

I love to eat them, but out of all the things I smoke, I feel like I'm most inconsistent on my spare ribs.

I never really know how best to fit them on my Weber Kettle.

I use my Web Rib Rack. Sometimes I leave the ribs pretty much whole. Sometimes I cut them in half.

Sometimes I place them down the middle with charcoal on each side. Sometimes I only have charcoal on one side of the kettle.

I never really know if I should trim them up or just dump them on the smoker.

Sometimes I go a bit hotter and less time. Sometimes I do more of a traditional 3-2-1 method.

They always turn out wonderful, and I think Sunday's version turned out the best, but I'm not sure I've figured out the best way.

I Bought Another Weber Kettle

Last year, I proudly announced that "I Bought a Weber Kettle". If you spend any time at all on my blog, you know that I use it a lot (see Sheppy's Blog: Weber Kettle).

I love it. Literally the only thing I think that I would change from time to time with the Weber Kettle is that I wish it were a little bigger. Honestly, it really only pops up when I smoke a brisket, but it is something I consider from time to time.

My son is graduating from High School this year, and I also thought I would need extra capacity to make more meat as part of his graduation party.

So ... for awhile I had been on the lookout for a 26 inch Weber Kettle either on sale or "like new" on various online market places.

#SIPBeerFest and Smoked Ribs

One of the unfortunate things about this whole covid-19 pandemic is the number of local businesses that may not survive the stay-at-home orders.

Of course, shelter-in-place orders reduce the amount of foot-traffic to businesses that rely on people coming to your business.

Business is down and when you are a small local business, you often don't have the luxury of a whole lot of margin to get past a long period of reduced sales.

This is true of restaurants and similar businesses, and of course includes the small local brewery.

Here in Denver, over this past weekend, there was a "Shelter-in-Place Beer Festival" to try to help out these small breweries.

All proceeds from ticket sales, merchandise sales, and sponsorships will go to affected Colorado craft breweries staff. 

I decided to participate. I ordered 2 "tickets" and a couple of tee-shirts. I also headed over to one of my local breweries, Green Mountain Brewing Company and picked up a couple crowlers and a growler of beer. 

My participation won't save any breweries, but hopefully it helps out some.

Weber Rib Rack

As you probably know ... Father's Day Weekend recently came and went.

One of the things my kids got me for Fathers' Day was a Weber Rib Rack.

It had been awhile since I'd smoked ribs at all, and I had to try this new toy out, so the weekend after Father's Day, I fired up the Weber Kettle and used the new gift.

I bought a couple of Spare Ribs from Sam's.

I prepared the ribs as usual, except I cut each of the racks in half and put them in the Weber Rib Rack on the indirect side of the kettle. I used a combination of Hickory and Apple wood for the smoke.