PBR vs. PBR

If you follow along on this blog, you likely remember that I screwed up the Potato Beer.

I won't go into details ... if you need a reminder you can check out the I screwed up the Potato Beer link. For now, I'll just say SheppyBrew's Potato Barley Rye (PBR) is a bit salty.

It isn't completely undrinkable, and I don't have a lot of HomeBrew "Inventory", so I still have the beer on tap.

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 vs Spotted Cow

If you read Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch (Batch 394), you know that I designed Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch as a tribute to New Glarus Spotted Cow back in 2020.

As I don't live in Wisconsin, though, my memory of Spotted Cow was sort of fuzzy. My brain had Spotted Cow as a darker beer than it actually was, and the original version didn't look anything like Spotted Cow.

I have family in Wisconsin and since 2020, I've had the opportunity to drink and study Spotted Cow a bit more, and I modified the Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch (Batch 394) recipe to at least look a little closer.

This past weekend, I had an opportunity to try the beers side-by-side.

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.

4th of July Steak and Corn

For our 4th of July grilling, we took advantage of our grocery store's holiday sales on Ribeye Steak and Corn-on-the-Cob.

Both of these are things I feel like I have not perfected grilling.

My main issue with steak is that I hardly ever am able to consistently get them to the right temperature before searing. There is always one or two that cooks faster.

So, either one or two are over-done or one or two are under-done.

But ... Ribeyes are fairly forgiving even if cooked a little long, so I always make it work.

For corn, I'm just never sure how the best way to cook them is. Should I remove the husks and cook indirect? Should I remove the husks and cook them direct? Should I leave the husks on and when I do, should I cook them over the fire or off?

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.

Over the Top Chili with Corn Bread

You may remember that on Super Bowl Sunday I made Over the Top Chili and Poppers.

As I mentioned, I was the only one who actually had more than just a taste, and I enjoyed it enough that I really thought I should make it again so others in my family can give it a try.

I think this is now my favorite way to make chili.

I got out the Dutch Oven on Tuesday and made it again.

For a side, I also made corn bread.

This time, the meat I picked for the chili was a combination of ground chorizo and some ground beef I had left over from burgers I made over the weekend.

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.

Hop-cember Pale Ale (Batch 387)

I brewed for the first time in 2025 this past Sunday.

If you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you might have seen the brew-day post.

This is my first time brewing since I got the Skadoosh Blond Ale (Batch 386) batch done.

As I mentioned in SheppyBrew 2025 Year End Brewing Stats, I only brewed 95 gallons last year. I was actually planning on brewing this batch before the end of the year, but the timing just never really worked out.

So, I finally brewed it last Sunday. 

If I'm counting correct, this is my 387th batch of beer in my brewing career and my 101st batch of beer in my Anvil Foundry ...

Hop-cember Pale Ale

Skadoosh Blond Ale (Batch 386)

I brewed some beer a couple Sundays ago. 12/12/2025.

If I'm counting correctly, this is my 19th batch of 2025, putting me at 95 gallons brewed this year.

It's the 386th batch of beer I've ever brewed. 

It is a new recipe, my 15th new one of the year and 346th unique recipe I've brewed.

I actually have quite a lot of beer inventory, but I have family coming to visit around Christmas and the beers I have are not really beer-flavored-yellow-beer-drinker-friendly styles.

And ... at least one of the people visiting is/are beer-flavored-yellow-beer-drinker(s).

So ... I came up with a simple blond ale recipe to (hopefully) be ready to go by Christmas.

Skadoosh Blond Ale

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.

Tri-tip photos

I've had a tri-tip in my freezer since sometime in mid-ish October. 

Tri-tips were on sale I guess and I purchased two. One I grilled on October 13. The other I grilled this past Saturday.

I never posted about the first one. Now, lucky reader, I'm posting photos from this past cook.

I really enjoy grilling eating tri-tip, but they are expensive enough that I never buy them unless they are on sale.

Tri-tips are pretty simply to make, and my process is always pretty much the same. I apply a salt / pepper / garlic rub hours before I want to cook.

I generally prepare my grill around an hour and a half before dinner. I'll set up the grill for a reverse sear. Indirect for the first hour to hour and fifteen minutes and then direct for the last little bit.

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.

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.