Beef Short Ribs

If you follow this blog at all, you know that I love to Barbecue on my trusty Weber Kettle.

I do it just about every weekend.

For awhile ... I've been wanting to try out smoking beef short ribs.

Last week sometime, I was in Sam's Club and saw "Beef Short Ribs" in a 6 lb package, and decided to pick them up to cook over the weekend.

These were cut differently than I expected them. They were cut much thinner ... much like pork steaks generally look.

I looked at many many youtube videos and I didn't come across any that look like the ones I had bought.

So, I wasn't exactly how to go about cooking them. I guess the best way to find out is to just do it.

So I just did it.

Mardi Bock 2021 (Batch 279)

Mardi Gras is less than 3 weeks away! Can you believe it?

I am trying to make even more lagers this year, and the realization that Lent was so close made me think about the Bock I made back in 2019 as a Lent beer ... Mardi Bock.

It was one of those beers that both the Beer Model and I liked a lot. When I mentioned it to her, she was pretty excited that it was coming and even said she'd help brew it.

So ... last week, I modified the recipe to a bit to tailor it to the Anvil, and picked up the ingredients.

On Saturday, we brewed the beer. 

Mardi Bock

It was a nice enough day that I would have preferred to brew outside on the patio, but when I asked  the Beer Model, she indicated that she wanted to brew in the garage.

So ... of course that is what we did.

#10Everestsin2021

If you followed Sheppy's Blog: #5000MilesIn2020, you know that I cycled over 5000 miles in 2020.

In fact, by the end of September .. I logged almost 5,600 miles between my bikes and stationary bikes at the gym. 

Most of those miles were outside on my gravel bike.

I've never cycled nearly that much in a year. In fact, I totaled around 2500 miles in 2019, and that was my second highest year.

2021 Stouticus American Stout (batch 278)

Back in 2011, I came up with a recipe for Stouticus American Stout as sort of a company beer for the start-up that I worked for.

I brewed it a second time after we were acquired and joined a new corporation.

I really liked how it turned out. I'm not sure why I never tried to make it again after 2011.

Anyway ... fast forward to 2020, and I added the Stouticus to my Homebrew 6 Pack list as a beer that comes pretty close to Left Hand Milk Stout.

And since in 2020, I brewed the 5 other beers on the "6 Pack Project" ... the beginning of 2021 seemed like a good time to get Stouticus brewed again.

If you follow this blog, you know that I brewed Arctic Vortex on the 1st. 

At the same time I picked up ingredients for that brew day, I picked up my ingredients for 

Stouticus American Stout

2021 Rib Roast

The last couple of year, I smoked Ribeye Roast for Christmas meals.

This year, I bought a ribeye roast for Christmas while they were on sale at my grocery store.

But, my wife and children said they wanted ham.

So, I froze the ribeye roast and got it thawed for New Year's weekend.

On Friday the 1st, the roast was thawed and I pulled it out of the package.

I applied Montreal Steak Seasoning to the outside and then let it sit in the fridge overnight.

Arctic Vortex (Batch 277)

Happy Brew Year!

As I indicated in SheppyBrew 2020 Year-End Brewing Stats, 2020 was a busy brewing year. I also started 2021 with a brew day.

For Christmas, I received a new addition to my Anvil Foundry, the optional Recirculation Pump Kit.

When I first got the Foundry, I figured I'd try it without the pump kit and see how things went.

I still consider it optional, but the recirculation does provide some advantages that I thought were worth giving it a try, so I put it on my "gift list", and one of my family members bought it for me.

So, of course I had to try out the new toy. I thought a New Year's Day brew would be a perfect time to try it out.

The beer I brewed was the Winter Saison that I brew every year,

 Arctic Vortex Winter Saison

SheppyBrew 2020 Year-End Brewing Stats

2020. What a year.

One side effect of staying at home so much in 2020 was that I brewed a lot of beer. 

A ridiculous amount, really.

As I type this, the year is not over, but I am done brewing for the year.

And, as you may know, the Brewery likes to post quarterly updates on how much we have brewed. You can see all these updates (including the one you are reading right now) by following this link: Sheppy's Blog: Brew Stats.

In the 4th quarter of the year, I brewed 8 batches of beer:

• Falling Leaves Autumn Saison
• Lithuanian Autumn Ale
• Bud Light Lime
• 2020 X-Mas Ale
• Irregular Eric Double IPA
• Puppy Monkey Baby
• Schreck Gartenzwerg Pilsner
• Decemberfest Lager

SheppyBrew brewed 31 batches of beer in 2020.

Falling Leaves Autumn Saison

25 Beers of December part 4

Remember 25 Beers of December part1 and part2 and part 3?

Everyday in December up until Christmas, I'm drinking a different beer. Some of them are from the "Twelve Days of IPA's" 12 pack that my wife bought me. Some of them are homebrews. Some are from local breweries.

We left off on the 21st of December, which means we have 4 beers left to share.

On the 22nd of December, I had SheppyBrew's Schreck Gartenzwerg Pilsner. 

Schreck Gartenzwerg is a German Pilsner flavored and dry hopped with new - style German hops, Hallertau Blanc and Huell Melon. Maybe not a traditional German Pils, but oh so yummy!

25 Beers of December part 3

 Remember 25 Beers of December part1 and part2?

Everyday in December up until Christmas, I'm drinking a different beer. 

Some of them are from the "Twelve Days of IPA's" 12 pack that my wife bought me. Some of them are homebrews. Some are from local breweries.

We left off on the 15th of December, which means we have the 16th of December up until today to account for.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin

Last Sunday, after brewing Decemberfest Lager and going on a bike ride, I smoked a bacon-wrapped pork loin on my Weber Kettle.

Pork loin is one of those thing I can make in less than a couple of hours.

And it's delicious ... especially with bacon wrapped around it.

I applied rub, and wrapped the loin in bacon fairly early in the afternoon.

I got my bike ride in.

When I got back from the bike ride, I prepared my Kettle with charcoal and some cherry and hickory wood chunks. 

Then, I let it smoke for a couple of hours at 275ish.

Decemberfest Lager (Batch 276)

Around September and October, I thought I should brew an Oktoberfest.

It never happened.

Around October and November, I thought I should brew a Novemberfest.

It never happened.

So, in November, I came up with this Decemberfest recipe. And I didn't brew until this past weekend.

Sunday, I brewed for the 6th time on my Anvil Foundry.

It was snowy and cold on Sunday, and I decided to brew in the garage. 

First time with the Foundry in the garage. This recipe I brewed was the 7th lager and 18th new recipe of 2020.

Decemberfest Lager

25 Beers of December part 2

Remember 25 Beers of December part1?

Everyday in December up until Christmas, I'm drinking a different beer. 

Some of them are from the "Twelve Days of IPA's" 12 pack that my wife bought me. Some of them are homebrews. Some are from local breweries.

We left off on the 9th of December, which means we have the 10th of December up until today to account for.

Irregular Eric vs Deviant Dales

Recently, I brewed Irregular Eric Double IPA ... the 5th beer in my Homebrew Colorado 6 pack.

Good stuff. If you're interested, you can read about my brew day at Irregular Eric Double IPA (Batch 273).

I designed Irregular Eric Double IPA as a tribute of Oskar Blue's Deviant Dale's IPA.

Sadly, Deviant Dale's doesn't exist anymore.

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.

25 Beers of December part 1

On the 1st of December, my wife brought home a Stone Brewing Company "Twelve Days of IPA's" 12 pack.

I thought this was a cool idea for a mixed 12 pack. I don't think I've ever seen one quite like this. You can have a different beer every day for 12 days.

Taking that line of thought a step farther ... \I thought it would be fun to drink a different beer a day until Christmas. Sort of an Advent calendar of drinking. I had almost half covered with Stone IPA's. I am sure I can come up with another 13 different beers to drink before Christmas.

So ...  

Schreck Gartenzwerg Pilsner (Batch 275)

Schreck Gartenzwerg. Fright Gnome. 

Last year, I came up with a German Pilsner recipe.

The grain bill was 100% floor malted German pilsner malt.

The flavor hops were the "new" German hops Hallertau Blanc and Huell Melon. I also included an ounce of each in dry hops.

Maybe not a completely traditional German Pilsner, but it was really delicious.

I thought it was an awesome beer. I even brought the keg into work to share at a "happy hour". It was well received.

Of course, that meant it didn't last long. 

At the time I thought I should brew it again. Maybe multiple times. Since that first batch, I have not brewed it.

Until the weekend after Thanksgiving.

Schreck Gartenzwerg Pilsner

2020 Thanksgiving Turkey

I smoked my third turkey last Thursday (Thanksgiving).

I'm pretty comfortable doing it now, although since I only smoke a turkey once a year, it still makes me a little nervous that I'll screw it up.

I didn't screw it up. I am pretty sure this was my best one so far.

Last year, I spatchcocked the turkey. I didn't like it as much as the previous year, so I went back to smoking the whole bird without cutting out the backbone.

Just like both my previous turkeys, I brined the bird around 24 hours before cooking it.

It was a simple brine this year.

• One gallon of SheppyBrew beer
• 1 gallon water
• 3/4 cup salt
• 1/4 cup garlic salt

The brine went into a large plastic bag which I put into a bucket. Over the bag, I put a bunch of ice. I stored that in the garage overnight. 

It was cold enough here in the Denver area to keep the bird cold. There was still ice on top in the morning.

C is for Cerveceria Colorado

If you read this blog, you probably know that round 3 of our A to Z Denver Breweries Project is underway.

If you missed A to Z Denver Breweries Round 2, go ahead and take a few minutes to read up on it.

Then, just for the fun of it you can check out A is for Altitude Brewing & Supply and B is for Bierstadt Lagerhaus.

With colder weather coming on and the rising number of COVID cases in Colorado, I don't know how likely it is that we'll make a whole lot of progress in the next few months.

But, we do have a "C" brewery for you. Actually, we hit our "C" brewery before either A or B. 

C is for Cerveceria Colorado

On a nice sunny Halloween day, the Beer Model and I packed a lunch, got on our bikes, and headed to Downtown Denver to check it out.

Puppy Monkey Baby (274)

Puppy. Monkey. Baby. PuppyMonkeyBaby.

There was an incredibly stupid commercial during Superbowl 50. (Go Broncos!)

Puppy. Monkey. Baby. PuppyMonkeyBaby.

The commercial was for some sort of weird Mountain Dew flavor. Not something I ever tried. I am fairly certain I'm not missing anything.

I keep a list of potential beer names on my phone, and for some reason, at some point (I assume during or shortly after the Superbowl), I added "Puppy Monkey Baby" to my list of names.

A couple weeks ago, I decided that my next beer would be a low alcohol American Blonde ale, and I as I was trying to decide on a name, "Puppy Monkey Baby" jumped out at me.

I honestly don't know why. It is a stupid beer name. But, it does amuse me. I guess that is reason enough to choose a name.

I brewed it last Sunday on my Anvil Foundry.

Puppy Monkey Baby Blonde Ale

Irregular Eric Double IPA (Batch 273)

Early in 2020 ... I started seeing a lot of traffic to my "Colorado 6 Pack" post on the blog, and I decided that it would be fun to take that list and homebrew batches that matched up with the list. 

See Sheppy's Blog: Homebrew Colorado 6 pack.

So far, from the "6 Pack" ... I've brewed:

• Stone Soup IDA (inspired by Tommyknocker's Hop Strike Black IPA)
• Foothills IPA (inspired by Odell IPA)
• Blackhawk Black (inspired by New Belgium's 1554)
• One Hundred Hoppy Brown Ale (inspired by Boulder Beer Company's Flashback India Brown Ale)

Next up, it was time for me brew something like Oskar Blue's Deviant Dale's IPA. 

Deviant Dale's doesn't exist anymore, but the idea was that it was essentially Dale's Pale Ale, only more. More hops. More malt. More ABV. More Body. More deliciousness. It was an 8% ABV, 85 IBU double IPA with lots of citrus, grapefruit rind and piney resins in the aroma and flavor.

I didn't really have a recipe that was close, so I designed one.

Irregular Eric's Double IPA