2021 Hail Storm Summer Saison (batch 290)

If my records are accurate, I brewed my 290th batch of beer on Sunday.

Over the weekend, I was talking to another homebrewer ... one that has been brewing way longer than I have ... who was going to brew his 100th batch on Sunday.

So ... 290 is a lot.

I've been brewing an average 23 batches of beer since 2009.

Last year I brewed 31 batches and I'm on pace to brew 28 this year.

The beer that I brewed Sunday was one of my Seasonal Saisons. I've been brewing those since 2014, and this was my 8th time brewing this recipe.

Hail Storm Summer Saison

Fathers' Day 2021 in RMNP (Part 2)

As I mentioned in Fathers' Day 2021 in RMNP (Part 1), we went camping in Rocky Mountain National Park over Fathers' Day weekend.

On Saturday, we drove up Trail Ridge Road and enjoyed the mountain views.

Fathers' Day 2021 in RMNP (Part 1)

Like most Fathers' Days, we went camping as a family again this year. This year, we went to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP).

I love camping and I'm glad that even though the kids are getting bigger, they still seem (for the most part) to enjoy going with me.

Happy Fathers' Day to me!

Here are some pictures from this weekend ...

5th Everest of 2021

I've done another Everest since 4th Everest of 2021.  Another 29,032 feet climbed. My 5th Everest ... over 145,160 feet.

According to Strava, I've climbed 147,350 feet while cycling, putting me just over my 5th Everest of 2021. Strava says I'm ahead by over 10,000 feet to reach 300,000 by the end of the year.

I've also cycled just over 2,500 miles, putting my ahead of schedule to reach 5,000 miles by the end of the year.

Eric's Red Ale (Batch 289) and Brisket

I brewed and made brisket this past Sunday. 

At the same time I was in Sam's Club picking up my Country Style Pork Ribs, I saw a 10 pound brisket, and generally when I see a full brisket at that size, I try to pick it up.

In my opinion, a 10 pound brisket is the perfect size for smoking on my Weber Kettle, so I felt like I had to pick it up.

As far as the beer ...

This brew day was my 289th batch of beer. It was the 18th on my electric Anvil Foundry.

The beer is a recipe I've made a lot over the years, but I have not brewed in a few years....

Country Style Pork Ribs

Last week, I was in Sam's Club looking at meat. I saw Country Style Pork Ribs, which is something I used to make quite a bit, but really have not made (as far as I remember) since getting my smokers.  

Seeing them made me want to have them. I bought them to smoke this past weekend.

Country Style Pork Ribs are not really ribs at all. They are actually cut from a pork shoulder (the standard pork butt that I made pulled pork from). I have no idea why they are called "ribs". Of course, I don't really understand why a pork shoulder would be called a "butt" either.

Another KFC

Well ... I've shared a couple of experiences I've had making Kettle Fried Chicken (KFC).

Basically the same concept of oven fried chicken only made on the Weber Kettle.

Kettle Fried Chicken (KFC) turned out pretty good.

KFC take 2 turned out even better.

I made some this past weekend ... pretty much the same as how I did it on KFC take 2. 

I think the crispiness was even better this time. I think the coating could have used a bit more flavor. Probably a little salt would have been good.

But... since I never really mark down exactly what I put in rubs and coatings etc ... I may or may not remember next time.

Tri-tips

I made tri-tips back in 2018 X-Mas Ale and Tri-tips and really liked them.

For whatever reason, I don't see tri-tips available in my area very often. Usually when I see them, they are more expensive than I'd like to pay.

So, I don't make them very often. In fact, I think I only made them that one time.

Maybe one other time.

Last week, randomly, I saw two tri-tips in my grocery store on sale, and I picked them up.

I smoked them on the kettle this weekend.

I decided to experiment again with the cast iron pan much like I did in Reverse Sear Steak on Cast Iron Pan.

E is for Evergreen Brewery

As you might have noticed from D is for Dead Hippie Brewing, the SheppyBrew Beer Model and I started up again on our A to Z Denver Breweries Project.

If you are familiar with the alphabet, you probably realize that next up was to find a Denver area brewery whose name started with the letter E.

Generally, when looking for these breweries, I hit the Colorado Brewery Map & List, and there are lots of "E" breweries in Colorado.

But, most of those are either not in the Denver area or we already have them covered.

There is one E brewery that while not REALLY in what I would consider the "Denver area", is fairly close to our house.

As a bonus ... this place also serves food, so we wouldn't have to pack a lunch.

E is for Evergreen Brewery

Reverse Sear Steak on Cast Iron Pan

Saturday, I had ribeye steaks in my fridge, and I decided to try making them a little differently.

The way I usually cook steaks is how I did them in Reverse Seared Ribeyes.

Cook the steaks indirect until they are just below their desired doneness.

Move to direct heat over the fire and sear them.

On a couple of youtube videos I had seen people basically the same thing, but rather than sear directly over the fire, they used a cast iron pan to add the crust.

I have a cast iron pan, so I thought I'd give this a try.

So, Saturday, I set up my fire in my two weber charcoal holders. This provided a circle of charcoal which was exactly the same size as my pan.

D is for Dead Hippie Brewing

It has been quite awhile since I've posted on my A to Z Denver Breweries Project.

This is mostly due to covid restrictions. Covid 19 sucks.

Restrictions have started lifting, and my entire family is vaccinated, so last Saturday, the SheppyBrew Beer Model and I decided to take a bike ride and continue round 3 of the project.

In C is for Cerveceria Colorado ... I sadly reported that "Dead Hippie Brewing Company" had permently closed due to not being financially able to survive the latest rounds of COVID restrictions.

However, at some point after that, someone stepped in and purchased the brewery, keeping the name.

Dead Hippie came back alive. I'm not 100% on the details, and the re-opening didn't have nearly as much press as the closing did.

Sort of strange ... but since it was back open ... even though I've been to Dead Hippie, we decided that.

D is for Dead Hippie Brewing

Infusion Roaster on the Kettle

 So ... I've had this "Turkey Cannon Infusion roaster" since right before I smoked my first turkey in 2018 (see Cherry Wood Smoked Thanksgiving Turkey).

I've used it a couple times for Turkey, and until this past weekend, I've used it once for chicken (see Smoked Chicken on Infusion Roaster).

You've probably noticed that I've been using my Weber Kettle for most of my grilling / smoking. It is easier to use than my off-set smoker, and I can shut down the vents so that the charcoal can be saved for the next cook.

Last time I cooked a whole chicken, I noticed that the beer can stand made the bird stand up so that the top of the kettle lid hit the bird. It was ok, but I not really ideal.

On one of my facebook forums, I noticed that someone placed their chicken in a pan on the charcoal grid rather than on the cooking grate.

This got me thinking ... my Infusion Roaster could rest on the charcoal grid and would allow plenty of room between the top of the bird and the kettle lid.

4th Everest of 2021

Since 3rd Everest of 2021, I've climbed another 29,032 feet on my bikes. Another Everest. 

According to Strava, I've cycled 1,896 miles so far in 2021 with 116,175 feet climbed. This puts me on track for 5,000 miles with 300,000 feet by the end of the year.

Shoddy Pale Ale (Batch 288)

I am a big fan of the Brülosophy's podcasts. I am endlessly fascinated by the experiments they perform.

One of my favorite concepts from these podcasts are the "Short & Shoddy" series. 

Basically "Short & Shoddy" involves taking whatever brewing shortcuts a brewer can to save time on brew day and/or getting the beer from grain to glass faster.

The idea is to figure out what shortcuts can be made and still produce a high-quality delicious beer.

The most obvious and most-used shortcuts are mash time and boil time.

Ever since I got my Foundry, I've really been thinking about shaving time off the brew day. As I use the system at 120 volts, heating water takes much longer than when I used my propane burner.

Playing around with the mash-times, I've decided that I don't want to cut my mash time very much because I don't want to reduce my brew house efficiency too much.

Groovy Groomsmen Gifts: Personalized Growler

Do you remember Groovy Guy Gifts? Groovy Guy Gifts from Groovy Guy Gifts: Big Slug Mug / Groovy Guy Gifts: Louisville Chugger / Groovy Guy Gifts: Viking Beer Horn?

I got an email from their "brother site" ... Groovy Groomsmen Gifts, asking if I'd like to pick a gift to review on this blog.

Out of the suggestions in the email, I thought I'd most like to try their ...

Angry Amber Growler

Big Brew Day ... Lithuanian Lovin' Wheat

Saturday, May 1st was another Big Brew Day. First Saturday in May.

The Beer Model and I traveled up North to brew a with my buddy "Du". We decided to brew a Lithuanian Lovin' Wheat.

Friday, I made a yeast starter that had been harvested last time I brewed with the Lithuanian Farmhouse yeast ... about 6 months ago. That is a longer time than is generally suggested to re-use yeast (by a bunch), but I was pretty sure it would be ok with a starter.

I also packed up brewing equipment based on the list I made last time I traveled with my brewing equipment (see Traveling Brew Checklist). If I'm honest, it was nice to have the checklist. (Don't tell the Beer Model )

Fatty!

Remember my Easter BBQ? 

Along with my Ribeye Roast, I smoked a bacon wrapped fatty.

What is a fatty? 

Well ... a fatty is ground meat surrounding a filling wrapped with bacon.

In my case, the filling was a mixture of cream cheese, cheddar cheese, and onion with spices. 

The ground meat was 1 pound each of ground Italian sausage and ground beef.

The bacon was ... well bacon.

This past weekend, I thought I would like to make another fatty. 

So I did.

Chelsea Dagger Pre-Prohibition Lager (Batch 286)

As I type this, my beloved Blackhawks are in 6th place in the Central Division of the NHL.

At this point, they are 7 points out of the playoffs, and I have not seen anything that makes me optimistic that they'll make up that gap.

I'm doing my part, but I'm just one person, and years and years of being a Blackhawk fan have proven that my efforts are not enough without a great team out there on the ice.

I miss those years when the Hawks won 3 Stanley Cups in 6 years.

Sigh.

But, never say never. I won't give up quite yet.

This last Sunday, I helped the team by brewing up my wonderful beer ...

Chelsea Dagger Pre-Prohibition Lager

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.

3rd Everest of 2021

If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I have climbed over 87,700 feet on my bike this year.

This means, I've passed my 3rd Everest for the year. Everest is 29,032 feet high. 3 x 29,032 = 87,096.

Due to a broken spoke on my wheel and a snowy April, I've fallen slightly behind my Strava goal of climbing 300,000 feet in 2021.

I'm sure I'll catch up once the weather starts cooperating, so I'm not worried about missing the goal.

If you'd like to follow along and see how I'm doing throughout the year ... bookmark Sheppy's Blog: #10Everestsin2021