2023 Q2 Brewing Stats

As I type this, there are still a few days left in Q2 of 2023, but I am not going to brew again this month, so I can actually get my SheppyBrew Brewing Stats for the quarter in.

You may remember that Q1 was a busy brewing quarter, and this quarter was basically just as busy.

I keep saying I'll slow down to get a more reasonable total in 2023, but so far I have not managed to slow down very much at all.

My excuse this quarter was that my youngest son graduated high school and I needed beer for various family members to consume for our celebrations.

Regardless of the reason, I brewed another 6 batches of beer in Q2, matching my Q1 total and bring my total for the year up to 12 batches of beer.

Melting Stream Spring Saison brew day

Double Pork Butt

So ... remember in Double Chuck Roast, I doubled up on Chuck Roasts to feel family visiting for my younger son's graduation from high school.

Well, this past weekend, we had more family visiting, again mostly to celebrate my son.

This group was even bigger.

This time, I decided to go with a couple of 9ish pound pork butts so I'd have plenty of meat for the big group of family we have visiting.

Early Saturday morning ... around 3am ... I got the kettle ready and the pork on the fire by 3:30 ish.

I let the pork shoulder smoke for around 6 hours. 

SheppyBrew Roll-a-Style

So ... Remember in 2021 BCJP Styles to Brew ... I have several BJCP Styles that I have not brewed.

There are a significant number in that list that I don't really want to brew, but most of those are beer styles I'd at least like to try.

There is a homebrew podcast that I listen to "Homebrew Bound", and they do a thing every few episodes that they call "Roll-a-Style". Basically they have a set of descriptors listed. They roll a 20 sided die to come up with new (weird) styles of beer.

I thought it would be fun to (sort of) steal the idea.

 

Captain Serious vs Westbound & Down Italian Pilsner

Right now, my favorite SheppyBrew Beer on tap is Captain Serious Pilsner.

I don't have very much left because one of my favorite brother-in-laws (I have like a hundred of them) ... visited a couple weekends ago. It was also his favorite of my beers on tap, and he drank a lot of it.

I don't know if I've shared this, but Captain Serious Pilsner (Batch 333) was (at least partially) inspired by W is for Westbound & Down's Italian Pilsner.

In W is for Westbound & Down (Denver), I did share that this Italian Pilsner was one of my favorite commercial beers right now.

I had a few cans of the Westbound & Down's Italian Pilsner in my fridge when he was visiting.

I brought it out and told him Captain Serious had been inspired by Westbound & Down's Italian Pilsner. We both had a pint of Captain Serious and shared a pint of Westbound & Down's Italian Pilsner.

2023 Fathers' Day Weekend Pictures

The past few Fathers' Days, I've posted photos of camping trips my wife and kids have taken me on.

I love camping, and my family knows this so Fathers' Days are pretty much the only guaranteed times that I actually get to go camping.

This past Fathers' Day, my family took me to Cow Creek South Campground by Green Mountain Reservoir just north of Silverthorn, Colorado.

It's been real rainy here in Colorado for several weeks and this weekend was no exception.

We got quite a bit of rain, but it was still a great trip. I'd rather be camping in the rain than sitting on my couch at home any day.

Double Chuck Roast

We had my wife's family visiting this past weekend to help celebrate my younger son's graduation from high school.

On Saturday, we wanted some BBQ, but of course my wife also wanted me to spend time with the family.

If you follow this blog at all, you probably have seen posts about me smoking chuck roast for shredded beef sandwiches.

Chuck roast takes a long time to get tender enough to shred the beef, but I like to smoke it for a few hours in the morning and then put it in the Crock Pot for several hours afterward.

That way, I don't have to pay attention to the cooking meat for the majority of the time it is cooking ... at least after that couple of hours on the smoker.

Tri-tip

While in the grocery store last week, I noticed that Tri-tips were on sale.

I love tri-tip, but hardly ever see them around me, and when it is it usually is too expensive for me to want to purchase it.

So, when I saw them on sale, I had to grab one. In retrospect I wish I would have picked up another ... but oh well ...

This past Sunday, after my Brew Day, I cooked it up.

This was actually a much bigger cut than I've ever had here in Denver, but that just makes it even better.

I added SPG onto the meat early in the day.

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

X is for Los Dos Potrillos MeXican Restaurant and Brewery

After W is for Westbound & Down (Denver), we just have 3 letters left to finish off round 4 of our  A to Z Breweries series of posts.

Wow! 

I started off Round 1 of the project with A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company way back in March of 2015 because I was embarrassed at how few Denver Area Breweries I had been to.

It took me almost 4 years to finish Round 1. I got through Round 2 in less then half  the time.

At some point, my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) joined me, and since then we have been flying through the list.

Round 4 started with A is for A Bit Twisted Brewpub in June of 2022. Here it is, less than 1 year later and we're already on "X".

X is for Los Dos Potrillos MeXican Restaurant and Brewery

Sandwiches on the Kettle Griddle Plate

So ... I'm a little surprised it hasn't shown up on this blog before, but I have this Hunsaker Smokers Griddle Plate for my 22 inch Weber Kettle.

I got it for a Christmas or birthday (or maybe Father's Day) gift awhile ago.

I use it mostly for smash burgers on the kettle.

When I got it, I thought I'd do breakfast eggs and bacon on it ... but I've yet to try that.

This past weekend, I was using up some of the left over pork butt from the last time I made pulled pork, and I thought I'd use the Griddle Plate for sandwiches.

So, I got myself some peppers and cut them up with onions.

Tafel Mystère Belgian Single (Batch 336)

Yeah, I've been brewing a lot lately. Contrary to what I keep "saying" on this blog, right now, I'm on track to brew more beer this year than even 2021.

I still believe I'll slow down enough that this year's total will be less than last year's, but as we get farther and farther into the year, it seem increasingly possible that I am wrong about that.

My excuse right now is that my wife's (aka The SheppyBrew Beer Model's) family is coming to visit in June, and I'll need a lot of beer for this group.

Anyway, after finishing off Melting Stream quicker than expected, I thought I needed another batch of beer going.

I had a mason jar of yeast in the fridge that I was fairly sure was Wyeast 1214 Belgian Ale Yeast, but not 100% sure.

I thought I'd use that to make a "Belgium Table Beer".

Tafel Mystère Belgian Single

W is for Westbound & Down (Denver)

I went on a bike ride Saturday morning. I couldn't go on a very long bike ride because the Beer Model (aka my wife ... aka the Pedego Owner) wanted me back so we could go on a bike ride together.

You see ... she wanted to knock off the next brewery on our  A to Z Breweries series of posts.

As I mentioned in V is for Very Nice Brewing Company, The Colorado Brewery List actually has a couple choices for "W".

I had on in particular in mind, but I was open to suggestions.

Regardless, the Beer Model liked the brewery I was thinking of, and thought she could make the bike ride.

W is for Westbound & Down (Denver)

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

Mac and Cheese on the Kettle

My youngest son graduated from High School this past weekend.

This makes me feel old. Where did all the years go? As they say ... "The days are long. The years are short".

Anyway ... with my oldest son visiting to celebrate his little brother, I made my world-famous comfort food ...

Smoked Mac and Cheese.

I made it a little different than I ever had before. Usually, I use either bacon or sausage as the meat. This time I used both.

And ... the bacon was just laying on the top of the dish as opposed to having it mixed into the noodles and cheese mixture.

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.

Designing a New SheppyBrew IPA

So ... for various reasons, I want to brew an American IPA soon.

Atypical to most homebrewers, I don't actually brew very many IPA's. I like them (a lot). But, they are a little higher in alcohol than I generally like to have gallons and gallons of at home.

And ... every brewery I know brews several IPA's. If I want an IPA, I can find them commercially at any one of hundreds within bike riding distance. Not to mention grocery stores and liquor stores now have great craft beer selections.

But, every once and awhile I like to brew an IPA.

Unless I'm forgetting any (which is possible, but not likely I think) I've brewed 5 beers that could be called traditional American IPA's: 

2023 Big Brew Day ... Summer Lovin

So ... this past Saturday was the AHA's Big Brew Day.

This is one of those days that my brewing buddies and I try to get together to brew.

This time, my friend "Doc" wanted to host, so I headed over to "Doc's Brewery".

Travel Brewing is always a different experience than my typical brew day. I have to keep my recipe as simple as possible and always accept that I might be distracted enough that the beer might not turn out as planned.

A big part of it is that I don't typically drink while brewing unless the Beer Model makes me.

But, on these Travel Brewing I have to try the beers from both the host and the others who always bring growlers.

One of the things I typically do ... at least if I'm brewing all-grain ... is start my mash at home and let it go through the drive over to whoever is hosting.

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

V is for Very Nice Brewing Company

It was less than a year ago that we started our 4th round of our A to Z Breweries series of posts.

And ... we had to cheat a little for "U", but last week we knocked it out with U is for BlUe SprUce Brewing Company.

It blows my mind that we are already up to "V" in this round.

After this post, we only have 4 more to go to get through the end of the alphabet.

Crazy!

As I mentioned in U is for BlUe SprUce Brewing Company, I had a "V" brewery in mind but wasn't sure the Beer Model would be willing to make the trip.

As it turns out, she was ok with the brewery I had in mind ... 

V is for Very Nice Brewing Company

U is for BlUe SprUce Brewing Company

It wasn't too long ago that I posted T is for Tommyknocker Brewery.

Of course if you're familiar with our  A to Z Denver Breweries series of posts, you know that next up comes "U".

Even if you're not familiar ... it isn't really all that difficult to figure out.

You see ... Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company .. and worked my way through the alphabet.

We're on our 4th round of the alphabet ... almost done ... we're up to "U".

Anyway ... there are no "U" breweries on The Colorado Brewery List.