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

Anvil Foundry ... 15 Batches in

 I've been brewing with my Anvil Foundry All-in-One Brewing System since early November. If you want ... you can go back to my first brew day with it (see Bud Lite Lime (271) on the Anvil Foundry). You can see many of those brew days at Sheppy's Blog: Anvil.

If I'm counting correctly, my Helles in a Hand Bock-sket (Batch 285) brew day was the 15th time I've brewed on the Foundry.

That's something like 78 gallons of beer I've brewed on the system.

Overall, I really like the Foundry. There are awesome advantages. There are also some minor annoyances. 

I don't think I'm going to get rid of my old  mash-tun-in-a-cooler and propane-burner system any time soon.

Helles in a Hand Bock-sket (Batch 285)

For a really short amount of time, I thought it would be awesome to enter homebrew competitions.

I thought it would be fun and I thought it would be a good way to get feedback on my beer.

In 2013, I entered 3 competitions, and in two of those competitions, I came away with blue ribbons.

The first one was at my local homebrew shop. I entered two beers. One wasn't really ready. The other wasn't really in the right style.

I didn't win anything in that first competition.

My second competition was the 2013 National Homebrew Competition Denver Regional. I did come away with a first place win in that one.

My third and final competition was the "Battle of the Homebrews" in the 2013 Arapahoe County Fair.

My beer got a blue ribbon in its category and placed second in "Best of Show". Honestly, I thought the judges really picked a great beer.

Helles in a Hand Bock-sket

Easter BBQ

My wife (aka The SheppyBrew Beer Model) let me decide what to have for Easter dinner this year.

Awesome.

Around holidays, I enjoy getting Ribeye Roasts because they are generally about half the price as usual around holidays. 

And, I figured I'd pick one up for Easter this year.

Because ... I like to cook them on my smokers. And ... because I really like eating them.

Yum!

When I got to my local grocery store to pick one up, there were two available. They were both around 12 pounds.

A 12 pound Ribeye Roast is more meat than a family of 4 needs, but I have a vacuum sealer and a freezer, so I figured I could save half for some other time.

2021 Q1 SheppyBrew Stats

Q1 of 2021 is already over, which means its time to report our brewing stats for the year so far.

Continuing on the trend from last year, I brewed a ridiculous amount of beer over the first 3 months of the year.

The first quarter of 2020, I brewed 7 whole batches with 35 gallons. In 2021, I brewed even more in Q1 ... 

I brewed 8 batches and 42 gallons of beer.

Arctic Vortex Winter Saison

Going Vegan

I think I should go vegan. 

Meat is evil and unhealthy, and I cannot continue to support the institutionalized exploitation of animals to satisfy my nutritional needs.

I feel like I have to demonstrate true compassion for animals by discontinuing to capitalize on their suffering to make my clothing or other products that make my life more luxurious.

If by restricting my diet to plant based nutrition can save even one Cow or Pig or Chicken ... I feel like it is the least I can do.

And, of course it isn't about me, but as veganism is healthier, I will lose weight. Reduce cholesterol. Get my blood pressure under control.

I'll be able to lift  more weight and I'll live longer. With reduced body weight, I'll be faster and stronger on the bike. 

Metric Century and Beef Flanken Short Ribs

March has been fairly snowy in Denver. 

It is nice to get the snow, but snowy weather makes getting in bike rides a little challenging.

I can always ride in the gym on a stationary bike, but that isn't nearly as fun. Plus that doesn't do me any good on my #10Everestsin2021 goal.

This past weekend, the weather was great for cycling, and Saturday I started out early with the intention of gaining a lot of elevation.

My legs were not "feeling it", so I changed my route to move away from the big climbs fairly early in the ride.

I decided that this ride would not be much more than a "recovery" ride.

Updating the Homebrew Colorado 6 pack

If you've been following my 6 Pack Project posts, you know that I matched up 6 of my homebrew recipes with my Colorado 6 pack list that I put together back in 2013.

As I was brewing beers in my Homebrew Colorado 6 pack, I noted that 3 out of the 6 beers no longer existed at their commercial breweries, so I was unable to compare my beers to the beers that they were meant to represent.

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

Smoked Mac-n-Cheese

My son is home from college for Spring Break.

His favorite thing I smoke is Smoked Mac and Cheese, and so I made a batch this past Saturday.

He also wanted to go hiking on Saturday. Since my kids don't get up until fairly late in the day, I prepared the Mac and Cheese in the morning so I could just throw it on the smoker in the afternoon.

If you would like to see the recipe ... go to my blog post Smoked Mac and Cheese. 

It is basically the recipe I (sort of) followed.

I started by cooking the bacon on my grill.

As the bacon was cooking, I started the sauce inside on our stove.

BBQ in the Snow

This past weekend, it snowed a lot in the Denver area. Like a historic amount of snow between late morning Saturday and Sunday night.

I don't know exactly how much snow we got here, but there were drifts over 4 feet in my driveway and yard.

Most of the day Sunday, the roads were pretty much unpassable without high-clearance four wheel drive.

Lactic Pickles and Jalapeno Sauerkraut

It's been awhile since I posted about making Fermented Food or Sauerkraut partially because its been quite awhile since I've made any Fermented Food.

It actually keeps a really long time.

A weekend or two ago, I used up a jar of homemade Sauerkraut, and I needed to make more.

When my wife last asked me if I wanted anything at the grocery store, I mentioned that I wanted cabbage, jalapenos, and cucumbers. 

Obviously, to make some Lactic Fermented Food.

Today, I prepared some Lactic Pickles and Jalapeno Sauerkraut to ferment over the next week or so.

2nd Everest of 2021

As I mentioned in  #10Everestsin2021 - February Progress Report, I am on track to climb the elevation of Mt. Everest 10 times in 2021.

On Monday, March 8, I went on a ride that brought my total for the year up over 59,803 feet.

As I'm sure you know, Mt Everest is 29,032 feet high. 2 x 29,032 = 58,064. 

So, I've climbed Everest a little more than twice so far this year. (2.06 Everests)

Galena Dave's Pale Lager (Batch 283)

I was going to brew Sunday. Then I didn't.

I actually had Monday off work, so on Sunday I thought I was going to brew Monday. 

Later on Sunday, I decided that I wouldn't brew the next day. 

I was on a walk Monday morning when I thought that it was silly to not brew on my day off.

And then I decided to brew. 

If I had followed through with the original plan, I would have done an over-night mash, so by waffling like I did, I totally engaged in the kind of delay I complain about when the SheppyBrew Beer Model brews with me.

Oh well.

I had the ingredients all ready for ...

Galena Dave's Pale Lager

#10Everestsin2021 - February Progress Report

Don't forget ... I'm raising money to help fight Childhood Cancer by signing up for the Great Cycle Challenge again this year.

My plan is to ride 1000 miles in September. Between now and then, I'll beg for people to donate money on my GCC Rider Page:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

If you can afford it ... head over there and make a donation. I'd really appreciate the support. If you don't want to do it now ... don't worry ... I'll be reminding you at least once a month until at least the end of October.

If you're my facebook friend or follow the SheppyBrew Facebook Page, I'll nag you even more often. Sorry. (not really that sorry)

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. 

Sin Lima Mexican Lager (Batch 282)

Believe it or not, I've been using my Anvil Foundry for almost 4 months. 

At the beginning of November of last year, I used it for the first time to brew Bud Lite Lime (271) on the Anvil Foundry.

I named the beer "Bud Lite Lime" as a joke.

It isn't anything like "Bud". It isn't really that "Lite". It doesn't use any "Lime".

I really enjoyed the beer. It is one of those beers that the SheppyBrew Beer Model also really enjoyed.

One thing I mentioned in "SheppyBrew 2020 Year-End Brewing Stats" is "I do think I want to work a little on my Mexican lagers 2021". When I wrote that, Bud Lite Lime was the beer I was specifically thinking of.

I think I'd like to have it on tap a lot this year.

KFC take 2

A few weeks ago, I made Kettle Fried Chicken (KFC) for the first time.

As I mentioned in that post, I like it, but I wanted to play around with KFC and see how to make improvements.

Sunday, I had chicken thighs ready to cook and decided to give KFC a second try.

This time, I simplified the recipe.

Rather than an egg / buttermilk wash, I used cooking oil to help bind the dry ingredients.

I only applied one layer of the dry ingredients.

As I mentioned in the "Brisket in the Cold", the outdoor temperatures were right around 0 degrees all weekend, so I used a lot of charcoal in my kettle.

Brisket in the Cold

Last week, while in Sam's Club I saw an 11 lb USDA Prime Brisket. 

When I see one around 10 lbs, I am always very tempted to pick it up. 

I succumbed to the temptation, which of course meant I had to cook it up this past weekend.

It was cold in Denver over the weekend. Much colder than we're used to here on the front range.

The high I saw on Saturday was something like 3 degrees F, and most of the day was colder than that.

I don't know for sure, but I'm fairly sure I've never smoked a big hunk of meat on such a cold day, so I was a little nervous about keeping my smoking temps up.

Even so, I was pretty sure my Kettle would be able to do it, so I gave it a try.

Quarter Life Crisis (Batch 281)

Recently, I turned 40 years of age. Recent is a  relative term.

Even more recently, I turned 50. Time flies when you are having fun.

To be honest, I'm now significantly over 50. I think with all the biking I've been doing over the past few years, I might be in better shape than I was at 40.

At least I'm in better cycling shape.

Anyway, when I turned 40, I thought it might be a good idea to have a quarter life crisis, since I was obviously too young to have a mid-life crisis. 

I never did get around to having that quarter life crisis, but I did brew

Quarter Life Crisis Hoppy Red Ale

Stouticus vs. Left Hand Milk Stout

As I mentioned in 2021 Stouticus American Stout (batch 278) ... I brewed my final beer in my Homebrew Colorado 6 pack.

Stouticus American Stout

Stouticus represented Left Hand Brewing Company's Milk Stout, which is still an iconic Colorado beer.

Unlike some of the beers in my Colorado Six Pack, actually still exists, so I was able to compare my homebrewed beer to the commercial beer it is meant represent.

To be honest, though,  Stouticus wasn't really designed to clone Left Hand's Milk Stout.

And ... they are significantly different.

Regardless, I thought it would be fun to try Stouticus and Left Hand side by side.

Boo Berry Wheat 2021 (Batch 280)

My wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) and I brewed last weekend.

We had decided awhile ago that the next beer we would make was going to be.

Boo Berry American Wheat

Boo Berry is another one of the recipes I designed years ago, and made a few times, but have not made in quite awhile.

The SheppyBrew Beer Model really likes blueberry beers, and I think of all the fruit beers I've ever made, Boo Berry has to be my favorite.

Anyway ... Saturday, we stopped by my favorite Brew Shop and purchased our ingredients.

Usually when using the Anvil Foundry, I would have prepared the water Saturday and and set the timer, but knowing I was going to start later in the day, I decided to leave that for the hours I would be up waiting for the  Beer Model to get out of bed.

Kettle Fried Chicken (KFC)

Sometime recently, I came across a Youtube Video from Hey Grill Hey.

Grilled Chicken and Waffles?! OH MAN!!! | Backyard Test Kitchen

In this ... Susie used the term Kettle Fried Chicken. She pointed out that this stands for KFC ... which amused me.

A little later, I came across another video from Postal BBQ.

Kettle Fried Chicken Recipe - How To Make Crispy Chicken on the BBQ

The recipes were pretty similar.

I thought I'd like to try to make fried chicken on my Weber Kettle.

Last Saturday, I gave it a try.

#10Everestsin2021 - January Progress Report

So ... I mentioned in #10Everestsin2021 that one of my goals for 2021 is to log 300,000 feet of climbing over the year.

That's basically climbing Mt. Everest 10 times over the year.

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

B is for Bierstadt Lagerhaus

If you follow my blog fairly regularly, you likely know that I began round 3 of my A to Z Denver Breweries Project with A is for Altitude Brewing & Supply.

If you follow the English alphabet, you likely realize that after "A" comes the letter "B".

And ... it doesn't take a huge leap of deductive reasoning to conclude that next up I would be trying to add a brewery that starts with the letter "B".

The Colorado Brewery List has quite a few "B" breweries in the Denver area. In fact, "B" looks to be the most common letter to start a brewery name with in the Denver area.

... Or maybe it is "C" ... I didn't actually count. 

Regardless, I had lots of  "B" breweries to pick from, but in my mind there was one logical choice.

B is for Bierstadt Lagerhaus

Honestly, it is a little crazy that I have not visited this brewery. I've enjoyed their beers on several occasions, but never made my way to the brewery.

Lithuanian Autumn vs. Falling Leaves

When I kegged Lithuanian Autumn Ale, and tasted the sample of the beer, I thought "Wow ... that really tastes a lot like Falling Leaves Autumn Saison".

A couple days later, on election day, I thought I'd run a blind triangle test on myself between these two beers.