1.
Begin by making beef sausage patties by combining the ground beef, garlic powder, 3 tablespoons chili powder, paprika, salt, oregano, red pepper flakes, vinegar, and ice water. Mix until evenly blended, then cover the bowl, and refrigerate 1 hour. Once chilled, form sausage mixture into 10 equally sized patties.
2.
Preheat a smoker to a temperature of 150 to 175 degrees F. Put the poblano chiles, tomatoes, and onions into a disposable aluminum pan that will fit into the smoker.
3.
Smoke the sausage patties and vegetables 4 to 6 hours. Remove and let cool until cool enough to handle. Once cool, coarsely chop the vegetables and crumble 6 of the sausage patties. Reserve the remaining patties for later.
4.
Combine the crumbled sausage, smoked veggies, and ancho chiles in a large slow cooker. Pour in the beer and coffee, then season to taste with cayenne pepper and 1/4 cup of chili powder.
5.
Cook on Low 8 hours to overnight. Crumble the remaining smoked sausage patties to sprinkle on top of the chili, and serve with Cheddar cheese.
Alternate method
If a smoker is not available: add 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke per pound of meat when making the sausage. Pan cook or bake sausage patties. Roast veggies in 200 degree oven for about 1 hour, place under broiler for 1-2 minutes to char skin of tomatoes and chiles.