#GCCUSA 1 Week Update

If you follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you know how I've been doing on the Great American Cycle Challenge so far.

If you don't follow me on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, you likely don't care.

But I'll tell you anyway.

Things for going great so far.

I could tell you how great, but chances are the totals will be higher when you read this than now when I am writing it.

But, luckily for you, it is possible to see the most recent totals:

Eric Shepard's Great Cycle Challenge Page

W is for Wits End Brewing Company

The end is in sight.

After V is for Vine Street Pub and Brewery, I only have 4 more letters in the alphabet.

So far, I've found Denver-area breweries that have started with all the letters from A to V. Will I be able to finish off the alphabet? Considering you've probably read the title of this post, you know I've found my W brewery.

Just in case you're new to this blog, and the concept of what I'm talking about ... check out Sheppy's Blog: A to Z ... I think you'll be able to figure out the concept. Pretty simple, I'm attempting to visit local breweries, and I'm following the alphabet to decide the order that I am visiting them.

And after V comes ... W.

W is for Wits End Brewing Company

Bob Dog ESB

I did something different last brew day.

I brewed a kit.

Sort of.

My newest local homebrew shop, Broadway Brew Supply, does this cool promotion every month.

They put together a clone kit with a local brewery and pick a charity. Part of the proceeds of the kit sales go to the charity.

For May, they picked The Brew on Broadway (BOB) and got a clone recipe of Placer ESB.

The charity they donated to was Maxfund, Denver's no-kill animal shelter.

I wanted to brew something, but I didn't really know what I wanted to brew. I saw the kits on facebook and thought ... "sure I'll give that a try".

#GCCUSA 22 Miles a Day

As you may have seen on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, I have signed up for the Great American Cycle Challenge again this year.

If you want to remind yourself how last year worked .. see Sheppy's Blog: #GCCUSA

This year, I am pledging to ride an average of 22 Miles a Day over the month of June.

I've already raised $1,265, which is amazing. I have generous friends and family.

If you too, would like to donate, feel free to do so on my donation page:

Eric Shepard's Great Cycle Challenge Page

2017 Q1 SheppyBrew Stats

Well, This is embarrassing.

It is almost June and I still have not posted the 1st quarter results of the SheppyBrew Brewery.

Well ... I guess it is time to fix that.

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:http://blog.ericshepard.com/search/label/Brew%20Stats .

Arctic Vortex Winter Saison

The SheppyBrew Brewery brewed 5 batches of beer in the first quarter:

Boo Berry Wheat

I have a blueberry beer in my Kegerator.

Boo Berry American Wheat

Brew day was actually on April 30. I put it in a secondary fermentor on blueberry puree on May 13. I kegged it just a few days ago on the 21st.

Blueberry Beer is something the Beer Model really enjoys. I think out of all the fruit beers, blueberry is probably her favorite. Come to think of it, it is probably my favorite fruit beer as well.

Surprisingly this batch of beer is only my third since I came up with the recipe way back in 2012.

The way I make fruit beers is that I will make my standard base "wheat" beer recipe. Once it is done fermenting, I rack the beer on blueberry puree and some blueberry flavor extract.

I let this sit on secondary for a few days to a week. Then I keg. I will taste the beer and add more flavoring to taste.

2017 Melting Stream Spring Saison

I brewed this past weekend.

Due to family time commitments, I did something a little weird. I split the "brew day" over Saturday and Sunday.

Weird, right?

Well, we'll see how it turns out. I'm pretty sure it will be fine.

You may remember that I did something similar last time I made She Who Must Be Obeyed Wheat (see #SWMBO Wheat Brew Day). SWMBO turned out great, so I'm not concerned.

The beer I brewed is my 2017 Melting Stream Spring Saison.

For this batch, I decided to change up the recipe quite a bit. First, I made the OG (and therefore ABV) significantly less than previous years were. I also decided to try a new hop "Lemon Drop".