Early in 2022, I spent some time identifying "SheppyBrew Seasonals". I tied a specific SheppyBrew beer to every month in the year.
For whatever reason, after the year was done I shared 2022 Seasonals I had brewed during the year. I had brewed all but 3 of the "Seasonals".
I reported on the 2023 Seasonals as well, missing 4 months. Now that I've established the pattern, I feel like I have to share my brewed "Seasonals" for 2024.
I actually made it a brewing goal in 2024 to brew all my "SheppyBrew Seasonals". Around July or August, I got tired of the idea, but I had hit all the months so far, so I forced myself to finish them up.
 |
| 2024 Mardi Bock |
The addition of Midnight Wheat Malt imparts a subtle depth, while the Magnum and Saaz hops provide a delicate balance of bitterness and floral notes. Fermented with the renowned French Saison yeast, this beer boasts a dry, farmhouse character that is quintessentially saison.
Hail Storm Summer Saison is a refreshing and complex farmhouse ale that captures the essence of summer in every sip. Brewed by industrious gnomes in the majestic Colorado mountains, this saison pours a hazy golden hue with a frothy white head that lingers beautifully. The aroma is an enticing bouquet of fruity esters, with notes of ripe pear, banana, and a hint of spicy clove, courtesy of the French Saison yeast strain.
He called it the “Melting Stream Spring Saison,” a beer that was as refreshing as the cool, clear waters rushing down from the snow-capped peaks. The Saison had a light, golden hue like the morning sun reflecting off the melting snow, and a taste that was crisp and lively, with hints of citrus and spice.
So ... a couple of years ago, I spent some time identifying "SheppyBrew Seasonals".
I didn't really pay much attention to "Seasonals" in 2023, but a couple weeks ago, looking through my blog, I came across 2022 SheppyBrew Seasonals. That made me want to check out which of these seasonals I did brew in the past year.
I figured that I had not done nearly as many as I had in 2022, but as it turned out ... I was actually pretty close.
The fact that I always brew the Seasonal Saisons every year gives me a little of a head-start.
 |
| Arctic Vortex |
So ... as I'm typing this, we still have a couple of weeks left in 2023, but I won't be brewing again this year, so I can actually report on my 2023 Brewing Stats.
Last year, I mentioned that I was on a downward trend on my brewing totals since the ridiculous amount I brewed in 2020.
All year, I've been saying that this year will continue that downward trend, despite evidence to the contrary every quarter so far this year.
But, with a slightly lower brew total in the 4th quarter, I did end up lower than 2020, 2021, and 2022.
In the 4th quarter, I brewed 5 batches of beer for 25 gallons:
 |
| 4 beers including Falling Leaves and Humdinger |
Last week (from when I am typing this ... not when it was posted), there were technical issues with SheppyBrew.com where the web server could not connect to it's database.
I was a bit annoyed that my hosting company needed me to point out the problem, and that it took them several hours to fix it after I pointed it out.
But, in the grand scheme of things ... it's a first world problem.
For some reason ... once the issue was fixed, and I was looking through the database I decided to figure out what beers I've brewed the most.
I went down a rabbit-hole of sql queries and since I had gone through that effort ... I thought I might as well share what I found.
Earlier in the year, I published a blog post in which I talked about beers that could be considered SheppyBrew Seasonals, attaching them to each month of the year.
As I was working my way through brewing over the year, I kept this list in mind. I didn't hit every month, but I brewed most of the beers close to their month this year.
