Crackling toast and caramelized malt surface first, chased by faint herbal hops and a splash of ocean breeze (or maybe just noble spice). There's a subtle, almost briny undertone—as if the grains were whispered over by cuttlefish sages.
Medium body with a smooth, silky texture. Moderate carbonation creates a gentle lift without disrupting the lager’s balance. It’s both easy-going and dignified, like a beer brewed for underwater diplomats.
Beneath the frothy waves of Brewkelvin Bay, the SheppyBrew gnomes discovered an undersea brewing vault guarded by a peculiar creature—the wise and warty cuttlefish named Hrabal.
This cuttlefish wasn’t ordinary. He spoke fluent Czech, brewed with filtered coral water, and knew the secret to fermenting lagers that aged gracefully in shipwreck barrels.
The result: Cuttlefish Czech Amber Lager, a toast to tradition with a splash of maritime myth. Today, its tap handle features Hrabal holding a stein carved from shell, eyes gleaming with malty approval.
Drink it, and you might just hear the ocean whisper: "Na zdraví, little brewer."
As always, stay tuned on the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with beer, barbeque, biking and other things in my life: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.
Style: American Grape Ale
Brewer: SheppyBrew
ABV: 7.0%
IBU: 16
SRM: 7 (radiant violet)
Concord grape front and center—like you just cracked open a juice box at recess. Beneath that: gentle floral honey, a whiff of grapevine must, and faint cereal notes from the malt. Nostalgic without being fake or flashy.
Tart grape onset morphs into gentle sweetness mid-palate, lifted by honey malt and clean fermentation. A crisp finish keeps it from going syrupy, and low bitterness balances the fruit. Tastes like if childhood had a craft beer sponsor.
If you follow this blog at all, you probably have read that I want to concentrate more on my BJCP Goal this year.
As of the time of this post, if I'm counting correctly, I've brewed 86 of the 108 styles in the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines. Since the beginning of the year, I've already brewed 8 new BJCP styles (9 if you include Tasman Pilsner).
And ... I have ingredients and will probably brew my Roll-a-Style 15: 16C. Tropical Stout soon.
I have my Roll-a-Style list, which helps me keep track of styles that I still need to brew.
The idea is that I use a 20-sided online die to decide which style to brew next.
In late-ish July, I was killing time one day and thought I'd spend time coming up with a new recipe.
To figure out what beer I'd brew, I rolled my 20-sided online die, and rolled a 10 ...
So ... I don't make it a whole lot, but my kids REALLY like my smoked mac and cheese.
Well ... not just my kids. Just about anyone who has ever tried it has raved about it. I love it too. Unfortunately, it isn't the healthiest of meals, and that comes from someone who makes a ton of BBQ.
Anyway ... a couple weeks ago, my older son had his girlfriend over and my son requested that I make my smoked mac and cheese.
If you follow this blog at all, you probably have read that I want to concentrate more on my BJCP Goal this year.
As of the time of this post, if I'm counting correctly, I've brewed 86 of the 108 styles in the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines. Since the beginning of the year, I've already brewed 8 new BJCP styles (9 if you include Tasman Pilsner).
I have my Roll-a-Style list, which helps me keep track of styles that I still need to brew.
The idea is that I use a 20-sided online die to decide which style to brew next.
In early July, I was running sort of low on inventory, and needed to brew to get the pipeline going.
I rolled my 20-sided online die, and rolled a 15 ...
If you follow this blog at all, you probably have read that I want to concentrate more on my BJCP Goal this year.
As of the time of this post, if I'm counting correctly, I've brewed 85 of the 108 styles in the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines. Since the beginning of the year, I've already brewed 7 new BJCP styles (8 if you include Tasman Pilsner).
I have my Roll-a-Style list, which helps me keep track of styles that I still need to brew.
The idea is that I use a 20-sided online die to decide which style to brew next.
In early July, I was running sort of low on inventory, and needed to brew to get the pipeline going.
I rolled my 20-sided online die, and rolled a 2 ...
It's July, which means that we've made it through the second quarter of 2025. It is time to "report" on the 2025 Q2 SheppyBrew Stats.
Q1 was pretty busy, and I was on track for 120 gallons of beer in 2025.
Q2, on the other hand wasn't nearly as busy. I only brewed 4 batches of beer totaling 20 gallons, putting my projected 2025 volume right at 100 gallons.
The Q2 batches were:
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| Melting Stream Spring Saison |
So, part of the logic around brewing Halfway to Helles Leichtbier in May had to do with my May "Seasonal" Helles in a Hand Bock-sket.
Last year, while drinking Hand Bock-sket, I made the comment:
#WillDrinkInJune. Great bready malt character. Loving this beer. I think the only improvement I can think of is making it lower ABV ... But it wouldn't be a Maibock then 😎
I believe this was shortly after drinking a beer at Green Mountain Brewing Company that really reminded me of Hand Bock-sket, but was lower in ABV. It's name was "AstroSuds Lager".
While a 5A. German Leichtbier isn't really anything like a lower ABV Maibock, it is sort of similar in that they are both German lagers.
Before my latest camping trip, I saw cans of AstroSuds Lager in Green Mountain's beer cooler, and I decided to pick up a four pack.
Around that time, I poured the Halfway to Helles Leichtbier and AstroSuds to compare side-by-side.
So ... as you know if you've been following along on this blog, I've been posting Fathers' Day photos recently.
If you have not been following along and are interested, check out 2025 Fathers' Day Photos (Part 1) and 2025 Fathers' Day Photos (Part 2).
Now, I'm posting the finale, Part 3.
We got up Sunday morning and the boys made me pancakes for breakfast. Then we packed up the camp.
A couple days ago I posted 2025 Fathers' Day Photos (Part 1), and I have more photos from that trip.
After the hike on Part 1, we decided that it was too early to go back to the campground, so we decided to drive up Trail Ridge Road, which is the main road running through the park 48 miles from Estes Park to Grand Lake.
If you follow this blog at all, you probably have read that I want to concentrate more on my BJCP Goal this year.
As of the time of this post, if I'm counting correctly, I've brewed 84 of the 108 styles in the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines. Since the beginning of the year, I've already brewed 6 new BJCP styles (7 if you include Tasman Pilsner).
I have my Roll-a-Style list, which helps me keep track of styles that I still need to brew.
The idea is that I use a 20-sided online die to decide which style to brew next.
June is here, and I did my Big Brew Day ... Halfway to Helles (Batch 375) at the beginning of May, checking off my 84th style. I think it is time to pick another beer to brew.
I rolled my 20-sided online die, and rolled a 12 ...
I have a confession to make.
Quite often on this blog when I say that I ask ChatGPT something, I am lying. For the purposes of this blog, I lump all AI Chatbots together, and refer to them all as ChatGPT.
I actually use MS Copilot a lot more. But, still on this blog I refer to them as ChatGPT.
It is rare that SheppyBrew Home Brewery makes a "big", high alcohol beer.
By some standards, you might even say that SheppyBrew has never brewed a big beer.
Generally, my beers are in the 4 - 6% ABV range. Sometimes I go a little higher. But, not very often at all.
For me, two of the beers I have on tap right now Kemosabe Quad and King Fergus Wee Heavy are high abv beers at 8.5% and 8%.
Category: Strong Scotch Ale (Wee Heavy)
Brewer: SheppyBrew Home Brewery
ABV: 8%
IBU: 21.6
SRM: 15.3
Aroma:
Richly malty with a strong caramel component. Subtle smoky notes add complexity, while low to moderate esters suggest hints of dried fruit like plums or raisins.
After doing the updates mentioned in New SheppyBrew Website, I had copilot rewrite my SheppyBrew Home page.
To be honest, I can't decide if I like copilot's version better or not.
Just in case I think I want to go back, I'm storing what it was before here.
Let me know what you think.
........
I spent some time recently updating the SheppyBrew Website.
The tech stack used on the site was very out of date and making any code changes to the site was very difficult.
If you're a computer geek at all, you could probably tell with the use of .aspx pages, and the fact that it really was not great on smaller screens.
But, really the main reason I felt I had to get the thing updated was that my hosting company sent me an email letting me know that support for the version of .NET was being removed from their servers "sometime this quarter".
If you follow this blog at all, you probably have read that I want to concentrate more on my BJCP Goal this year.
As of the time of this post, if I'm counting correctly, I've brewed 83 of the 108 styles in the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines. Since the beginning of the year, I've already brewed 5 new BJCP styles (6 if you include Tasman Pilsner).
I have my Roll-a-Style list, which helps me keep track of styles that I still need to brew.
The idea is that I use a 20-sided online die to decide which style to brew next. However, sometimes, I have decided what I want to brew and "pretended" to roll the number I wanted to brew.
May is coming up, which would be a time to brew the "seasonal" Helles in a Hand Bock-sket, and I thought this year it would be fun to brew a lower ABV German Lager to replace the Hand Bock-sket beer.
My spare rib process has changed some over the years, but for the most part it remains basically the same.
I set up charcoal in sort of an ugly snake with chunks of (usually) hickory wood.
For a 6pm dinner, I'll aim to get the ribs on the kettle around 5pm.
I cook the ribs between 250 and 275 for between 2 and 3 hours ... usually closer to 3.
Here we are already in April. Time to report on the 2025 Q1 SheppyBrew Stats.
The year is flying by and I have brewed quite a bit so far this year. Last year was a down year for me, not even reaching the 100 gallons.
This year so far my brewing rate is a bit faster; I'm on pace to reach over 110 gallons this year.
In Q1, I brewed 6 batches totaling 30 gallons.
My 6 batches were:
Category: 26D. Belgian Dark Strong Ale
Brewer: SheppyBrew Home Brewery
ABV (Alcohol By Volume): 9%
IBU (International Bitterness Units): 25
SRM (Standard Reference Method): 16
Aroma: The aroma is rich and complex, featuring notes of dark fruit such as raisins, figs, and plums, intermingled with caramel, toffee, and molasses. Subtle hints of spice, clove, and mild phenolics from the Belgian yeast add depth. A faint earthy and floral hop presence is detectable, balancing the malt sweetness.
LITTLETON, CO – April 1, 2024:
In a groundbreaking revelation that's sure to delight beer enthusiasts and health gurus alike, SheppyBrew Brewery is proud to announce that our beers are now officially classified as "health drinks"!
This momentous news follows extensive research confirming the undeniable benefits of enjoying a SheppyBrew pint.
So ... I recently brewed Oisin Owl Irish Stout with the intention of having it ready for St. Patrick's Day.
And, of course St. Patrick's Day was last week.
At some point, I thought it would be cool to grab some Guinness Extra Stout to compare with my homebrew. So, I bought some from a local liquor store.
The weekend before St. Patrick's Day, I tried them both side-by-side.
