SheppyBrew Home Page

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. 

........

Sheppy Brew Home-Brewery is really more of a figment of Sheppy's (the BrewMaster's) imagination than anything else.  Sheppy does, in fact, brew beer.  He actually brews quite a bit.  He has even won a couple of awards for his beer. 

I think the beer is pretty good, but other than the BrewMaster, the BeerModel, and various friends, family, and a few co-workers, distribution is non-existent.  The Brew Master does have a decent imagination.  Of course, it must be a pretty legitimate establishment if it has its own web site and a blog.  

Just to be clear, though, Sheppy Brew Brewery does not and can not sell any of these beers. There is nothing at all commercial about this. It is just a hobby.

The Sheppy Brew Home-Brewery got its start in 2009 after the BrewMaster received a Mr. Beer Home Brewing kit for Christmas 2008 from his little sister.  To be honest, Sheppy did not really think much of the gift at first.  His only taste of home brew up to that point in his life had been just completely horrible.  He figured he would brew the two extract batches that came with the kit, and maybe brew once and awhile after that.  He figured the hobby would quickly die.

Sheppy was wrong.  Boy was he wrong.  He was really really wrong.  The hobby did not die.  It actually became an obsession very quickly.  And he progressed from extract to partial mash to all-grain to his current all-in-one electric brewing system.

 For a list of the beers currently "in stock", check out Sheppy Brew's inventory page.

For up-to-date news and information  about Sheppy Brew home-brewery, check out Brews on Sheppy's Blog.

Beer Lineup

I have many more ideas for beers I want to brew than capacity to keep up. You can look on the Our Beer Recipes in the Future Brews section to see some of what is likely to come up in the near (near is a relative term) future.  For awhile, I fooled myself into thinking I had a lineup  of "regular" beers ... beers which I intended to keep on-hand most of the time.  In reality, though, none of my beers are around often enough to be considered "regular".

Of course, it is rare that I make a recipe exactly the same as it was before.  I am always experimenting and trying to improve my recipes and processes.  

SheppyBrew on Social Media

You can follow the SheppyBrew Brew Master (esheppy) on twitter @esheppy.

SheppyBrew Brewery has a facebook page. Check it out and LIKE it (please): http://www.facebook.com/sheppybrew

Of course feel free to leave facebook comments on any page of this website.

Become the SheppyBrew Brew Master's untappd friend at http://untappd.com/user/esheppy, and you can check out his beers on untappd at: http://untappd.com/sheppybrew

The Brew Master's blog has lots of additional SheppyBrew information at http://blog.ericshepard.com.

New SheppyBrew Website

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".

 

J is for Justice Lady Brewing

If you've been following along on this blog, you probably know that we've been working on round 6 of our A to Z series of posts.

Earlier this month, we posted H is for CHeluna Brewing Company.

If you're familiar with the A to Z concept or even just familiar with the English alphabet, you'd probably be expecting us to move on to "I" next.

"I" does indeed come immediately after "H", but we already did I is for Incantation Brewing, visiting Incantation on the very last day they were open.

So, in this case, we are now up to "J".

According to the Colorado Brewery Map & List, there was really just one logical choice ...

J is for Justice Lady Brewing

 

2025 Melting Stream Spring Saison (Batch 374)

Here it is mid-April already. Seems we just started Lent ... and now it is almost Easter.

The year is speeding by faster and faster.

Spring has sprung, which in Colorado means we get a few days of hot sunny weather followed by snow.

Lots of melting water. Mountain streams start to rush ...

I have not made a secret of the fact that I'm skipping (most of) the Seasonal beers this year so that I could concentrate on the Roll-a-Style List in order to make progress on my BJCP Goal.

However there was at least one Seasonal I actually wanted to make sure I brewed. The "April" Seasonal.

Melting Stream Spring Saison 

Roll-a-Style 3: 5A. German Leichtbier

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.

The one lower ABV German Lager I still had on the list was 3, and I pretended to roll the online die ...

Ribs and Belgian Beers

I made some spare ribs a few weekends ago.

I have not really published many BBQ posts on this blog this year, and I took photos when I made the ribs. 

So I thought I might as well go ahead and share. 

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.

2025 Q1 SheppyBrew Stats

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:

• Tasman Devil Pilsner
• Merida Scottish Ale
• Mardi Blonde
• Oisin Owl Irish Stout
• Kemosabe Quad
• King Fergus Wee Heavy

At the time of me typing this blog post, Merida is the only of these beers that I've finished. King Fergus is fermenting. Kemosabe Quad is aging and not in the beer fridge yet. 

King Fergus Wee Heavy (Batch 373)

I brewed a couple weekends ago ... the last Sunday of March.

I've been brewing quite a bit this year so far, but the last time before this one was Kemosabe Quad (Batch 372) at the beginning of the month.

I actually got ingredients for this beer the same time I got the ones for the Kemosabe Quad brew day.

So, the fact that I've had these grains for awhile and a couple days before, I killed the keg of Merida Scottish Ale, I thought I should get a brew day in.

If you follow along with this blog, you probably read Roll-a-Style 19: 17C. Wee Heavy and knew what was coming ...

King Fergus Wee Heavy

Kemosabe Quad: A Belgian Dark Strong Ale

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

Appearance: Pours a deep, dark mahogany with ruby highlights. A generous, creamy tan head crowns the beer, leaving intricate lacing as it slowly recedes. The beer's clarity is excellent despite its dark color, with a slight haze typical of the style.

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.

H is for CHeluna Brewing Company

Here it is April already. This year is just flying by.

It wasn't all that long ago that we posted G is for Great Divide Brewery & Roadhouse, Belmar.

Of course, as you know if you follow along on the A to Z series of posts on the blog, this meant that we need to figure out an "H" brewery to visit next.

I mentioned in G is for Great Divide Brewery that we were going to have to take "artistic license" in our "H" brewery.

There just are not any local breweries that start with the letter "H".

And ... the SheppyBrew Beer Model (aka my wife) was up to the challenge and was cleverly able to save the day with ....

H is for CHeluna Brewing Company

SheppyBrew Brewery's Beers Now Officially Declared Health Drinks!

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.