Gob Stopper Grape Ale (Batch 377)

If you follow along on this blog, or SheppyBrew.com, you likely know that I have been trying to work through BJCP Styles that I've never brewed.

For the most part, I am able to enjoy just about every style of beer, however there a a few I don't necessarily care for.

So ... working through this BJCP Style Goal has the potential of creating beers I may not like as much.

So, far, since I've started the Roll-a-Style list, I have not really rolled any styles that I downright don't like.

However, this one has that potential. We'll have to see.

If you read Roll-a-Style 12: 29D. Grape Ale, you probably were able to determine this was coming:

Gob Stopper Grape Ale

So ... the BJCP Style 29D. Grape Ale is basically a blend of beer and wine, and I don't really like wine.

But, I'm hoping the recipe will be more beer-like than grape-like. I guess we'll see.

I purchased the grains for this beer at the same time I bought the ones for Summer Lovin' American Wheat, at the very beginning of the month. I kept thinking I'd brew but never got around to it.

Until yesterday (Sunday). I actually didn't really decided to brew this until almost 7am, so I got a late start.

The recipe called for an overnight mash with a short boil, but due to the late start, I decided to shorten the mash, making this basically a Short and Shoddy brew day.

The mash started around 7:20. It was around 8 that I decided to shorten the mash, and I started draining at 8:05.

My pre-boil gravity was low at 1.037 (planned 1.041), but I decided to go with it.

One disadvantage of my 120 volt Anvil Foundry is that heating water from mash temperature to boil takes a long time. 

The boil started around 9am.

The boil was planned for only 35 minutes, and went well. I was chilling by 9:35. 

The OG of the wort was 1.042. My calculations said that the juice concentrate would contribute 15 points, so I ended up with an official OG of 1.067, which is actually just below the the BJCP style guideline specify, but I'm not going to worry about a couple of points.

The juice gave the beer a purple color. It certainly looks more like wine than beer.

I chilled the wort fairly quickly. I had the yeast pitched around 10am, making it basically a 3 hour brew day.

I've done quicker, but really only if I do an overnight mash, which eliminates the day-of mash completely.

The beer was bubbling away sometime late afternoon to evening, and is going strong as I type this.

So ... in a couple of weeks, we'll find out how much I like the Grape Ale that I designed.

Hopefully I don't hate it. I might have to find people to give it away to.

Stay tuned, and I'll let you know.

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.

Halfway to Helles vs Astrosuds Lager

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.

 

2025 Fathers' Day Photos (Part 3)

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.

Juneteenth Paddle on Chatfield

I'm pretty inexperienced at Paddle Boarding. My first "real" time doing it was last year Labor Day Weekend SUP, and I've only really done it once or twice after that so far.

But, it's a fun thing to do on hot summer-like days.

This past Thursday was Juneteenth, which my employer has as a holiday. It was hot, and the wife  (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) also had it off. We thought it would be fun to get some paddling in.

So we packed up our paddling stuff, some beer, a lunch and headed down to Chatfield Reservoir.

My wife had an electric pump, but it takes much longer than me with my manual pump. I even had to finish off pumping her paddle board. I think maybe we need to look into a better one.

Anyway ...

 

2025 Fathers' Day Photos (Part 2)

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.

 

2025 Fathers' Day Photos (Part 1)

Fathers' Day was this past weekend.

We hardly go camping anymore. I actually suspect that I'm the only one who actually likes camping and the rest of the family only tolerates it to make me happy.

So, over the past few years, we pretty much only go camping on Fathers' Day weekend.

Oh well. At least I get to go once a year, and at least my family loves me enough to make me happy.

And ... this past weekend, we went up to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) for the weekend, and camped in the Aspenglen Campground.

Here are some photos of our trip .... (and I'm planning on posting more in a couple of days)

 

N is for North River Brewery (RiNo)

Here we are at "N" of Round 6 of the A to Z Series of Posts!

Over half way through! It is difficult to believe.

And amazingly, even after 5 and a half rounds of the alphabet, we still have tons of local Denver-area breweries to go through.

We don't always hit the letter perfectly, but for the most part we've found a "reasonable" candidate for every letter so far.

Of course, in some cases we have to stretch the definition of "local" as we did in M is for Moonlight Pizza & Brewpub.

Luckily for "N", we had a couple of choices on the Colorado Brewery Map & List, and we picked ...

N is for North River Brewery (RiNo) 

Summer Lovin' American Wheat (Batch 376)

I brewed beer Sunday. My 9th batch of the year and 376th batch all-time.

It has actually been awhile since I've brewed. Before Sunday, the last beer I brewed was Big Brew Day ... Halfway to Helles (Batch 375) the very first weekend of May.

If you've been following along and paying attention, you likely know that most of my recipes this year have been new recipes generated from the Roll-a-Style list.

As a result, I've been basically ignoring the "Seasonals".

However, recently the Beer Model requested one of her favorites, which just happens to be the June Seasonal. Happy Wife Happy Life (nothing rhymes with "husband").

Summer Lovin' American Wheat

 

Stuffed Peppers on the Kettle

So ... this past Sunday, I was trying to figure out what to make for dinner. 

I feel like I've been in a little BBQ rut lately, making the same things. Not experimenting all that much.

While thinking about making something new, my google notifications showed that Hey Grill Hey had posted a new youtube video: Grilled Stuffed Peppers.

I had never made Grilled Stuffed Peppers, and figured it would be easy to get ingredients. So, I decided that is what would be for dinner Sunday night.

Roll-a-Style 12: 29D. Grape Ale

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 ... 

 

May Update on 2025 Cycling Goals

I do quite a bit of cycling for a middle-aged couch potato.

With all the BBQ I make and eat, and all the beer I brew and drink, biking a ridiculous amount helps keep me somewhat in shape.

So ... I spend lots of time cycling around the foothills of Denver, which I always track on Strava.

Anyway ... as you may remember from 2025 Cycling Goals, I have 5 cycling goals this year:

#MetricCenturyEveryMonth / #8200MilesIn2025 / #16EverestsIn2025 / Triple Bypass Ride / #GCCUSA

M is for Moonlight Pizza & Brewpub

Here we are at "M" of Round 6 of the A to Z Series of Posts!

Half way through! Wow!

If you've been following along for awhile, you might remember that when I posted A to Z Denver Breweries Round 5, I wasn't sure we'd continue along on Round 6.

In fact, if it were up to me, we wouldn't have continued, but the Beer Model (aka my wife) did want to do it, and nothing rhymes with husband.

If you read L is for Littleton Brewing Company, you know that I wasn't sure what local "M" brewery we could use.

But as luck would have it, we headed up to Salida, Colorado for Memorial Day Weekend, which allowed us to have dinner at ...

M is for Moonlight Pizza & Brewpub

L is for Littleton Brewing Company

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.

If you have not been following along and have no idea what I mean by A to Z series of posts, feel free to check it out. It's not real difficult to get the gist.

We're visiting breweries, letting the alphabet guide us to which brewery we visit next.

As I mentioned in K is for Knotted Root Brewing Company, we needed a "L" brewery next, and I was pretty sure which one we'd hit.

According to the Colorado Brewery Map & List, we had a few choices, but if you know the brewery scene in our area at all ... it comes as no surprise that ...

L is for Littleton Brewing Company

K is for Knotted Root Brewing Company

Here it is May already. We're getting close to being halfway done with 2025.

We're actually getting pretty close to half-way done with Round 6 of the A to Z series of posts as well.

We just started Round 6 late November last year with A is for Arms, Call To Brewing Company.

And ... 

Just a couple weeks ago we hit J is for Justice Lady Brewing.

Which means we had to find a good "K" brewery to visit.

While technically, we've hit all the "K" Denver-area breweries on the Colorado Brewery Map & List, there was a Nederland brewery I wanted to visit ... 

K is for Knotted Root Brewing Company

April Update on 2025 Cycling Goals

Soooo ... it wasn't until mid-march that I shared my 2025 Cycling Goals, and now it is already mid-May.

As always, I'm fairly certain very few people care. I might be the only one who reads through these, but I do like to have a record of my progress.

I'm sure next year sometime I'll read this and be glad I have it.

Anyway ... as you may remember from 2025 Cycling Goals, I have 5 goals:

#MetricCenturyEveryMonth / #8200MilesIn2025 / #16EverestsIn2025 / Triple Bypass Ride / #GCCUSA

What the hell is up with Oisin Owl?

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.

 

SheppyBrew's Biggest Big Beers

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%.

 

Big Brew Day ... Halfway to Helles (Batch 375)

It was the American Homebrew Association's annual Big Brew Day this past Saturday.

If you follow along on this blog, you may remember that Big Brew Day is quite often a day that the Beer Model and I brew with one or more our homebrewing friends "Du" and "Doc".

But, "Du" recently moved out of state and "Doc" was busy doing something else this year. So, the Beer Model and I did a brew day all by ourselves.

I had a Pork Butt thawed, and we decided to make a feast even though it was just the two of us.

If you are a regular on this blog, and were paying attention to the Roll-a-Style posts, you might actually have a guess as to which beer recipe we brewed:

Halfway to Helles Leichtbier

King Fergus Wee Heavy

Category: Strong Scotch Ale (Wee Heavy)  
Brewer: SheppyBrew Home Brewery
ABV: 8%  
IBU: 21.6  
SRM: 15.3  

Appearance: 
King Fergus Wee Heavy showcases a deep mahogany hue with ruby highlights. It pours with a creamy tan head that may not persist but leaves behind elegant legs on the glass.

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.

Easter Ribeye Roast

I know that it has already been awhile, but I did holiday cooking on Easter.

Of course I did.

If you follow along at all on this blog, you know that Ribeye Roast is one of my favorite holiday meats.

As luck would have it, I had a Ribeye Roast vacuumed packed and waiting in the freezer. 

For whatever reason, we must have purchased extra last Christmas.

And ... that is what I cooked this past Easter.

The process is pretty much the same as always. I smoke the meat to a rare internal temperature. Then, I sear the roast for a bit to get a nice crust on the meat.

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. 

........

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.

 

G is for Great Divide Brewery & Roadhouse, Belmar

We hit another brewery on our A to Z series last Friday.

Of course we posted F is Frolic Brewing Company just the weekend before, which is a quicker turn-around than most of our recent ones.

After "F" comes "G" and the Colorado Brewery Map & List told us we had plenty of choices.

But I ended up picking a spot that isn't even on the Map & List yet. I'm pretty sure this is the first time we've been able to get to a brewery so new.

Great Divide Brewing company (see G is for Great Divide Brewing Company) sent me an email letting me know they opened a new "Brewery & Roadhouse" close to our house.

And ... the wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) wanted me to take her out to dinner Friday night, so we hit the new brewery.

G is for Great Divide Brewery & Roadhouse, Belmar

Oisin Owl vs Guinness Extra Stouts

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.

Roll-a-Style 19: 17C. Wee Heavy

I've mentioned a few times 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 79 of the 108 styles in the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines. Since the beginning of the year, I've already brewed 4 new BJCP styles (5 if you include Tasman Pilsner).

I'm hoping to brew another 8 or 9 before the end of 2025.

If you've been following along on this blog, you know that 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, the past few new styles, I have decided and "pretended" to roll the number I wanted to brew.

But, recently, I actually rolled the online die, and got 19 ...

 

F is Frolic Brewing Company

If you've been following this blog at all, you're familiar with the A to Z series of posts.

Just in case you've come across the blog for the first time, welcome.

The A to Z series started back in 2015 (it blows my mind that it has been 10 years) when I was embarrassed to admit that there were very few local breweries that I had actually visited.

When I looked through a list of Denver-area brewery names, it struck me that I could work my way through most of the letters of the alphabet, and that is what I did.

I started with A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company, which has since closed, and worked my way through the alphabet.

At some point, the SheppyBrew Beer Model (aka my wife) joined me, and I've worked my way through 5 rounds of the alphabet.

Most recently, we posted our round 6 "E" brewery, E is for Someplace Else Brewery. So, now it is time for an "F" brewery.

F is Frolic Brewing Company

2025 Cycling Goals

It blows my mind that we've already passed the ides of March. The year seems to be flying by.

I know that I'm the only one who really cares, but I have not mentioned any 2025 cycling goals on this blog yet.

In the past few years, I've probably overshared how much cycling I do and how I'm tracking towards various mileage and elevation goals.

I have not done that at all so far this year.

I have these 2025 goals. I just have not taken the time to "share" them.

Again, no one really cares other than myself, but I do like to have these to go back and look at from time to time. 

So now, here I am posting my 2025 Cycling Goals.

Oisin Owl Irish Stout

Style: 15C Irish Extra Stout
ABV: 5.5%
IBU: 40
SRM: 41

Appearance: This stout pours a deep, opaque black with subtle ruby highlights when held to the light. The head is a creamy tan, thick and persistent, leaving a generous lacing on the glass with every sip.

Aroma: The aroma is a harmonious blend of rich roasted malt, dark chocolate, and freshly brewed coffee. Hints of caramel and toffee add a layer of sweetness, while subtle earthy hops and a whisper of dark fruit like plum or raisin round out the olfactory experience.

Tasman vs Tasman

I don't know if I ever mentioned it on this blog, but if you follow SheppyBrew on Instagram or Facebook, you might have caught that when I was picking up ingredients for Tasman Devil Pilsner, I stopped by Dry Dock Brewing company.

In a wild coincidence, Dry Dock had a New Zealand Pils on tap called "Tasman Pilsner" ... Great Minds Think Alike I guess.

Obviously I had to try it and I really liked it. 

E is for Someplace Else Brewery

It's been awhile since we've posted to the A to Z series of posts.

D is for Denver Beer Company, Olde Town Arvada posted over a month ago.

But, the series is still on our radar, and after D, we needed an "E" brewery to visit.

You may remember from D is for Denver Beer Company that there are no "E" breweries on the Colorado Brewery Map & List for use to use in the Denver area.

But, as you know if you've been following along, we don't let that sort of thing stop us.

We're more than willing to take artistic license if we don't have a new brewery starting with a letter.

This time, we picked ....

E is for Someplace Else Brewery

Kemosabe Quad (Batch 372)

Fat Tuesday / Mardi Gras was last Tuesday. Even though this year is as late as Easter can be, it blows my mind that we've already entered Lent.

Time flies.

If you've been following along, you might have caught that I've been picking beers to brew off my Roll-a-Style list rather than actually rolling to pick what to brew.

Part of the reason I've been doing this, is to use my harvested Belgium yeast to step up to a big Belgium Beer ... Roll-a-Style 9: 26D. Belgian Dark Strong Ale.

For quite awhile, I've been planning on using the whole yeast cake from Mardi Blonde (Batch 370) Birthday Brew to brew this big beer.

But, then when I kegged Mardi Blonde, I wasn't ready to brew yet. So, I kept putting off the brew day.

I finally got around to it last Tuesday on the same day I smoked a Chuck Roast for pulled-beef-sandwiches.

Glop

On Sunday, I had planned on getting a Chucky on the Weber Kettle in the morning to use in pulled-beef sandwiches for dinner.

But, I totally forgot until a little later in the day when I wasn't sure I'd have enough time to get it pull-apart tender.

So ... I decided to save it for our Mardi Gras dinner (Tuesday, which is the next time I was "scheduled" to make dinner).

So, I needed something fairly quick to make.

I actually had a loose plan and ingredients to make an Smoked Green Chili Hashbrown Egg Bake for Fat Tuesday. For some reason, my wife and kids have traditionally wanted breakfast-for-dinner on Mardi Gras. I find this weird, but generally I play along with their wants.

Mardi Blonde: A Festive Brew

Style: Belgian Blonde Ale
ABV: 7.4%
IBU: 25  

Mardi Blonde is a delightfully refreshing Belgian blonde ale with a lively personality. Pouring a radiant golden hue, this brew sparkles with clarity and invites you in with its enticing appearance. 

Aroma: The nose is greeted with a bouquet of light malt sweetness, delicate floral notes, and a hint of fruity esters reminiscent of ripe pears and apples. Subtle touches of honey and freshly baked bread add depth to the aromatic profile.

Flavor: On the palate, Mardi Blonde strikes a harmonious balance between malt and hops. The initial sip reveals a smooth malt backbone with flavors of biscuit and light caramel, followed by a gentle hop bitterness that lingers just long enough to create a crisp, clean finish. The nuanced flavors of citrus zest and white grape add a refreshing twist, making each sip more enjoyable than the last.

Modifying the Roll-a-Style List

So ... after posting Roll-a-Style 9: 26D. Belgian Dark Strong Ale, I decided to look a little closer at the 2021 BJCP Style Guidelines.

First, I had never known exactly how many individual beer styles were listed in the guidelines, so I counted. 

If I counted correctly, there are 108 styles, and I've brewed 79 of them (actually, as I type this, I have not brewed the Belgian Dark Strong Ale, but once I brew it I will have completed 79).

I've mentioned that there are some styles I'm not really interested in brewing, and so I left those styles off my Roll-a-Style list. Most of these are sour beer styles, but as it turns out, a couple were ones I just didn't look closely at and thus didn't really understand.

 

Snowshoeing and Pulled Pork Green Chili

It has been quite awhile since I've been Snowshoeing.

I've even had "new" snowshoes since March of 2021 after my original pair fell apart. I've only put these new ones on once in snow and ended up taking them off almost immediately because it didn't seem like there was enough snow to make the snowshoes worth wearing.

This past week, we got a big snow storm on Friday.

This prompted my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) to say she wanted to go snowshoeing Saturday.

Not knowing how long we'd be out, I decided to prepare some Pulled Pork Green Chili in the Crock Pot.

Oisin Owl Irish Stout (Batch 371)

I brewed this past Sunday.

This was already my 4th batch of beer of the year, and if I'm counting correctly, my 371st batch of beer I've ever brewed.

Of course, if you've been following along on this blog, you know that this year I'm concentrating on brewing BJCP styles that I've never brewed.

In the 16 years I've been brewing, I've brewed at least one beer in all 34 categories in the BJCP Style Guidelines, but now I've decided to check off most of the individual styles.

If you're curious, you can see which beers I've brewed in each category / style as of 2024 Update on the 2021 BJCP Goal.

And ... the beer I brewed this past Sunday was the 3rd new style in 2025 I've been able to mark off the list.... (4th if you count Tasman Devil Pilsner (batch 368))

Oisin Owl Irish Stout