N is for 4 Noses - Broomfield

It has been over a month since we've posted anything to the  A to Z series of posts.

If you're following along on the A to Z series of posts, and/or read M is for Mad Macks Brewing, you know we are up to the letter "N".

If you don't know what that means ... my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) and I work our say through the alphabet, visiting a local brewery for each letter.

We've done this 6 full times and are working on #7. At "N", we're more than half-way through round 7!

I mentioned last time that we are likely headed to Broomfield ... and Halloween Saturday we packed a lunch and headed up to ...

N is for 4 Noses - Broomfield

October Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

As you know if you follow this blog, I generally give a monthly update on my fitness / Strava goals. I'm sure no one besides myself really cares, but I figure sharing these publicly give me a little extra motivation because of the extra accountability.

Plus, from time to time I'll look at older updates just to see where I was in the past.

In previous years, my goals have been mostly around cycling, but starting this year, I've started running as well.

If you're interested, You can always track these workouts on Strava. 

So far, I'm tracking pretty well to my 2026 Fitness goals, although a couple of aches and pains (not quite injuries) do seem to be slowing me down a bit (at least on running).

About Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch

So ... I brewed Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch a little over a month ago (see Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch (Batch #399)), and kegged it towards the beginning of October.

Despite the name, this is not really a Kölsch. And ... no Khupacabras were harmed in the brewing of this beer. Come to think of it, Kolorado isn't really a thing either.

The yeast I used for this beer was from a small Colorado yeast lab "Propagate Lab", and they named it Colorado Kolsch (#MIP-511). I harvested this from my newest version of Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch, which also wasn't really a Kölsch. I had harvested that yeast from my latest batch of Bad Lands Kölsch, which actually is a Kölsch style beer.

Random Photos

I have not posted on this blog in awhile.

I don't really have anything to say, but here are some random photos:

1519 Barker Exportbier (Batch 400)

I had a day off on Monday after being away for a wedding in north Minnesota (stone throw from Canada) over the weekend.

I did a run in the morning. Then I went on a bike ride. 

After the ride, I had lunch and then lay down for a little nap.

I had grains for a brew day ... and around 2pm ... I decided to brew a batch of beer.

It just happens to be my 400th batch of beer I've brewed since I started making beer.

This is actually the third time I've brewed this particular recipe ....

1519 Barker Exportbier

3 Blondes and a Redhead

So .... I actually have 4 wonderful SheppyBrew beers on tap right now. It has been awhile since it has been the case that all my taps have a beer on them.

Catching up with Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale (Batch 398) and then Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch (Batch #399) seem to have done what I hoped.

The beers I have "on tap" are

• GNorthside Gnome Cold IPA 
  Hoppy "Cold IPA" ... a hoppy rice beer brewed as a lager with IPA hops. The citrus hops come through nicely in a crisp, clean base.
  
  
• Brain Freeze Rauchbier 
  My Roll-a-Style 6B. Rauchbier, which is basically a smoked Marzen. The amount of smoke malt is less than 10% of the grain bill, which isn't really as much as most Rauchbiers. I the smoke comes through nicely without being overpowering.
  
  
• Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale 
  This SheppyBrew Classic has been brewed 15 times with various grain bills and yeasts. The past few times have been pretty consistent. I refer to this as "fat tire light". The Beer Model says this is her favorite SheppyBrew Beer, which is why it has been brewed so often.
  
  
• Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch 
  Actually not much of a "Kolsch" ... it really presents more like a session IPA. It was designed a my first "No-chill" beer with only CTZ in the boil, but Cascade, Centennial, and Citra added as a dry-hop. 

2026 Q3 SheppyBrew Stats

Well ... it is October, putting us past the 3rd Quarter of 2026. We can report on the SheppyBrew Home Brewery "Brewing Stats" for Q3.

If you read the Q1 report, you know 2026 started off very slow. Slow enough that I was on track to brew the least amount of beer EVER.

In the Q2 report, I had brewed a little more, and was no longer on track for the least volume of beer ever, but still probably the lowest since my Mr. Beer days. 

Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch

September Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

As you know if you follow this blog, I generally give a monthly update on my fitness / Strava goals. I'm sure no one besides myself really cares, but I figure sharing these publicly give me a little extra motivation because of the extra accountability.

Plus, from time to time I'll look at older updates just to see where I was in the past.

In previous years, my goals have been mostly around cycling, but starting this year, I've started running as well.

If you're interested, You can always track these workouts on Strava. 

So far, I'm tracking pretty well to my 2026 Fitness goals, although a couple of aches and pains (not quite injuries) do seem to be slowing me down a bit (at least on running).

Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch (Batch #399)

Last Saturday, the Brew Model and I normally would have probably gone on a bike ride.

However, the Denver Century Ride was going on, and we didn't really want to navigate bike paths with potentially hundreds of others.

Originally, Saturday the 26th was going to be "Doc's Quad Brew Day", which meant my buddy Doc would brew a batch. His wife would brew a batch. The Beer Model would brew a batch. I would brew a batch.

Plans changed and we did it the previous Saturday, with Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale (Batch 398). And, our hosts decided they would only do one batch that day.

When they were not doing two batches, we decided to "only" do one too.

This meant that we had ingredients ready to brew with. Last Saturday we used them on the "original" planned brew day without Doc and his wife .

Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch

I finished #GCCUSA2026

Yesterday, I got in an 18 mile ride to finish up my 1000 mile September, raising over $5,300 to help fight Childhood Cancer with my Great Cycle Challenge.

The rider / donation page will remain available for at least another month ... and I'll be signing up for my 12th year in 2027 ... so if you want to donate, you still can:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/EricShepard

M is for Mad Macks Brewing

If you're following along on the A to Z series of posts, and/or read K is for Steep Brewing LaKeside TiKi Bar, you know we are up to the letter "M".

If you don't know what that means ... my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) and I work our say through the alphabet, visiting a local brewery for each letter.

We've done this 6 full times and are working on #7. At "M", we're basically half-way through round 7!

Considering we only hit A is for Alley Brews Brewery & Coffee Shop this past April, we're flying through this round of the alphabet.

And, as promised ... "M" is one of those letters that we actually had a good choice, and this past Friday, we visited ...

M is for Mad Macks Brewing

#GCCUSA2026 Hero Jersey Shots

In #GCCUSA2026 Jersey Shots, I shared photos of me in GCC Jerseys.

I left out the "Hero Jerseys" that I've earned over the years, so I thought I'd post those.

Here they are:

2020 "Spider Man"

#GCCUSA2026 Jersey Shots

As you know if you've been following along, I'm riding 1000 miles this month as part of the Great Cycle Challenge.

If you'd like to help out with a donation ... here is my rider page:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/EricShepard

I've been doing this thing every year for the past 10 years and over that time have collected quite of few GCC Jerseys.

As of a couple days ago, I've taken selfies of all these jerseys (other than 2016, which doesn't fit me and is now in my wife's closet).

Here are those photos:

2017

Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale (Batch 398)

So ... remember in Brain Freeze Rauchbier (Batch 397), that my friend "Doc" had a plan to help us "catch up" a little on our low beer inventories?

Well, his plan was a "Quad Brew Day" at his home brewery. 

I would brew a batch. My wife would brew a batch. He would brew a batch. His wife would brew a batch.

As it turned out ... neither his nor my wife really planned on brewing a batch themselves, so really it would be Doc brewing two batches and Me brewing two batches.

And ... they ended up needing to babysit their new grand child later in the day, so they decided to just brew one batch.

Honestly, I had not been excited about having to transport (and set up and clean) both my brewing set ups. So, when they said they might be doing one batch, I told them "we" would only be doing the Beer Model's batch....

Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale

Brain Freeze Rauchbier (Batch 397)

Even though I have 4 beers on tap, I feel like my beer inventory is pretty low. Every time I pour a beer, I think a keg is going to blow.

Apparently, my friend "Doc" hasn't brewed much this summer, and is in the same boat.

He proposed a plan to help with both our inventory issues, and it will allow us to catch up a little. We're planning on brewing together at Doc's Brewery soon-ish.

More on that later.

Still, I wanted to get a brew day in before we get together. I actually wanted to get an appropriate lager on tap for Oktoberfest season.

If you read, Roll-a-Style 10: 6B. Rauchbier, you knew this was coming .... on Sunday I brewed:

Brain Freeze Rauchbier

PBR vs. PBR

If you follow along on this blog, you likely remember that I screwed up the Potato Beer.

I won't go into details ... if you need a reminder you can check out the I screwed up the Potato Beer link. For now, I'll just say SheppyBrew's Potato Barley Rye (PBR) is a bit salty.

It isn't completely undrinkable, and I don't have a lot of HomeBrew "Inventory", so I still have the beer on tap.

K is for Steep Brewing LaKeside TiKi Bar

If you're following along on the A to Z Series of Posts, and read L is for Landlocked Ales, you know we skipped over "K".

It just so happened that there wasn't really anything close to our house on the Colorado Brewery Map & List that would really work for us.

But ... we had plans to stay up in the mountains over Labor Day weekend, and my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) came up with a fantastic idea.

We were staying up in Copper Mountain, which is a short down-hill bike ride down to Lake Dillon.

So, we brought our bikes, and on Saturday morning we headed down to visit ....

K is for Steep Brewing LaKeside TiKi Bar

3 Floyds Zombie Dust

So ... remember Zymurgy's Best Beers in America?

Zymurgy is the American Homebrewers Association's magazine. As a member, I continue to get it, but don't really get around to reading it much.

One of the issues I always looked forward to was their Best Beers in America lists. For awhile, I would look at the list, make my own list of beers I had never tried and then attempt to track them down to taste them.

I would share these on Sheppy's Blog: Zymurgy BBIA. The last time I posted an article mentioning the list was early 2015.

August Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

As you know if you follow this blog, I generally give a monthly update on my fitness / Strava goals. I'm sure no one besides myself really cares, but I figure sharing these publicly give me a little extra motivation because of the extra accountability.

Plus, from time to time I'll look at older updates just to see where I was in the past.

In previous years, my goals have been mostly around cycling, but starting this year, I've started running as well.

If you're interested, You can always track these workouts on Strava. 

So far, I'm tracking pretty well to my 2026 Fitness goals, although a couple of aches and pains (not quite injuries) do seem to be slowing me down a bit (at least on running).

L is for Landlocked Ales

If you've been paying attention to the A to Z Series of Posts, you might have noticed that we had to stretch a little for the past few letters.

The whole idea of A to Z is to help pick local breweries.

But ...

H is for Homegrown Tap and Dough is a pizza restaurant / tap room.

We just blatantly gave up and skipped the letter on I is for IDK.

We visited a beer bar on J is for Jake's Beer Bar.

My wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) came up with a great idea for "K", but we are actually going to come back to that one.

For now we're skipping ahead to "L". Big L. Little L. What begins with L?

L is for Landlocked Ales

2026 Tribute Day Photos

Here it is ... September already. 

As you know if you follow me at all, I'll be cycling 1,000 miles in September to help raise awareness and money to fight childhood cancer.

It is called the Great Cycle Challenge.

If you'd like to help out, head to my "Rider Page" at

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

If you follow me on Facebook, you might have seen me posting about "Tribute Day" on Wednesday, August 26.

Roll-a-Style 10: 6B. Rauchbier

The last time I did a Roll-a-Style post on this blog was Roll-a-Style 4: 9C. Baltic Porter back in February.

Yeah ... that was a long time ago.

So, it is probably worth a quick reminder: I created a list of BJCP beer styles that I've never brewed. When I want to decide which beer style to brew next, I originally rolled a virtual 20-sided online die, and brew the style that corresponds with the number that comes up.

Pretty simple, right?

After my 9C. Baltic Porter, I was down to 12 beer styles to brew, so I'm now using a 12 Sided Die.

It is close to Oktoberfest season, and I've unofficially declared this the "Year of the Lager". There is actually a style that fits Oktoberfest perfectly.

So .... I pretended to roll a 

GNorthside Gnome Cold IPA (Batch 396)

If you're new here, it will probably surprise you to know that I hate Gnomes. 

Well ... that isn't technically true. I don't HATE them. It would be much more accurate to say that Gnomes absolutely terrify me.

It creeps me out the way these little creatures sneak around causing mischief. The way they pretend to act like real people is unnatural. Their little voices send chills down my spine. Oddly enough, leprechauns and tommyknockers don't bother me. I can't completely put my finger on what it is, but something about gnomes are completely frightening. Quite often when I see several gnomes together, I scream like a little girl.

I can't help it, they freak me out. My wife has a similar issue with spiders. It certainly doesn't help that the use an unnecessary "G" in their name. Uggggg.

Chatfield SUP Photos

We went Paddle Boarding on Chatfield Reservoir again on Saturday.

This is the second time using the Akaso Brave 7 LE Action Camera. I think its supposed to be more of a video camera ... but I've yet to really take a video worth saving.

Oh Well.

One of us fell in. Sadly, it wasn't me.

Colorado is in a drought and Chatfield Reservoir is certainly showing that we need lots more rain than we've been getting. 

I'm really hoping for more snow this winter, and any rain we get between now and then is very welcome.

But, even with the low water level on the lake, it is always fun to get out there and paddle around.

Here are some pictures ...

J is for Jake's Beer Bar

If you're following along on the A to Z Series, you probably know we're in a tough section of the alphabet.

Round 7 started out nicely. A, B, C, D, F and G all had local breweries that started with the respective letters. E was a little stretch, but not bad at all.

On H is for Homegrown Tap and Dough, we picked a local Tap Room and Pizza Place rather than a brewery.

We totally punted on "I" with I is for IDK.

"J" was another letter that didn't really have any good choices on the Colorado Brewery Map & List, but I thought there was a good downtown Littleton Beer Bar we could slot into this spot.

J is for Jake's Beer Bar

I is for IDK

As you know if you follow along on the A to Z Breweries series of articles, we've decided to continue on with Round 7. 

If you're not familiar ... back in February of 2015, I was embarrassed by how few Denver Breweries that I had visited.

I decided to make an effort to hit more of them, and worked my way from A to Z, hitting a brewery for every letter.

At the end of Round 6, I mentioned that I wasn't sure we' really do a Round 7, because it is becoming more and more difficult to tie each letter to a Denver-area brewery.

So far, through the letter "H", we've actually been pretty solid on picking breweries (or at least a tap house) for the corresponding letter.

But, as I mentioned in H is for Homegrown Tap and Dough, "I" has been a challenging letter for us throughout this little project, and the Colorado Brewery Map & List doesn't really have any local choices that actually start with "I". I actually had no idea what we'll do.

I is for IDK

I screwed up the Potato Beer

If you follow along on this blog and/or SheppyBrew Brewery, you know that I recently brewed Potato Barley Rye (PBR) ... Batch 395.

I thought it would be fun to brew a Potato Beer. 

The potatoes I used came in the form of Idahoan Real Premium Mashed Potatoes, which is basically flaked potato. Add water and you get mashed potatoes.

I checked to make sure that the box said "no added flavorings" and no extra fats. 

The thing I guess I didn't notice on the nutrition facts is that each serving has quite a bit of sodium in it. WAY more than brewing salts I'd ever add to a batch of beer.

SheppyBrew – Potato Barley Rye (PBR)

Brewery: SheppyBrew
Style: Potato Beer ABV: 6.9%  IBU: 32  SRM: 4.4

Appearance

Pale gold with a faint amber glint from the rye. A tight, creamy head lingers like mashed potatoes whipped to perfection. Brilliant clarity despite the starchy origins — proof that tubers can sparkle.

Aroma

Earthy and rustic up front, with soft grain sweetness and a whisper of rye spice. A subtle floral hop note floats above a baked‑potato warmth. It smells like a harvest table in late autumn.

Wild vs Spotted Cow

If you read Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch (Batch 394), you know that I designed Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch as a tribute to New Glarus Spotted Cow back in 2020.

As I don't live in Wisconsin, though, my memory of Spotted Cow was sort of fuzzy. My brain had Spotted Cow as a darker beer than it actually was, and the original version didn't look anything like Spotted Cow.

I have family in Wisconsin and since 2020, I've had the opportunity to drink and study Spotted Cow a bit more, and I modified the Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch (Batch 394) recipe to at least look a little closer.

This past weekend, I had an opportunity to try the beers side-by-side.

Potato Barley Rye (PBR) ... Batch 395

I brewed a batch of beer last week, only my 9th of the year, but the 2nd brew this month.

I'm still way behind my usual brewing volume, and tracking to be one of the least-amounts brewed in any year since I started.

At this point, I'm thinking it is unlikely I'll catch up to my "normal" amount this year ... but I guess we'll have to see.

Currently, I have 4 beers "on-tap", which is my maximum, but 3 out of my 4 kegs are very close to being empty.

So ... I may need to brew a few more batches soon.

Anyway ... the beer I brewed last week is an interesting experiment (interesting to me) ....

Potato Barley Rye (PBR)

SheppyBrew Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch

Brewery: SheppyBrew Style: Cow Beer ABV: 4.7% IBU: 23 SRM: 6.4

Appearance

Pale golden with a faint amber hue from the touch of specialty malt. A dense, creamy white head crowns the glass and lingers like a milk mustache on a happy cow. Brilliant clarity shows off the beer’s clean fermentation and careful conditioning.

Aroma

Soft grain sweetness and a whisper of corn mingle with light floral hops. There’s a subtle fruity note — pear and apple from the Kölsch yeast — balanced by a rustic, countryside freshness that evokes barns, fields, and gnomes laughing over pints.

July Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

As you know if you follow this blog, I generally give a monthly update on my fitness / Strava goals. I'm sure no one besides myself really cares, but I figure sharing these publicly give me a little extra motivation because of the extra accountability.

Plus, from time to time I'll look at older updates just to see where I was in the past.

In previous years, my goals have been mostly around cycling, but starting this year, I've started running as well.

If you're interested, You can always track these workouts on Strava. 

So far, I'm tracking pretty well to my 2026 Fitness goals, although a couple of aches and pains (not quite injuries) do seem to be slowing me down a bit (at least on running).

More SUP Photos

So ... something happened during the Chatfield SUP Photos that made me think it probably isn't a great idea to bring my phone out on the lake to take photos.

I won't go into details, but you can probably imagine reasons a phone on a Stand-up-Paddle-Board is not a good idea.

You might even think it odd that it took me as long as it did for me to realize something so obvious.

After some research ... I decided to purchase an Akaso Brave 7 LE Action Camera, which has a waterproof case.

In addition to being less expensive and more water proof than my phone, it is also something that allows the wife to be able to take photos as well.

You may have noticed (or maybe not) that most of our SUP trips have very few photos of me and tons of her.

H is for Homegrown Tap and Dough

As I mentioned in G is for Green Mountain Beer Company, Round 7 of the A to Z Breweries series has been going fairly smooth.

A, B, C, D, F and G all had local breweries that started with the respective letters. E was a little stretch, but not bad at all.

But ... now we are up to "H", and the Colorado Brewery Map & List didn't really have any options that we had not already used.

Last Friday was a date night for me and the wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model), and there is a Littleton restaurant / "tap house" we had not been to in awhile that just happens to start with the letter "H".

So ... I decided to use it as our H A to Z "brewery".

H is for Homegrown Tap and Dough

G is for Green Mountain Beer Company

As you know if you follow along on the A to Z Breweries series of articles, we've decided to continue on with Round 7. 

At the end of Round 6, I mentioned that I wasn't sure we' really do a Round 7, because it is becoming more and more difficult to tie each letter to a Denver-area brewery.

But, honestly so far, this doesn't seem to be the case. In fact, we are doing better so far this round than we did last round.

Regardless, we'll continue on. Eventually we'll come across some challenges, but we'll figure something out.

After F is for Full Frame Beer, we're now up to "G", and as luck would have it there is an obvious choice for us on the Colorado Brewery Map & List.

G is for Green Mountain Beer Company

Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch (Batch 394)

I brewed a couple Sundays ago for the first time since Bad Lands Kölsch (Batch 393).

Over a month between brew days. I'm still "on pace" for less than 75 gallons of beer, which would be the least amount of beer I've ever brewed in a year since 2009, the first year I brewed.

And ... back then I only did 2.5 gallon batches, so even though the volume was less, the number of batches would have been much higher that year.

Oh well! My beer supply isn't in danger of running out. 

Anyway ... as I mentioned in Bad Lands Kölsch vs. Spotted Cow, I recently traveled to Wisconsin, and picked up some Spotted Cow.

Back in 2020, I came up with a "tribute" recipe to Spotted Cow, but didn't have any to compare the two beers to.

I thought now would be a perfect opportunity to re-brew ...

Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch

Chatfield SUP Photos

If you read Pork Belly Burnt Ends, you probably knew this was coming ...

On Saturday, we took our Paddle Boards out on Chatfield Lake.

We had an extremely dry winter, and as a result, Chatfield Lake is much lower than any previous SUP trip.

But ... it is a big lake, so there are still plenty of room to paddle around.

So ... we packed a lunch along with a few beers and headed out to the lake.

Here are some photos of the Beer Model and me out on the lake Saturday ...

Pork Belly Burnt Ends

So ... it has only been fairly recent that I've been able to get Pork Belly at my local Sam's Club, which is where I buy most of my BBQ meat.

And in mid-June I finally attempted Pork Belly Burnt Ends.

They turned out delicious, but I didn't give myself enough time really, so they were not as tender as they could have been.

Saturday, I decided to try Pork Belly Burnt Ends again ... with a couple of little modifications ...

My kids are both away, so it is just me and the wife. I therefore only used half a Pork Belly.

A Brunette and Three Blonds

Those of you who have visited SheppyBrew Brewery generally have the opportunity to try a flight of beers we have on tap at the time.

It gives you a quick way to decide which beer(s) you might be interested in.

Every so often, I'll pour myself a flight and spend some time considering the beers I have.

Even though in 4th of July Steak and Corn, I listed and described the beers I have on tap, the Gnomes and I poured a flight to share.

4th of July Steak and Corn

For our 4th of July grilling, we took advantage of our grocery store's holiday sales on Ribeye Steak and Corn-on-the-Cob.

Both of these are things I feel like I have not perfected grilling.

My main issue with steak is that I hardly ever am able to consistently get them to the right temperature before searing. There is always one or two that cooks faster.

So, either one or two are over-done or one or two are under-done.

But ... Ribeyes are fairly forgiving even if cooked a little long, so I always make it work.

For corn, I'm just never sure how the best way to cook them is. Should I remove the husks and cook indirect? Should I remove the husks and cook them direct? Should I leave the husks on and when I do, should I cook them over the fire or off?

F is for Full Frame Beer

As you know if you follow along on the A to Z Breweries series of articles, we've decided to continue on with Round 7. 

If you're not familiar ... back in February of 2015, I was embarrassed by how few Denver Breweries that I had visited.

I decided to make an effort to hit more of them, and worked my way from A to Z, hitting a brewery for every letter.

dEnver bEEr Company - littlEton is the first post this round that we had to "take artistic license" on our letter.

Now, it is time for "F" and as luck would have it, the Colorado Brewery Map & List had an "F" brewery in Denver, an easy bike ride from our house in Littleton.

F is for Full Frame Beer

2026 Q2 SheppyBrew Stats

July! It is already July, which means it is time to report on the "Brewing Stats" for Q2 of the SheppyBrew Home Brewery.

If you read my Q1 report, you know that I was on track to brew the least amount of beer ever in 2026.

While, I did brew a little more in Q2, I didn't speed up very much. After brewing only 3 batches of beer in Q1, I brewed only 4 in Q2.

I'm no longer on track to brew the least amount of beer I've ever done in a year, but I'm certainly on track to be down to the 2nd or 3rd least amount.

Chelsea Dagger Pre-Prohibition Lager

Bad Lands Kölsch vs. Spotted Cow

This past week, we visited family in Wisconsin, home of New Glarus Spotted Cow. New Glarus does not distribute its beer outside of the Wisconsin boarders, and I decided to pick up some Spotted Cow and bring it back to my home brewery to compare to my Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch, which I plan to brew soon. 

I'm the meantime, my Bad Lands Kölsch is on tap, and Thursday I decided to compare it to the Spotted Cow. 

June Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

As you know if you follow this blog, I generally give a monthly update on my fitness / Strava goals. I'm sure no one besides myself really cares, but I figure sharing these publicly give me a little extra motivation because of the extra accountability.

Plus, from time to time I'll look at older updates just to see where I was in the past.

In previous years, my goals have been mostly around cycling, but starting this year, I've started running as well.

If you're interested, You can always track these workouts on Strava. 

So far, I'm tracking pretty well to my 2026 Fitness goals, although a couple of aches and pains (not quite injuries) do seem to be slowing me down a bit (at least on running).

Ground Hog Premium Lager

Brewery: SheppyBrew
Style: Czech Premium Pale Lager
ABV: 5.0%
IBU: 38
SRM: 3.7

Appearance

A brilliantly clear pale‑gold lager with a soft straw hue and a tight, persistent white head. The foam forms a fine, creamy cap that lingers as a thin lace down the glass. Bright carbonation streams upward in steady, lively columns, giving the beer a crisp, polished look that immediately signals refreshment.

Aroma

Clean, elegant malt leads the way — lightly bready, faintly sweet, and reminiscent of fresh‑cracked grain. A subtle floral‑herbal hop note rises behind it, offering a gentle Saaz‑like spice without dominating. Fermentation character is impeccably clean: no esters, no sulfur, just a classic lager profile with a soft, inviting malt presence.

2026 Fathers' Day Camping at Turquois Lake

This past Sunday was Father's Day, and my wife and kids took me camping.

For quite awhile, our family tradition has been to go camping on Father's Day weekend.

On this blog, you can go all the way back to 2011 Father's Day Weekend to see photos of us camping.

Back then, the kids were pretty small. They are not small anymore. In fact, this year all four of us were drinking alcohol beverages around the camp fire.

I'm not sure how much longer this tradition will continue, but I was lucky enough to have it go at least this year.

This year, like a couple of previous years, we camped just West of Leadville close to Turquois Lake.

Pork Belly Burnt Ends

So ... I've tried making "Burnt Ends" a couple times, but not really in what I would consider a "traditional" way.

And ... it has been quite awhile.

I tried Pork Butt Burnt Ends a couple years ago, and "Poor Man Burnt Ends" made from a Chuck Roast a little later.

It could be just me, but when I think "Burnt Ends", I think it should be made from a Brisket point or Pork Belly.

Part of the reason I've never done them is my Sam's Club didn't sell Pork Belly for quite awhile. But, recently I started seeing it there. Last time I was there, I picked a 5.88 lb. Pork Belly.

And ... about a week ago I used it to make Pork Belly Burnt Ends.

E is for dEnver bEEr Company - littlEton

As you know if you follow along on the A to Z Breweries series of articles, we've decided to continue on with Round 7. 

You also know that we will have to take quite a bit of "artistic license" as we go through the alphabet.

We were not able to find local breweries that begin with all the letters in Round 6, and of course this round has even less breweries to choose from.

I thought we'd have to relax our rules quite a bit, but honestly I'm not sure we even have rules.

So far, we've found breweries for A through D and as I mentioned in D is for Dry Dock Pub, "E" was the first (somewhat) challenging letter for us.

Last Saturday, my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) told me she wanted to ride bikes to downtown Littleton to go to a shop or two, and thought we could do lunch at ...

E is for dEnver bEEr Company - littlEton

Bad Lands Kölsch (Batch 393)

If you read Ground Hog Premium Lager (Batch 392), you know I brewed last Saturday.

My wife was out of town on a "girls trip" for the weekend, so I had extra time on my hands.

With this extra time, I decided to brew Sunday also.

This should help get my beer inventory up. It actually also helps catch me up a little on tracking to a typical brewing year.

For this Sunday batch, after cleaning up the Ground Hog Premium Lager brew day, I prepared water etc... and a little later in the evening, I started an overnight mash.

For ...

Bad Lands Kölsch

Ground Hog Premium Lager (Batch 392)

I brewed this past weekend.

If you read and remember 2026 Q1 SheppyBrew Stats, you know that this year has been slow in regards to brewing.

Since Q1, before this past weekend I'd only brewed Chelsea Dagger Pre-Prohibition Lager (Batch 390) and Where'd My ManGo Wheat (Batch 391), so I really have not been catching up with my normal brewing cadence.

I was on track for the least amount of beer I've homebrewed since 2009. Back then I was doing 2.5 gallon batches.

But, I took advantage of the opportunity to brew Saturday ...

Ground Hog Premium Lager