X-Mas Ham

When I asked my kids what they wanted for Christmas dinner this year, my eldest said "ham".

While ham is not my favorite holiday food, I aim to please, so I went ahead and decided to do my "typical" Double Smoked Ham.

My wife got the standard spiral cut ham, around 10lbs.

On Christmas morning I made a glaze / sauce with a coke base and various spices. 

I also made a brown-sugar based "rub".

I placed the ham in a cooking pan, and then poured about half the glaze over the ham, and sprinkled the rub over it.

12 Beers Of Christmas

Way back in 2020, I did a little blog series ... The 25 Beers of December. For the first 25 days of December that year, I drank and took a picture of a different beer. It was sort of an Advent calendar of beers.

For some reason ... my little 12 5k's of December made me think about this little project. I didn't think of it soon enough to do exactly the same thing, but I thought a "12 Beers Of Christmas" might be sort of fun.

On Sunday, December 14, I pulled a pint of Wrexham Lager out of my beer fridge. This is apparently a 140 year old recipe, brewed in 1882 when two German immigrants set forth to brew in the UK. It is nicely session able at 4.0% ABV. Crisp, clean, and "iconic". Subtly hopped, light and refreshing.

Wrexham Lager

🍺Skadoosh Blond Ale

Style: American Blond Ale Brewer: SheppyBrew ABV: 4.6% IBU: 26 SRM: 5

👀 Appearance

A pale golden hue with a soft, bready glow. The beer pours with a modest white head that lingers just enough to leave a delicate lace on the glass. Its clarity is bright and inviting, a beacon of simplicity in the pint.

👃 Aroma

Gentle notes of fresh bread and light malt sweetness rise first, followed by a subtle floral touch from Cascade and Saaz hops. There’s a whisper of rye spice underneath, adding intrigue without overwhelming the nose.

Skadoosh Blond Ale (Batch 386)

I brewed some beer a couple Sundays ago. 12/12/2025.

If I'm counting correctly, this is my 19th batch of 2025, putting me at 95 gallons brewed this year.

It's the 386th batch of beer I've ever brewed. 

It is a new recipe, my 15th new one of the year and 346th unique recipe I've brewed.

I actually have quite a lot of beer inventory, but I have family coming to visit around Christmas and the beers I have are not really beer-flavored-yellow-beer-drinker-friendly styles.

And ... at least one of the people visiting is/are beer-flavored-yellow-beer-drinker(s).

So ... I came up with a simple blond ale recipe to (hopefully) be ready to go by Christmas.

Skadoosh Blond Ale

X‑Mas Ale 2025

Style: English Barleywine
Brewer: SheppyBrew
ABV: 8.0%
IBU: 36
SRM: 14 (deep amber)

Appearance 👀

Pours a glowing copper‑amber with ruby highlights at the edges. A modest off‑white head forms, then quickly settles into a thin lace that clings to the glass. The body is clear yet rich, catching the light like stained glass in a winter chapel.

Aroma 👃

Sweet malt dominates—caramel, toffee, and biscuit—with undertones of dried fruit (fig, raisin, plum). A gentle waft of English hops adds earthy spice and a touch of floral character. There’s a warming alcohol note, subtle but inviting, like brandy by the fire.

P is for Platt Park Brewing Co

So ... after several months of delay in the A to Z Series of posts, we are trying to get back on track.

I posted O is for Odell Brewing 5 Points just a week ago and now we're doing another one today.

If you follow along on this blog ... you likely know what this is all about ... but ... in case you are new here or just forgot ...

Back in February of 2015, I was embarrassed by the huge number of Denver Breweries that I had never visited.

I decided to make an effort to hit more of them.

As I started to look at the list, it struck me that I could go down the list alphabetically and find Denver-area breweries that started with just about every letter.

I went through the alphabet once, and then even decided to keep going ... I now on Round 6 up to the letter "P" ...

P is for Platt Park Brewing Co

2025 Update on the BJCP Goal

If you follow this blog, you know I've renewed my old BJCP Goal.

My original BJCP Goal was to make sure I've brewed beers in every category of the BJCP Style Guidelines. I've now covered all the categories, and have decided to work through all the styles (although there are some I will probably skip).

I even came up with a "Roll-a-Style" concept to give me help deciding which style to brew.

At the end of 2023, I posted 2023 Update on the 2021 BJCP Goal and last year, I posted 2024 Update on the 2021 BJCP Goal.

And, now I decided I'm not going to brew any more new styles in 2025, so I'm doing another similar post for 2025. (Can you believe 2025 is almost over? I can't)

At the beginning of 2025, I planned on hitting the Roll-a-Style list harder. My unofficial goal was to reduce the list enough that I'll be rolling a 12 sided die by the end of the year (as opposed to the 20 sided die I had been rolling).

My Roll-a-Style list has 13 beer styles on it, so I could probably switch to a 12-sided die. I suspect I'll end up picking my next one instead of rolling. Then, I'll switch the list to 12. 

I actually don't think I'll do as many of these Roll-a-Style beers in 2026.

Keep an eye on Sheppy's Blog: Roll-a-Style, and you'll be able to continue to follow along how I'm doing.