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.
Well ... as I'm typing this, I'm not 100% sure I'm done brewing in 2024, but I think I am.
So ... I'll go ahead and type up the draft of my 2024 Brewing Stats. And when you're reading this, you probably won't know if I ended up brewing again or not because it will no longer be a draft and I will have updated based on the (potentially) last brew of the year.
Anyway ... in the 4th quarter of 2024, I brewed 5 batches of beer:
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| Will-o'-Wisp Autumn Ale (no pumpkin) |
Through a series of blog posts, I've discovered / acknowledged that I had not brewed whole categories in the 2021 Style Guidelines (see BJCP 2021 Style Guidelines, I lied, and 2021 BCJP Styles to Brew).
Since then, I've covered all the categories (or at least I'm pretty sure I have now) ...
And .... at some point, I decided to not only try to get every category covered, but work through all the styles (at least the ones that I'm interested in drinking)
I even came up with a "Roll-a-Style" concept to give me help deciding which style to brew.
At the end of last year, I posted 2023 Update on the 2021 BJCP Goal. I thought I'd post another update at the end of 2024.
Here is that post ...
In 2024, I've only reduced my Roll-a-Style list by 5 beer styles. Instead, I concentrated on 2024 Seasonals.
In 2025, I'm planning on hitting the Roll-a-Style list harder. My unofficial goal is 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've been rolling).
Keep an eye on Sheppy's Blog: Roll-a-Style, and you'll be able to follow along how I'm doing.
As I mentioned on Tafel Mystère Belgian Single (Batch 367), I had some Pack o' Hooligans Stout on my last brew day, but wanted to give it it's own blog post.
As you probably know if you've been following along, Pack o' Hooligans is my Roll-a-Style beer for the BJCP Style 16A. Sweet Stout.
Now, when I think of "Sweet Stout", my mind goes to Left Hand Milk Stout as the defining commercial example.
I'm fairly lucky to be able to get Left Hand Milk Stout anytime I want and decided to compare Pack o' Hooligans Stout vs Left Hand Milk Stout.
I tried the two beers together last Saturday.
Appearance:
Pours a deep, opaque black with a thick, creamy tan head that lingers gracefully. The luscious body exudes the look of a classic stout, promising a rich experience.
Learn to Homebrew Day is coming up on the first Saturday of November. At this point, I'm planning on getting together with my brewing buddies Du and Doc, but I'm not sure if this will be a travel brew day or if I'll end up hosting.
Anyway ... I was recently thinking about what I'd brew, and came across a recipe in Beer Smith that I developed at some point.
Pack o' Hooligans Stout is actually a 16A Sweet Stout. At some point I must have gone to my Roll-a-Style list and "rolled" 14 on an online 20-sided die ...
