"Dry January" Beers

I don't really believe in "Dry January" in the same way I don't really believe in New Year resolutions.

I don't understand why if you want to make a change on yourself you would wait until January. If you want to make a change, do it when you identify the change you want to make.

 

SheppyBrew 2025 Year End Brewing Stats

Here it is, 2026 already. It is crazy how fast the year flew by.

If you follow along on this blog at all, you probably know that after each quarter, I "report" my SheppyBrew Brewing Stats.

And, now it is time for me to report on the SheppyBrew 2025 Year End Brewing Stats.

So ... in the 4th quarter of 2025, I brewed 5 batches of beer:

• Gnomeberry Hollow Cherry Porter
• Tafel Mystère Belgian Single
• X-Mas Ale 2025
• Yoker Belgian Tripel 
• Skadoosh Blond Ale

This puts me exactly where I was last year. I brewed 19 batches of beer for 95 gallons for the year. Another year at less than 100 gallons of beer.

Gnomeberry Hollow Cherry Porter

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