R is for Reverence Brewing Company

It has been quite awhile since we did anything with the A to Z series of posts.

Q is for Smokin' Bones BBQ went "live" in May for goodness sake.

Training for the Triple Bypass and some family commitments really didn't leave much time to spend much time in the Denver low-lands.

But, this past weekend we decided to move on to the next brewery.

After Q is for Smokin' Bones BBQ, we needed an "R" brewery, and according to Colorado Brewery Map & List, we had quite a few to choose from.

Eventually, after weighing pro's and con's of different "R" breweries, we decided on a bike ride to:

R is for Reverence Brewing Company

July Chatfield Kayak / SUP Photos

After my Triple Bypass Ride the weekend before, last weekend I thought we should do something that my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) wanted to do.

She picked Paddle Boarding / Kayaking (her Paddle Boarding, me Kayaking).

The most convenient place for us to do that by our house is Chatfield Reservoir State Park.

So ... last Saturday,  we packed up our personal watercraft and related equipment and headed over to the lake.

It was a real nice day ... warm, but not too hot, and although there were thunderstorms in the forecast, we never saw a cloud in the sky.

It was fun. Here are some pictures from the day on the lake:

Pork Butt Burnt Ends

Remember that in Pork Butt Steaks, I cut about half of a pork butt into steaks.

The other half, I vacuum sealed and froze for a future meal.

On the same day I did 2024 Hail Storm Summer Saison (batch 359), I cooked that other half.

I decided to cut the meat into cubes and do Pork Butt Burnt Ends.

A Pork Butt isn't a real common cut to make Burnt Ends. Usually, you hear about them made with the point of a brisket. 

or ... 

Sometimes people use the pork belly cut for burnt ends.

2024 Hail Storm Summer Saison (batch 359)

So ... I brewed Sunday. I almost didn't, but I decided to go ahead and get it done.

I placed an order at one of my favorite Homebrew Shops on Friday expecting that I'd pick up the ingredients on Saturday, but various family activities made it so I never made it.

So, as of the morning of Sunday, I didn't have my malts.

If you follow this blog, you know that I usually get started brewing early in the morning, and for awhile I was thinking I'd get the malts sometime Sunday and then just wait until next weekend to brew.

But ... something made me decide to go ahead and brew. This is actually the first beer that I've brewed since Q2.

Hail Storm Summer Saison

Triple Bypass Ride

If you've been following along on this blog, or my social media pages, you probably know that I have been training for the Triple Bypass Ride.

118 miles, climbing 10,800 feet over 3 Colorado passes.

This past Saturday was the day, and I was able to complete the ride.

In fact, I was able to complete it much faster than I thought that I'd be able to do it.

This being my first time attempting any organized ride, let alone one so long, I wasn't sure how to pack. I wasn't sure if I'd want my camelbak, or if I'd be able to just use water bottles, filling up at the aid stations.

I also wasn't sure how much food to bring, or how to pack for unexpected weather.

Pork Butt Steaks

I've been wanting Pork Steaks recently, and therefore looking to buy them.

For whatever reason, my Sam's club hasn't had them when I looked, and my wife didn't see any at our grocery store when I asked her to look last time she was there.

Some time ago I saw a youtube video where someone (I don't remember which channel this was on) removed the bone from a port butt.

Since I wasn't finding pre-cut pork steaks, I thought I could simply make steaks out of a pork butt.

So ... I got a pork butt from Sam's and cut it up this past Tuesday.

Early in the morning, I cut the bone out of the shoulder. It went pretty good, but I am sure with more experience I'd be better at this process.

June #7100MilesIn2024 Progress

If you've been following along on this blog (or various social media outlets), you might have seen that I'm Training for Triple Bypass.

On July 13th, which is fast approaching, I am riding 118 miles with about 10,800 feet elevation gain.

So ... I've been working on doing long climbs on the bike, and as a result, I've rocketed ahead of my  #11EverestsIn2024 goal. In fact, I'm on track to blow away 12 Everests for the year.

I'm just about right on track for the #7100MilesIn2024 goal as well.

In June, I only logged 596 miles, but I did get almost 39,000 feet climbed. Both those totals are down from May.

Nargles American Porter

Venture into the Colorado mountains, where the air is crisp and the pines reach for the heavens, and you may stumble upon a scene from a fable. Here, in the secluded tranquility, Nargels American Porter is not merely a beverage; it’s the centerpiece of an extraordinary gathering. Imagine a clearing, where the gnomes of the highlands convene with the elusive Nargles, their laughter echoing through the thicket.

2024 Q2 SheppyBrew Stats

It is already July, which means the 2nd Quarter of 2024 is done. We can report on the Q2 SheppyBrew Brewing Stats. 

When it comes right down to it, I'm sure no one besides myself really cares, but I like to look back on these posts to see how much I've brewed and what I was planning on brewing at certain points of the year.

As I've been saying, I expect that I'll brew less beer this year than I have for the past several years, and so far it does look like I'm tracking for a lower volume than 2023.

In this quarter, I've brewed 5 batches of beer:

• Melting Stream Spring Saison 
• Helles in a Hand Bock-sket 
• Clan DunBroch Scottish Ale 
• Summer Lovin' American Wheat 
• Nargles American Porter 

This 5 batches of beer resulted in 25 gallons, putting me right at a total of 50 gallons half way through the year.

Littleton to Silver Plume

If you've been following along on Sheppy's Blog: Triple Bypass and/or SheppyBrew Facebook and/or SheppyBrew Instagram and/or my Strava profile, you know that I signed up for the Triple Bypass Ride.

FYI ... the Triple Bypass Ride is a bike ride. I am not signing up for heart surgery.

I've been a little surprised how many people thought I was having surgery.

Anyway ... this past weekend, I did another "training ride". 

Littleton to Silver Plume was 6:05 hours of riding time, and a total of 73 miles with 8,458 feet elevation gain.

My unofficial target for the Triple Bypass is to finish the 118 miles and 10,800 feet climbed in 10 hours. The rides I've done give me confidence that I'll be able to do that.

Summer Lovin' American Wheat

Step into a world where fantasy and flavor intertwine with Summer Lovin' American Wheat, a beer that's as enchanting as the meadow it's brewed in. This American Wheat beer, with its **5.5% ABV** and **22 IBU**, is a testament to the art of brewing, crafted by the gorgeous SheppyBrew Beer Model whose passion for beer is as deep as the mountain roots.

In this idyllic setting, surrounded by the majesty of towering peaks, she works alongside a troupe of helpful gnomes, each adding a touch of magic to the brew. The gnomes, known for their brewing prowess, carefully select the finest **Pale and Wheat malts**, blending them to perfection.

Juneteenth Brew Day

I keep forgetting that Juneteenth is a holiday that I get off work.

It always comes as a pleasant surprise when I see it on my calendar. This year, it popped up on Wednesday of this week.

I've been running low on what I had on tap, and so I decided to brew Wednesday.

Summer Lovin' American Wheat (Batch 357) was also ready to keg, so I was able to clear out that fermenter as well.

If you follow along on this blog, you might have caught that I had another Roll-a-style beer coming up ... Roll-a-Style 20 ... 20A. American Porter.

I brewed a slightly modified recipe from that post:

Nargles American Porter

Workday Pork Butt

My oldest son graduated from college this past weekend.

It is sort of hard to believe I'm old enough to have a kid this old .... but ... anyway ...

We had some family in town to help celebrate, and my wife thought I should cook on Friday when the family was going to be arriving.

It was a work day for me, but I decided to smoke a Pork Butt.

Generally, it takes me about 8 hours to smoke a Pork Butt on my Weber Kettle.

Since I work at home, and making pulled pork is mostly just waiting for the pork to slowly cook, it was a very do-able activity while doing my job.

I pretty much had the butt seasoned and the Weber Kettle going by 6:30 AM.

Cold Brewed French Press Coffee

You may remember that I got a French Press for Christmas this past year.

I drink a lot of coffee, and most of it comes out of the Keurig, but I usually use the French Press when I feel like I have a few extra minutes to make coffee in a more "relaxed" manner.

To be honest, I'm not sure the French Press is actually that much more time consuming than the Keurig.

Anyway ... in the French Press post, I intended to do a few more blog posts on it. Until today, I have not really done that but ...

 

Summer Lovin' American Wheat (Batch 357)

I don't know about where you live, but here it is starting to feel quite a bit like summer. I've had to fire up the air conditioning a few times already.

Although I drink just about any beer style at any time of year, there are a few beers that I would consider summer beers.

One of these beers is my "June Seasonal": Summer Lovin' American Wheat.

It honestly doesn't have to be consumed in summer, but it certainly doesn't suck in beautiful warm weather.

This is one of the SheppyBrew Beer Model's favorite beers, and therefore, it is one of my most brewed beers.

I like it too, but she really really really likes it. I think that when we brewed Alex's GPT, what she really wanted was 

Summer Lovin' American Wheat

More Training for Triple Bypass

If you follow the SheppyBrew Facebook and / or Instagram pages, you might have noticed that I rode a long bike ride on Saturday.

Another "training ride" for the Triple Bypass that I'll be riding in mid-July.

I started at my house in Littleton, Colorado at around 5am and went over Juniper Pass, down into Idaho Springs and then up to Cabin Creek Brewing in Georgetown.

The ride was over 64 miles and I climbed over 7,400 feet of elevation.

My wife was kind enough to meet me at Cabin Creek so I didn't have to ride all the way back home. 

Since this ride was over 100 km, it extended my #MetricCenturyEveryMonth to 35 straight months. 

Roll-a-Style 20 ... 20A. American Porter

After Roll-a-Style 11 ... 14C. Scottish Export, I couldn't help myself ... I wanted to Roll-a-Style beer.

In case you are not familiar with the concept ... I made a list of BJCP Styles that I've never brewed, and assigned them to the numbers 1 - 20. When I want to brew, but am not sure what style to go after, I "roll" an online 20-sided die. Whatever number I roll is the style of beer I brew next.

I rolled a:

According to my most recent list, "20" corresponded to the BJCP Style 20A. American Porter.

A malty, bitter, and often somewhat hoppy dark beer with a balanced, roasted, and frequently chocolatey character.

May #7100MilesIn2024 Progress

If you've been following along on this blog (or various social media outlets), you might have seen that I'm Training for Triple Bypass.

On July 13th, which is fast approaching, I am riding 118 miles with about 10,800 feet elevation gain.

Considering how many Century Rides I've done in the Denver area, 118 miles doesn't concern me at all.

10,800 feet climbing was a little bit of a concern because I had never done anything close to that in one day.

So, after my April #7100MilesIn2024 Progress post, I've been working on getting more long climbs in.

As a result, I've really made huge progress on my #7100MilesIn2024 goal, and even more progress on the #11EverestsIn2024 goal.

Helles in a Hand Bock-sket

In the shadow of the majestic Colorado foothills, where the Big Horn Sheep roam with a regal air, there existed a hidden grove known to few. This was the secret brewing haven of "Helles in a Hand Bock-sket," guarded by the most unlikely of allies: German Gnomes and the Big Horn Sheep.

The German Gnomes, no taller than a keg but as wise as the ancient oaks, were the master brewers' assistants. They wore tiny lederhosen, their beards braided with hops, and their hats adorned with the finest barley. Their laughter was like the tinkling of glass bottles, and their songs were hymns to the art of brewing.

Q is for Smokin' Bones BBQ

Big Q. Little Q. What begins with Q?

Nothing. 

As I mentioned in P is for Public Offering Brewing Company, according to the Colorado Brewery Map & List we have no breweries in the Denver Area that start with "Q".

We don't even have any brewery left with the letter Q in it.

In previous rounds of the A to Z series of posts, we have used Q is for Queen Bee Brews, Q is for LiQuid Mechanics Brewing Company, Q is for barQuentine Brewing Company, and Q is for Six Capital Brewing and BBQ.

There is a brewery in Fort Collins that we could potentially use, but I don't want to make that trip just to mark a brewery off this list. Maybe we can use that in round 6.

But ... I decided to do something different for Q this time ....

Q is for Smokin' Bones BBQ