V is for Vine Street Pub and Brewery

Ok

After a great end-of-the-year run in the A to Z Denver Breweries series, 2017 has been somewhat slow.

I did hit U is for Ursula Brewery in late January, and nothing since then. I was hoping to finish this whole thing up by now. Obviously that has not happened.

Wondering what the hell I'm talking about ... check out Sheppy's Blog: A to Z ... I think you'll be able to figure out the concept.

And ... so what comes after U?

V.

V comes after U.

Are you ready ....

V is for Vine Street Pub and Brewery

Spring Forward Hoppy Wheat

I have another Local Home Brew Shop (LHBS) by me. Broadway Brew Supply.

Sort of.

It is in the same spot as an old LHBS. The old one closed and someone new purchased the space and opened a new shop.

Last week, I decided to stop by and check out the new spot.

It is different. It has a smaller sales space, but it seems like they have everything I need.

As I wandered around, I decided to go ahead and get some supplies for a brew day. I sort of came up with the recipe "on the fly". For the most part, the grain bill was basically the same as Summer Lovin' American Wheat.

I didn't pick any hops until I was looking at the hop selection. Denali Hops caught my eye. I've never used Denali hops. I thought I might as well try them out, and I grabbed some of those. I also grabbed one of my favorite hops, Columbus.

After I got home, I plugged in the "new" recipe and called it ...

Spring Forward Hoppy Wheat

2nd Batch of Helles in a Hand Bock-sket

I've won blue-ribbons on two beers in my brewing "career".

One of these competition wins was in the "2013 Arapahoe County Fair Battle of the Homebrews" for Helles in a Hand Bock-sket.

It was my 5A. Maibock/Helles Bock beer for my goal to expand my brewed recipes to at least one beer in all 23 BJCP beer categories.

I remember thinking when I was drinking this beer originally (in May) how great I thought this beer was.

I told myself ...

"I bet this would do great in a competition."

A couple months later, I entered the beer. I won first place in my category and 2nd place "Best in Show".

Not bad.

Fermented Salsa

Lately, I've had a few blog posts about Fermented Food.

If you spent any time at all on this blog, you realize that I brew lots of beer. I've also tried my hand in Mead and Cider making.

I obviously am into fermenting beverages ... but I am also fascinated by the process of fermenting food.

Fascinated.

It sort of blows my mind that by introducing bacteria, a food transforms from something very perishable into something that can last longer term.

Also, the whole health aspect of probiotics is very interesting. I read all the time how healthy with little buggers are. I hope this is a real thing, because the amount of probiotics I eat is quite a lot.

I've been making Yogurt for about two years now. I make and eat a lot of that.

For almost two years, I've been fermenting my own homemade Sauerkraut and Jalapeno Kraut.

More recently, I shared that I made some Fermented Zucchini.

My kids have also expressed interest in making cheese, which I think would be fun to get into.

Ello Poppet!

I like hoppy beers.

My wife (aka The SheppyBrew Beer Model) tells me she doesn't like hoppy beers, but quite often when I brew a hoppy beer, she tells me that she really likes it.

What she really means is that she doesn't like real bitter beers. While bitterness comes from hops, many flavors and aromas also come from hops.

My wife isn't alone in this confusion between the words "hoppy" and "bitter" when it comes to beers. I think part of the problem is that here in America, the IPA has become so popular, and for quite awhile, brewers just concentrated on making these more and more bitter. I think at this point, the American hop profile: pine, citrus, tropical has a subconscious association with bitterness which may or may not be there.

Often, when other hops are used .. English or German hops for instance, people don't even associate the more floral smooth spicy flavors as hoppy.

Anyway ...

One of the hoppy beers I make that my wife really loves is ...

Ello Poppet Czech Pilsner

I bought a yogurt maker

I bought a Dash Greek Yogurt Maker.

About a year ago.

I got an Amazon gift certificate that Christmas and I decided to spend some it on a yogurt Maker.

Perhaps you remember that I had been making yogurt in a crockpot. You can read about my yogurt-making adventures at Sheppy's Blog: Yogurt.

I still do make homemade yogurt about once a week. But for the last year, I've been using a device intended for making yogurt.

When it comes right down to it, the yogurt "Maker" is really just an incubator with a couple of containers. It keeps milk warm while bacteria converts it to yogurt.

#SWMBO Wheat Brew Day

I brewed Sunday.

She Who Must Be Obeyed Wheat. ... aka SWMBO.

SWMBO came about in summer of 2013 because I needed to brew something for my wife's (aka The Beer Model ... aka SWMBO) side of the kegerator.

I felt like I wanted to brew a new recipe ... not one of the recipes I've brewed over and over and over for her. You can read more about the details on the Sheppy Brew SWMBO page, but I grabbed recipe elements from  Laser Salt, Buckwheat's BPA,  Ello Poppet. and Summer Lovin' Wheat.

As it turned out, it was a fantastic beer. It is one of those beers that both The Beer Model and I can enjoy.

So ... I brewed it Sunday. Sunday was sort of a busy day on our family calendar, and I screwed with my process just a little bit to fit things in.

I got the mash started before the sun came up. Nothing unusual about that.

U is for Ursula Brewery

Well ... you may remember that in November and December, I made a lot of progress on the the A to Z Denver Breweries series.

Since mid-November until late December, I moved from N is for New Terrain Brewing Company to T is for TRVE Brewing Company.

I even covered Q with Q is for Queen Bee Brews. When I started this project, I thought I'd never find anything for Q.

Wondering what the hell I'm talking about ... check out Sheppy's Blog: A to Z ... I think you'll be able to figure out the concept.

It is as simple as A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T.

And now ... What comes after "T"?

You guessed it ... "U".

U is for Ursula Brewery

Jalapeño Zucchini Sauerkraut

So, you may recall (see Fermented Zucchini) that I got this  Go Ferment! Fermenting Kit with a Christmas gift certificate.

As I mentioned, I had ingredients for Jalapeño Sauerkraut. I just needed another wide-mouth mason jar.

Sometime during the week, I got another wide-mouth mason jar (actually 4 of them). So, this past Sunday, I made up some of this Jalapeño Sauerkraut.

Just like the Fermented Zucchini, the recipe is super simple.

• One head of cabbage.
• Some Jalapeños (I got 5 I think).
• 2 tablespoons Sea Salt

Snowy Pictures up at Echo Lake

Winter means snow.

Snow means snowshoeing.

Snowshoeing usually means we go up to Echo Lake.

If you've followed this blog at all over the years, you've seen us at Echo Lake in the snow a bunch.... with and without snow shoes.

I guess we're boring that way.

We tend to do the same things over and over.

Anyway ... we went up there again this weekend.

Here are some more pictures of us in the snow up at Echo Lake ...

Fermented Zucchini

So ... I got a couple Amazon gift cards for Christmas.

One of the things I got with part of that money was a Go Ferment! Fermenting Kit. If you would like read up on these, you can check out the GoFerment Website.

Essentially, all this is a couple lids that can screw onto wide-mouth mason jars. Along with the lids are airlocks to allow fermentation gases to escape without allowing oxygen to get in.

Wide-mouth mason jars are not included, but you can get a bunch of those for a few bucks.

And the purpose of these simple little things ... to make fermented food.

So simple. It is one of those things you say to yourself ... "why didn't I think of that?"

Well, I didn't think of it. GoFerment did.

SheppyBrew 2016 Year-End Brewing Stats

As you may know, the Brewery likes to post quarterly updates on how much we have brewed. You can see all these updates (including the one you are reading right now) by following this link: Sheppy's Blog: Brew Stats.

Just as I started writing this blog post, I noticed that in 2016 Q3 SheppyBrew Stats, I said ...

"Q3 of 2016 at the SheppyBrew Brewery, we only brewed one batch of beer."

However, I wrote that before Q3 was over. I must have been thinking that September was part of Q4. So, I actually brewed a few more beers in Q3.

• Laser Salt Sandy Blonde Ale
• Blending Kölsch
• Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale
• Falling Leaves Autumn Saison

So, I lied to you. Sorry about that. Forgetting that September was part of Q3 transformed it from a light quarter to a pretty busy one.

The 2017 Arctic Vortex Winter Saison

It is that time of year again.

Winter. Snow. Arctic cold. Icy roads. Skiing. Snowshoeing. Sledding. Winter Saisons.

Yes ... Winter is time to brew SheppyBrew's Arctic Vortex Winter Saison.

Arctic Vortex was the first of my Seasonal Saisons. I decided to make it a Black Saison because I thought winter is the time when it is darkest longest.

I brewed it Sunday. This is the 4th time I've brewed this beer. For the most part it has stayed pretty much the same. I did include some simple sugars in the malt bill this time to help dry out the beer a little. We'll see what I think when I taste it.

This year, I did go back to WY3711 (aka the Real Super Yeast). The yeast I used last year did work out ok. I just tend to prefer 3711 both in flavor and in performance.

T is for TRVE Brewing Company

If you follow this blog regularly, you have probably noticed a lot of progress on the A to Z Denver Breweries series.

Since mid-November, I've moved from N is for New Terrain Brewing Company to S is for Spangalang Brewery.

I even covered Q with Q is for Queen Bee Brews. When I started this project, I thought I'd never find anything for Q.

Wondering what the hell I'm talking about ... check out Sheppy's Blog: A to Z ... I think you'll be able to figure out the concept.

It is as simple as A B C.

And now ... What comes after "S".

You guessed it ... "T".

T is for TRVE Brewing Company

So ... TRVE is actually a brewery I've been meaning to visit for a long time. Basically since they opened.

2016 X-Mas Ale Vertical Tasting Part 2

Well ... this is the continuation of 2016 X-Mas Ale Vertical Tasting post from yesterday.

If you want to refresh your memory, go ahead and read it. Go ahead ... I'll wait.

Every year, (since way back in 2009 when I started home-brewing) SheppyBrew brewery brews an X-Mas Ale.

Blah blah blah.

Usually, I save a 6-pack of bottles so that I'll be able to get them out and try older beers from year to year.

Blah blah blah.


You remember all that ... right?

So after last Sunday, I still had 3 more versions to taste this year. Obviously, I have to throw in this year's X-Mas Ale into the flight as well.

So, yesterday, I did a flight ...

2016 X-Mas Ale Vertical Tasting

Every year, (since way back in 2009 when I started home-brewing) SheppyBrew brewery brews an X-Mas Ale.

Usually, I save a 6-pack of bottles so that I'll be able to get them out and try older beers from year to year.

I used to do Vertical Flights, but I have not really gotten around to it lately.

This year, I actually didn't bottle any beers, so 2016 won't be part of any Vertical Tastings other than this year. But, I did get out some old X-Mas Ales and did a little one this past Sunday while watching the Bears lose to the Packers.

It made the game feel better to taste several pretty-high alcohol beers at once.

As a reminder ... my 2016 X-Mas Ale is a peppermint beer. I have been drinking it since around Thanksgiving. It has been pretty good, although I'm pretty sure I prefer the base beer recipes that I've done the past couple of years.

Cubs Win! Munich Dunkle Chili

My team at work decided to do a "Chili Cook-off" last week as sort of a festive pre-holiday "team building" activity.

That meant that I had to make some chili Tuesday night.

Generally speaking, I don't follow any sort of recipe when making things like chili. I just throw some things together, and hope it tastes good.

I know I'll like it, because I use ingredients that I like. I never really know how others will like it.

You may recall that quite awhile ago I made Stouticus Chili - icus as part of a work-competition. I thought that chili deserved to win. The judges did not.

Anyway, Tuesday night, I started by looking around in the house for ingredients.

Usually we have a decent supply of canned goods in our basement that make good chili. There wasn't really anything that would work this time, though.

I had to run to the grocery store. Where I got:

Brewing some Eric's Red (2016)

If you've followed this blog for awhile, you know that I started my brewing hobby with a Mr. Beer Kit that I got as a Christmas Gift from my sister.

I was a Mr. Beer Brewer for a long time. In fact, I still have and use a Mr. Beer Little Brown Keg (LBK) from time to time.

In fact, I have my "X-Mas Graff" fermenting right now in the LBK. I should bottle that soon.

In mid-February of my first year of brewing (way back in 2009) ... I came up with a "recipe" I called "Eric's Red".

It was a can of Hopped Malt Extract. A can of Unhopped Malt Extract. Some corn syrup and water. Oh ... and that awesome Mr. Beer Yeast.

That was the recipe.

At the time I was really into Amber Beers. And I loved this beer. Loved it. I considered it a beer worthy to be my "Breweries" Signature Beer.

S is for Spangalang Brewery

It is time for another post in my A to Z Denver Breweries series.

In case you don't know ...

Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

If I counted right, there are currently a total of  18, all of which you can review by looking at Sheppy's Blog: A to Z.

The most recent one was R ... R is for Ratio Beer Works.

If you know your alphabet (or read the title) you probably can figure out that the letter S is up next.

... And I picked another "River North" Brewery.

S is for Spangalang Brewery

Random Hiking Pictures

Well ... recently, this blog has been dominated by the A to Z Series of Denver Breweries.

I thought you'd like a break from that. I also thought I should demonstrate that I do more than to do breweries and drink ...

Here are some recent pictures from various hikes ...

Enjoy ...

R is for Ratio Beer Works

As I mentioned in O is for Our Mutual Friend Brewing Company, I had already visited my "R" brewery before writing up OMF.

Actually, I visited "R" the same night as "O".

Let me step back a little in case you are new to this and wondering what the heck I'm talking about.

You see ... Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

I've done things like ... B is for Baere Brewing Company; G is for Great Frontier Brewing; and L is for Little Machine Beer.

You can read every single one (including this one) at  Sheppy's Blog: A to Z.

And so here we go ...

R is for Ratio Beer Works

Q is for Queen Bee Brews

Q.

Did you know that there are no Breweries anywhere close to Denver that start with the letter Q?

If you've been following this blog at all, you know I've been working my way down the alphabet in a quest to visit more of the little local breweries in the area.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

I've made my way through to P ... you can see a sampling at D is for Draw, Boggy; I is for IronWorks Brewery and Pub; M is for Mockery Brewing Company.

You can go back and see them all (including this one) by going to  Sheppy's Blog: A to Z.

Most recently, I hit P is for Pints Pub

No breweries start with the letter Q. I've known from the beginning that Q would be a challenge.

P is for Pints Pub

As I mentioned in O is for Our Mutual Friend Brewing Company, I had already visited my "P" brewery before doing OMF.

Let me step back a little in case you are new to this and wondering what the heck I'm talking about.

You see ... Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

I've done F is for Factotum Brewhouse; J is for JoyRide Brewing Company; and M is for Mockery Brewing Company. In fact, I've done one for every letter up to and including  O is for Our Mutual Friend Brewing Company.

You can read every single one (including this one) at  Sheppy's Blog: A to Z.

And now .. I am pleased to announce ...

P is for Pints Pub

O is for Our Mutual Friend Brewing Company

It has been a couple weeks since I posted N is for New Terrain Brewing Company.

It is time for another post in my A to Z Denver Breweries series.

In case you don't know ...

Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

I did C is for Comrade Brewing Company; H is for Hogshead Brewery; K is for Kokopelli Beer Company.

There are currently a total of  15, all of which you can review by looking at Sheppy's Blog: A to Z.

The most recent one was N ... N is for New Terrain Brewing Company.

If you know your alphabet (or read the title) you probably can figure out that the letter O is up next.

O is for Our Mutual Friend Brewing Company

My 1000th Blog Post

Hey hey hey ...

You are reading this blog's 1000th blog post. Can you believe it?

My first blog post was on June 27th, 2005 (see Blogging).

I got to 500 on February 5th, 2012.

And now, here I am at 1000.

I don't know of many personal blogs like this one that last this long.

At the beginning, I didn't really know what I was going to write about. Now I've settled into this being mostly a beer blog and most of those articles being about my adventures at my SheppyBrew Home Brewery. But, I've managed to sprinkle in other topics from time to time.

Brewing Chelsea Dagger Again

Remember Chelsea Dagger?

Chelsea Dagger is the Fratellis song that gets played whenever the Blackhawks score a goal or win a game.

It is also a SheppyBrew Beer that I brewed after the Blackhawks won their 3rd Stanley Cup in 6 years.

Chelsea Dagger Pre-Prohibition Lager

It was one of those beers that really surprised me how much I loved it. The cluster hops really taste good in the light bodied lager.

X-Mas Graff

I didn't share this at the time, but when I brewed my 2016 X-Mas Ale (see I brewed a peppermint (X-Mas) ale) ... I had a little too much for the fermentor and moved about 3/4 of a gallon to a glass jug and fermented it.

It has been sitting around since then waiting for me to make Graf (or is it Graff?)

What is Graf (or maybe it is Graff)?

According to the Dark Tower Wiki ...

Graf is a strong hard cider or apple-based beer widely consumed in In-World. The specifics of the beverage are not mentioned (except to say that some varieties of graf are weak while others are eye-wateringly strong).

N is for New Terrain Brewing Company

It has been a little over a month since I posted M is for Mockery Brewing Company.

It is time for another post in my A to Z Denver Breweries series.

In case you don't know ...

Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

The most recent one was M ... M is for Mockery Brewing Company.

There are 9 in between which you can review by looking at Sheppy's Blog: A to Z.

If you know your alphabet (or read the title) you probably can figure out that the letter N is up next.

N is for New Terrain Brewing Company

New Terrain didn't even exist when I put together the list on Denver Breweries II.

Cubs Win! Munich Dunkel

So, if you follow this blog at all, you have probably picked up that I am a Chicago Blackhawks and Bears fan.

You picked that up ... right?

I'm a Blackhawks and Bears fan because I lived in the North Suburbs of Chicago-Land when I was in Jr. High and High School. My parents still live over there.

I'm not really that much of a baseball fan, but I do enjoy going to games. And I do usually watch parts of the MLB Playoffs and World Series.

And if I were to say I'm a fan of any baseball team, it would probably be the Cubs (unless and until the Rockies ever do anything that makes me think they might someday have some sort of chance to make the playoffs).

And this year (as I hope you know), the Chicago Cubs had a very good year.

Really really good.

"Alexa ... Open Homebrew"

A couple of weeks ago I received an Amazon Echo.

I have been surprised how many people have no clue what an Amazon Echo is ... even when I mention the Alec Baldwin series of commercials for "Alexa".

In case you need to refresh your memory ...

I think these are well-done. They amuse me.

M is for Mockery Brewing Company

I has only been about a week since I posted L is for Little Machine Beer.

Not bad!

This blog post marks the shortest turn-around between articles in my A to Z Denver Breweries series.

What is this series of A to Z Denver Breweries? you ask?

Well ... as a reminder ...

Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

The most recent one was L ... L is for Little Machine Beer.

There are 8 in between which you can review by looking at Sheppy's Blog: A to Z.

If you know your alphabet, you probably can figure out that the letter M is up next.

M is for Mockery Brewing Company

2016 #GABF Members Only

Well... if you read my post yesterday (see 2016 #GABF Friday Night), you know that the SheppyBrew Beer Model and I were planning on attending GABF again for the Members' Only Saturday afternoon session of GABF.

And indeed we did.

Again, we got in very fast. Much faster than any previous Saturday Sessions we've ever been to.

It was awesome.

2016 #GABF Friday Night

Well ... as you probably know, last night was the Friday Session of the Great American Beer Fest.

As per tradition, the SheppyBrew Beer Model and I attended.

As always, there was lots of beer. And lots of fun. And interesting sites.

Following are some of the pictures from last night ...

Enjoy ...

L is for Little Machine Beer

Well ... I guess I'm doing a little better this time on my A to Z Denver Breweries series.

Early last month I posted K is for Kokopelli Beer Company, and now I'm "already" doing L.

I still need to improve my timeliness or I'll never get through the alphabet.

As a reminder ... in regards to my A to Z Denver Breweries series .....

Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

and now I am up to L.

L is for Little Machine Beer

I brewed a peppermint (X-Mas) ale

Not too long ago, I asked the beautiful SheppyBrew Beer Model what sort of  X-Mas Ale I should make this year.

Her favorite of the X-Mas Ales so far was the 2012 version, which just happened to have peppermint flavoring in it. The peppermint with the winter warmer made the beer sort of a chocolate candy cane.

And, when I asked, she told me this again.

So, I decided to make the 2016 X-Mas Ale with peppermint flavor.

Of course, peppermint is one of those flavors you have to be careful with. Too much is ... well too much. Too little is ok, but if you are making a peppermint beer, you want people to be able to tell you put peppermint in it.

Luckily, I've had experience with peppermint. I simply copied the amount I used in 2012.

The base beer is different than any X-Mas Ale so far. Last year, I started adjusting the recipe to include less crystal malt and replacing it with dark Munich malt. My 2016 recipe has more Munich than 2015. It is also designed to be significantly lower in alcohol.

2016 Falling Leaves Autumn Saison

This past Sunday, I brewed my Falling Leaves Autumn Saison.

Falling Leaves is, of course, the Autumn version of my Seasonal Saisons series of beers.

The 2016 recipe is exactly like last years, except last year I did a protein rest in the mash whereas this year I didn't.

The SheppyBrew Autumn Saison is designed to be darker in color than the Spring and Summer Saisons, but not as dark as the black Winter Saison.

It gets most of its color from a Dark Munich malt from Gambrinus Malting Corporation. The malt flavor is heavily Munich breadiness, but it does have the distinct French Saison taste from the yeast and lots of late Saaz hops.

Diamond Lake Trail

Yesterday, the Sheppy Family headed up to Nederland Colorado for a hike.

Winter is beginning to show its face in the high country, but the hike wasn't too terribly cold.

Here are some photos from the hike...

2016 Q3 SheppyBrew Stats

As you may know, the Brewery likes to post quarterly updates on how much we have brewed. You can see all these updates (including the one you are reading right now) by following this link:http://blog.ericshepard.com/search/label/Brew%20Stats .

Q3 of 2016 at the SheppyBrew Brewery, we only brewed one batch of beer.

One.

Only one.

• Kucumber Kölsch

This is the fewest batches of beer I've brewed in a calendar quarter since I started home brewing.

2016 Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale

I brewed Will-o'-Wisp Pumpkin Ale this past Sunday.

Why would I brew a Pumpkin Ale? Well ... the reason I brew one is that the SheppyBrew Beer Model likes Pumpkin Spice Beers. 

.... Duh! ...

I started early in the morning by mashing the base-beer grains.

I had to run to the grocery store to pick up pumpkin.

Pike's Peak Pictures

We drove up Pike's Peak on Saturday.

Here are some pictures ...

Kucumbering the Kölsch

 So ... remember the SheppyBrew Kucumber Kölsch?

I brewed it in July and shared the brew day right here on this blog. (see Kucumber Kölsch)

Of course, when I brewed it ... it had no kucumber in it (or cucumbers either).

You may remember from the brew-day blog post, that I was not sure how much cucumber I should use. I also did not really know if I should peel the cucumbers or not.

I decided on 3 pounds of cucumbers because I found a saison recipe that used 3 pounds.

I decided on leaving the peels on the cucumbers because I wasn't sure cucumber flavor would properly make its way into the beer without the peels.

Brewing Laser Salt

Perhaps you remember the story of "Gretchen" and the things I tried to make a decent "Gluten Free" beer for her.

Eventually, I ended up on White Labs' Clarity Ferm, which is an enzyme designed to eat haze-generating proteins from beer. It has the side effect of breaking down gluten proteins, making beers gluten-free.

The first beer I really tried this with was Laser Salt Sandy Blonde Ale.

I first made Laser Salt in May of 2012 with the intention of bringing it on a group camping trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park. "Gretchen" and another Gluten Sensitive person agreed to be testers of the beer.

Apparently, as advertised, neither test subject reported any reaction to the beer.

They were extremely happy and amazed. "Gretchen" has nick-named Clarity Ferm "The Gluten Killer".

K is for Kokopelli Beer Company

It has been a long time since I've done one of these A to Z Denver Breweries.

I have excuses, but you don't care what they are. They are sort of lame anyway.

I'll try to do better.

What is this series of A to Z Denver Breweries? you ask?

Well ... as a reminder ...

Back in early 2015, I composed a list Denver Breweries that I had not visited (see Denver Breweries II). As I was composing the list, I realized that most of the letters in the alphabet were covered by the first letters in these brewery names.

I started with A ... A is for Alpine Dog Brewing Company

The most recent one was J ... J is for JoyRide Brewing Company

There are 8 in between which you can review by looking at Sheppy's Blog: A to Z.

If you know your alphabet, you probably suspect that the letter K is up next.

K is for Kokopelli Beer Company

Mt Evans Photos

Saturday, the Sheppy boys and I drove up the Mt. Evans highway.

Here are some pictures from the adventure ...

If you've ever been to the top of Mt. Evans, you know that you can drive most of the way. We did ...

Once we got to the top, the views were spectacular.

Kucumber Kölsch

For some reason, The SheppyBrew Beer Model is under the impression that she likes cucumber flavored kölsch.

I suspect it is because she has tasted a cucumber kölsch that she enjoyed. Maybe more than one ... although how many Cucumber Kölsch beers can there be out there?

Anyway ... I was thinking about what to brew. I thought maybe that a Cucumber Kölsch might be fun to try to make. I asked the Beer Model and she said it was a good idea. She liked it much better than the spruce tip beer idea that I was also thinking about.

So ... it seems to me that a Cucumber Kölsch should be pretty simple. Brew a Kölsch. Add Cucumbers. Not very hard. I've already brewed a Kölsch, which was a big success. My local grocery store sells cucumbers. The only question is how many cucumbers should I add?

Lost Park Backpacking Photos

Two weekends ago, we went backpacking in the Lost Creek Wilderness.

We didn't pack in real far ... maybe 3 or 4 miles, but we sure did hike a lot.

It is a beautiful area. My photos don't do it justice. NOTE: some of the pictures I took with my cell phone (which was basically a camera and GPS device for this weekend since we were way out of phone or data range). We also took pictures with a "real" camera.

This post only has the cell phone pictures. I'll post the camera pictures later.

Here are cell phone pictures:

The first night, we drove into Lost Park Campground and set up camp before the trail head.

2016 Q2 SheppyBrew Stats

As you may know, the Brewery likes to post quarterly updates on how much we have brewed. You can see all these updates (including the one you are reading right now) by following this link: http://blog.ericshepard.com/search/label/Brew%20Stats .

Q2 of 2016 at the SheppyBrew Brewery was fairly busy. I brewed 2 batches in April, 1 in May, and 3 in June.

That is 6 batches for the quarter:

• Mor'du Scottish Ale
• Muggled Pale Ale
• Tortuga Golden Ale
• #WeAreGroot
• Hail Storm Summer Saison
• T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager

Mor'du Scottish Ale

Finished up Great Cycle Challenge

Well, as you know if you know if you've been following my posts on "The Great Cycle Challenge", I signed up to ride my bike throughout June to raise money for the Children's Cancer Research Fund.

I promised to ride 645 miles over the month of June. As a result, donors pledged $727.08 some of which included a matching gift from various sponsors of the program.

I had to finish early because I visited my in-laws in Nevada for the last few days of the month.

I am glad to say, I got in all my promised miles.

I officially finished the month with 659.1 miles, which is obviously more than the 645 miles I promised.

I am pretty certain that this is the most biking I've done over a month ... probably ever and certainly a lot more than I've done since I was a kid. It was worth the effort.

Thank you everyone who donated. That was awesome of you.

My page is still up for now ... so check it out if you want ...

Eric Shepard's Great Cycle Challenge Page

You can still make donations if you want too.

T.Ra.Sh. Light

I have not shared how my T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager brew day went.

I brewed it the Sunday before last, Brew day went great. Thanks for asking.

So, you may recall that I have brewed T.Ra.Sh. Mexican Lager a few times before. Stylistically, it was closest to a Vienna Lager, but it probably isn't as dark in color and it is hoppier than you would expect a Vienna.

But still, most of the people who the T.Ra.Sh. Mexican Lager are more light lager type drinkers, and I always thought that I would need a lighter beer for most of those drinkers. Lighter in color. Lighter in body. Lighter in alcohol.

So, the T.Ra.Sh. Light Mexican Lager simply did that. It become a lighter version of T.Ra.Sh.