Beer Geeks Kickstarter Campaign

Are you familiar with the T.V. show Beer Geeks?

I came across it on my T.V. awhile ago and set my DVR up to record the series. I only got 2 episodes. I am not sure if this means that the Denver Market dropped it or if I just got the last couple of episodes of the season, but it sort of bums me out that I have not been able to watch any more episodes.

It is hosted by Michael Ferguson, who is pretty well-known among craft beer fans as the Master Brewer and Director of Brewery Operations of BJ's Restaurants. He also is known as "Mosaffa" on the Brewing Network for his deep voice. Michael is a wealth of brewing knowledge.

Today, I got an email from my Contact Me form on this blog. David Page, Executive Producer of Beer Geeks asked me to share a KickStarter Campaign url. As I've mentioned before, I'm pretty easy when it comes to sharing things that come through my Contact Me form, and this one certainly is one that fits perfectly with the brewing theme on this blog.

I shared it on twitter (http://www.twitter.com/esheppy). I shared it on facebook (http://www.facebook.com/sheppybrew).

And now ... please consider helping fund Beer Geeks. Check out the KickStarter page at:

Emmy-Nominated Beer Geeks Television Series Season 2 Episode

Memorial Day Backpacking Trip

We went backpacking this weekend.

If you are in the Denver metro area, you probably know that there has been really severe weather up and down the front range. We didn't go far enough to escape the weather, but we managed to have fun anyway.

We went to the same place we've always been backpacking as a family. Yes, you might think it would get old to keep going to the same place over and over, but the kids really like this area and the fact that we know it so well is useful when it comes to planning and adjusting to things like weather.

The first night, we drove to a campsite alone a forest service road on the way to the trail head. We pitched our tent and gathered firewood, started our fire, and had some brats for dinner.

Brewing Buckwheat's BPA (again)

Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale, the beer I brewed Sunday, is the recipe that SheppyBrew Brewery has brewed the most. Sunday's batch was #11, and the second most brewed beer has only been done 7 times. Buckwheat's BPA actually started out an extract recipe brewed in one of my Mr. Beer fermentors. Part of the reason that I've brewed so many batches is that early on I did some experimenting to figure out what yeast was best for this beer.

The first time I brewed it was because, the SheppyBrew Beer Model picked out a Belgium Pale Ale recipe from Jamil Zainasheff's and John Palmer's book Brewing Classic Styles. I took that recipe, modified it a little and when it was done, she told me that this was her favorite beer. She said it was not just her favorite of the beers that I made ... but her favorite of all beers.

Personally, I think it is weird to have a favorite beer, but that is just me.

Colorado 6 Pack for American Craft Beer Week

This year, May 12 - 18 was (is) American Craft Beer Week (#ACBW).

Personally, I support American Craft Beer every week, but sometimes I go periods of time where I all the "Craft" beer I drink is beer that I myself have made. This week, I made a special effort to drink a commercial craft beer every day.

It just so happens that I picked Colorado Beers because ... well ... I have this philosophy that you should drink the beer that is made closest to where you are.

If you follow SheppyBrew on Facebook (if you don't, please go like us).  You might have seen my pictures every day. I guess you could say that this is my American Craft Beer Week Colorado 6 Pack:

Devil's Head Hike

Saturday, we needed something to do. I decided to take the family on a hike in Pike National Forest. Before the kids were born, my wife and I had done the Devil's Head Fire Lookout Trail, but the kids had never been there and I thought it was something they might enjoy.

The drive to the trailhead took longer than I remember. This might be part of the reason we've never brought the boys. But, after about an hour and a half, we were in the National Forest Recreation Area.

Brewing 2014 Blackhawk Black

If you read this blog at all, you probably have at least an inkling that I am a Chicago Blackhawks fan.

If you read this blog at all, you probably suspect that I like to brew beer.

Ok ... actually, if you read this blog at all, you know I am obsessed with both.

Blackhawk Black Ale combines two of my obsessions, as it is a homebrew named after my favorite hockey team. I first brewed Blackhawk Black Ale  in late 2009 as an attempt to clone New Belgium Brewery's 1554 Enlightened Black Ale. Back then, it was a partial mash. Obviously, I have since converted it into an all-grain recipe.

Geo-Ride in May

My wife had a thing to go to Saturday.

This meant that the boys had to make a decision. Should we stay inside all day and play video games? Should we spend the day outside riding our bikes?

The boys voted for video games. I voted for the bike ride. 2 to 1. I won.

One of the few advantages of being the parent is that my vote (usually) counts for more.

We loaded our bikes on the back of the minivan and headed over to Chatfield  Reservoir State Park. A few days ago I had loaded some geo-caches into my GPS for us to search for at some point. Saturday was a perfect opportunity.

Brewing the Laser Salt (again)

Yes, it is that time of year again.

Time to brew the Laser Salt Sandy Blonde Ale. And I did. I brewed it last Sunday.

Brew day, of course, started before sun-up. The Gnome and I got the strike temperature perfect with no trouble at all. The mash temperature did drop into the mid 140's before the end, which is not really that big of a deal. I'm fine with that.

Sheppy McShepardSons (take II), Take 2

So, remember a couple of weekends ago, my wife, kids and I tried to hide our geocache? See McShepardSons take 2 as a reminder.

Later the same day I posted the entry, I got a message from a geo-reviewer telling me that the spot we picked was too close to a physical location of a multi-step cache. I would have to move our cache. Unfortunately, those multi-caches are the reason we've had such a difficult time finding a spot up till now.

Tuesday night, I went back to Pence Park and got the container and looked around for another spot.

I found one after about a 1.3 mile hike. I placed it and re-submitted my new hiding spot.

Snowshoeing

A couple of weeks ago, we went snowshoeing up by Echo Lake. My wife and I used to go showshoeing quite a bit before the kids, and we have gone a few times with the kids, but not very much. This year, my wife decided to buy "real" snowshoes for the kids, so this was their first time with their new shoes.

Here are some pictures:

The snow was pretty good, and the day was perfect. The kids loved "walking on snow". They also liked "falling" and lying in the snow.

Photos of Gnomes and Beer

I take lots of pictures of beers.

Quite often, SheppyBrew Beers are photographed with Gnomes.

Don't believe me, follow SheppyBrew Brewery on untappd. You'll see lots of beers and lots of gnomes. While you're at it, follow the Brewery, or send me a "friend" request.

Or ... even better, follow the SheppyBrew Brewery on facebook. I've been stuck on 91 "likes" for quite awhile. Please, like the brewery. It would be nice to get up past 100.

Heck, I have over 300 followers on Twitter, and I don't post nearly as many beer pictures (or Gnome pictures) on twitter.

2014 Q1 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 .

Q1 of 2014 was not very busy at the SheppyBrew Brewery.  I only brewed four times.

• She Who Must Be Obeyed
• Gnasty the Gnome ESB
• Arctic Vortex Winter Saison
• T.RA.SH. Mexican Lager

Those four batches were about 20 gallons of beer, putting me on pace for 80 for the whole year. Last year, in Q1, I had  brewed 6 batches of beer for for 31 gallons. Last year, I ended up with 107 gallons of beer brewed. Obviously, I am not on pace to get to 100 this year. I expect that I won't catch up. But, we'll see.

McShepardSons take 2

So, way back in September, I reported that we had hidden a geocache. See Placing Sheppy McShepardSons take 1.

Do you know what a geocache is? If you follow this blog on a regular basis, you have probably noticed our renewed interest in geocaching (see Sheppy's Blog: Geocache), and probably have either figured it out or don't really care. If not, it is basically a global hide-and-seek game using GPS coordinates.

As it turned out, we were too close to a "Multi-Cache", and that spot got rejected. We tried a few more spots, but we kept running into the same issue ... the cache was too close to some other one that we couldn't see. Eventually, we sort of gave up trying to find a spot for the winter.

Brewing T.R.A.S.H. Mexican Lager

I brewed last Sunday.

Remember that I am not allowed to use electronics on Sundays during Lent? If not, you feel free to refresh your memory by looking at Lent 2014. Other than not having any brew-day pictures that I would have posted to the SheppyBrew Facebook Page and that I could have put on this page, turns out I didn't really need  electronics to brew.

The beer that I brewed is T.R.A.S.H. Mexican Lager. There is a bit of a story behind the name, which is on the SheppyBrew Website, and I won't repeat here. If you want to know the story and/or see the recipe, go check it out:

T.R.A.S.H. Mexican Lager

Drinking the Arctic Vortex Saison

It is Spring now.

About a month ago, when I brewed my Arctic Vortex Winter Saison, the weather seemed much more winter-like. It was, in fact winter. I probably should have brewed it earlier in the winter months so that I could drink it during the winter season. Oh well, something to think about for next year.

If you want to read about the brew-day, see Brewing Arctic Vortex Black Saison.

I have been drinking this beer recently, and find it truly awesome. I mean, I really like this beer. The Beer Model says she likes it too. She said to me "it doesn't taste black", which from her is a compliment.

It does look very black. There are redish-brown highlights at the "corners" when held up to the sun light. The head is thick, cream colored, and long-lasting. Lots of tiny bubbles rise up throughout the drink.

Lent 2014

I am writing this blog post on a notepad. It is an actual notepad made of paper. Weird, right?!?

Why am I writing a blog on a notepad (to be typed into the computer later)? Well, because my family has decided to to ban the use of electronics on the Sundays during Lent.

The Sunday before Ash Wednesday, the wife and children were in our church's version of Sunday School learning about Lent. I was not there, so I'm not sure exactly how it went down, but apparently the kids thought it would be a good idea to sacrifice the use of electronics on Sundays. It became a family decision.

The Business of Craft Beer Infographic

I got another one of those emails from this blog's Contact Me form. The author of the email thought I might like to share with you an infographic on

The Business of Craft Beers and Microbreweries

As you may remember from other blog articles, I am generally pretty easy when it comes to sharing things people ask me to share. So, make sure you go and visit The Business of Craft Beers and Microbreweries.

This is only the top of the infographic. To see the whole thing, follow this link.

 

Wings over the Rockies

Here in the Denver area we have the awesome ... Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. It is located in a huge hanger which was part of the old Lowry Air Force base, and contains all kinds of military aircraft.

Best of all, on the 2nd Saturday of every month, they open up quite a few of the cockpits. The kids love this. Why wouldn't they? It is really really cool.

We headed over there last month and had a great time.

My Best Beers in America

If you follow this blog at all, you probably know that every year I seek out beers I have not had on Zymurgy's Best Beer in America list. Sometimes I even tell you about the beers and/or my progress (see http://blog.ericshepard.com/search/label/Zymurgy%20BBIA). I voted for the list a couple years ago, but missed the voting last year.

I actually voted for this year's list a couple days ago. I even posted on the SheppyBrew Facebook Wall that I would share my vote ... so here we go.

February 2014 Blogging

This blog got 7 more "page views" in February than it did in January.

7. Seven.

So, February is the new "page view" record holder, by a real tiny amount, but when you consider 28 days as opposed to 31 days, it was actually a real strong month.

By far, the most-viewed post this month was The Problem with Mr. Beer from Mar 4, 2013. You may remember it was #2 last month and #3 the month before. It has gotten enough attention lately that it is now in the top 10 all-time most viewed posts on this blog. I figure lots of people got Mr. Beer kits for Christmas. They, or in the case of December, the people who purchased the gift, got to googling, and came across my site. It is interesting (at least to me) that I have not done a Mr. Beer batch in more than 2 years, but I still get from time to time questions about Mr. Beer brewing. At this point, I just send them on to the Mr. Beer Discussion Forums.