Sheppy's Blog

3 Blondes and a Redhead

2026-10-14T06:19:00.000-06:00

So .... I actually have 4 wonderful SheppyBrew beers on tap right now. It has been awhile since it has been the case that all my taps have a beer on them.

Catching up with Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale (Batch 398) and then Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch (Batch #399) seem to have done what I hoped.

The beers I have "on tap" are

GNorthside Gnome Cold IPA
Hoppy "Cold IPA" ... a hoppy rice beer brewed as a lager with IPA hops. The citrus hops come through nicely in a crisp, clean base.
Brain Freeze Rauchbier
My Roll-a-Style 6B. Rauchbier, which is basically a smoked Marzen. The amount of smoke malt is less than 10% of the grain bill, which isn't really as much as most Rauchbiers. I the smoke comes through nicely without being overpowering.
Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale
This SheppyBrew Classic has been brewed 15 times with various grain bills and yeasts. The past few times have been pretty consistent. I refer to this as "fat tire light". The Beer Model says this is her favorite SheppyBrew Beer, which is why it has been brewed so often.
Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch
Actually not much of a "Kolsch" ... it really presents more like a session IPA. It was designed a my first "No-chill" beer with only CTZ in the boil, but Cascade, Centennial, and Citra added as a dry-hop.

It has taken awhile for GNorthside Gnome Cold IPA to clarify, but it is finally where I thought it should be right away. I expect the hops just wouldn't let the gelatin clarify quickly.

I love the way the hops are coming through. It is delicious. Even Doc's wife (a professed anti-hoppy-beer person) likes it because the hops "don't linger". MY wife, however doesn't much care for it (also very much a anti-hoppy-beer person).

After pouring myself a flight this past weekend, I refilled everything for the Beer Model to try.

Unsurprisingly, she wasn't really a fan of GNorthside or Brain Freeze, and really enjoyed the Buckwheat's BPA.

It did surprise me that she liked the Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch, as it is a hoppy beer. I actually find that when I name a beer something that doesn't "sound" hoppy, she tends to enjoy it more even when these are actually hoppy beers.

So, I'm not really convinced she is a "anti-hoppy-beer" as she claims. But, whatever.

I really like all four of these beers. I don't think Khupacabra in particular will last very long because it is such a delcious session beer, that I've been grabbing it a bunch.

As always keep watching the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with my BBQ, Beer, Biking: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.Of course, don't forget to visit this blog often as well!

2026 Q3 SheppyBrew Stats

2026-10-07T06:09:00.000-06:00

Well ... it is October, putting us past the 3rd Quarter of 2026. We can report on the SheppyBrew Home Brewery "Brewing Stats" for Q3.

If you read the Q1 report, you know 2026 started off very slow. Slow enough that I was on track to brew the least amount of beer EVER.

In the Q2 report, I had brewed a little more, and was no longer on track for the least volume of beer ever, but still probably the lowest since my Mr. Beer days.

Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch

This quarter, I actually caught up quite a bit. I'm still on track for way less than 100 gallons, but the past 3 months were actually pretty busy.

I brewed 6 whole batches this quarter:

This totaled 30 gallons of beer. This puts me on track to finish the year with 88 gallons. Respectable, I think.

Potato Barley Rye (PBR)

Of the 6 batches, 4 were brand-new recipes (PBR, GNorthside, Brain Freeze, Khupacabra). Brain Freeze was the first Roll-a-Style / BJCP Goal beer I brewed in quite awhile ... only my 2nd this year. I believe this means I've brewed 92 of the 108 BJCP Styles.

GNorthside Gnome Cold IPA

PBR, GNorthside, and Brain Freeze are lagers, bringing my lager total to 8 for the year. I only brewed 5 lagers in 2025. I am planning on brewing more this year.

Brain Freeze Rauchbier

All the beers were "All Grain". All except Buckwheat's were brewed in my Anvil Foundry. Buckwheat's, of course was my "Travel Beer" brewed at "Doc's".

Buckwheat's BPA Brew Day

The Beer Model helped me brew Buckwheat's and Khupacabra, so even though I won't brew over 100 gallons this year, I would be legal if I did.

I expect the 4th quarter won't be another 6-brew quarter, but I guess we'll see. Stayed tuned here to see how my brewing goes for the rest of the year.

Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch brew day

September Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

2026-10-05T06:04:00.000-06:00

As you know if you follow this blog, I generally give a monthly update on my fitness / Strava goals. I'm sure no one besides myself really cares, but I figure sharing these publicly give me a little extra motivation because of the extra accountability.

Plus, from time to time I'll look at older updates just to see where I was in the past.

In previous years, my goals have been mostly around cycling, but starting this year, I've started running as well.

If you're interested, You can always track these workouts on Strava.

So far, I'm tracking pretty well to my 2026 Fitness goals, although a couple of aches and pains (not quite injuries) do seem to be slowing me down a bit (at least on running).

My 2026 Fitness / Activity Goals are:

#MetricCenturyEveryMonth
As of July 2021, I've cycled at least one Metric Century every month, and this month was no exception (#GCCUSA2026 Ride #48). This is 62 straight months (over 5 years) I've done this.
#7000MilesIn2026
This is significantly lower than my #8200MilesIn2025 goal, but I figure with the running, 7,000 miles is still a big cycling number. As of the end of September, I have logged 5,704 miles for the year.
#13EverestsIn2026
Also significantly lower than the #16EverestsIn2025 because of the added running goals. My goal is to climb 13 x 29,032 = 377,416 feet on the bike. At the end of last month, I've logged 296,597 feet climbed on my bikes. This is over 10 "Everests".
#Run700Miles2026
700 miles is just under 100km per month. With my Great Cycle Challenge (#GCCUSA) in September, I concentrated on Cycling and didn't run at all. However, I was so far ahead of this goal pace that I'm still pretty much on track with just over 513 miles so far this year.
Run a Half Marathon
CHECK ✅
I finished my Runna Half Marathon plan and completed the Platte River Half Marathon in mid-May. I even ran the Half Marathon faster than planned and blew away my 2:20 goal. BTW ... I signed up for a Marathon in 2027, so that will be a goal next year.
VO₂ Max > 44 ml/kg/min
CHECK ✅
As measured by my Garmin Watch, I started the year as 42 ml/kg/min. Right now, I hit 45 for most of the month in June and July. That is good enough for me to say I've hit this goal.
15 Stone
At my heaviest, I was over 260lbs. I've been as low as 214 last year and this year I started at 221. This month, I sort of ignored this goal, although I did hit 214 again. 15 Stone is 210 lbs, which would be lighter than I've been since my early college days. I'm "ok" on this, but it will get more and more difficult.

With the huge cycling #GCCUSA month, I've flipped over into the "green" completely in September.

Month	Miles	YTD		Elevation	YTD
January	500	500	-94	28,741	28,741	-3,235
February	454	955	-177	23,250	51,991	-9,015
March	470	1,424	-301	25,481	77,472	-15,588
April	576	2,001	-300	31,463	108,935	-15,150
May	659	2,660	-236	32,319	141,254	-14,880
June	659	3,318	-153	33,347	174,601	-12,500
July	650	3,969	-59	33,398	207,999	-9,145
August	723	4,692	+32	37,462	245,451	-5,806
September	1,012	5,704	+469	51,135	296,597	+14,310
October	...	...	.	...	...	.
November	...	...	.	...	...	.
December	...	...	.	...	...	.

As always, stay tuned on the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with beer, barbeque, biking and other things in my life: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.

Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch (Batch #399)

2026-10-03T06:30:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday, the Brew Model and I normally would have probably gone on a bike ride.

However, the Denver Century Ride was going on, and we didn't really want to navigate bike paths with potentially hundreds of others.

Originally, Saturday the 26th was going to be "Doc's Quad Brew Day", which meant my buddy Doc would brew a batch. His wife would brew a batch. The Beer Model would brew a batch. I would brew a batch.

Plans changed and we did it the previous Saturday, with Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale (Batch 398). And, our hosts decided they would only do one batch that day.

When they were not doing two batches, we decided to "only" do one too.

This meant that we had ingredients ready to brew with. Last Saturday we used them on the "original" planned brew day without Doc and his wife .

Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch

Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch was designed to be a travel brew. IE ... designed to save time and effort during brew day.

Originally, I was going to start this mash at home, making for a slightly longer mash. But, since we ended up brewing it at home and didn't decide to brew until fairly late in the day, the mash ended up being more like an hour.

It was also designed with a short half hour boil time. And ... I designed the beer to be "no-chill". I have a sealable bucket to store hot wort in. Again, this was to save time when brewing away from home. But, even brewing at home, I wanted to give it a try to see how it turned out. That way, I can use the technique next time we brew away from home.

Since it was no-chill, I moved what would usually be "flavor / aroma" hops in the boil to dry hops.

So, even though we did really have to do any of these things we tried it out. Again, if it turns out well, this is something we can use on our next travel brew day.

Doc's wife claims we might do a "Quad Brew Day" some time when they have more of their day open.

Anyway ... my wife has notes she references when we brew together. All these strange things we did sort of screwed up her understanding of the normal process.

But we got everything done that needed to get done.

We had lunch while brewing.

The no-chill experiment seemed to turn out well. The next day the wort was around 70-ish degrees.

I racked into my Anvil Stainless Bucket, which has the ability to add the cooling coils, and I used those to get the wort even further down.

With a yeast starter, the fermentation took off in a couple of hours. I didn't get the dry hops in until Monday morning, when the Tilt said the gravity was down around 1.018.

At this point, fermentation seems to be done. I'm not sure when we'll keg this, but it will be soon.

I'm sure I'll post something about how it turns out.

As always ...keep an eye on the regular SheppyBrew Channels to see what is happening with beer, barbeque, biking and other things in my life: SheppyBrew's Facebook Page; Sheppy's Twitter Feed; SheppyBrew's Instagram Page; and SheppyBrew's Website.

I finished #GCCUSA2026

2026-10-01T06:47:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, I got in an 18 mile ride to finish up my 1000 mile September, raising over $5,300 to help fight Childhood Cancer with my Great Cycle Challenge.

The rider / donation page will remain available for at least another month ... and I'll be signing up for my 12th year in 2027 ... so if you want to donate, you still can:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/EricShepard

I finished with 1,012 miles over 52 rides. That is just under 19.5 miles per ride.

I averaged 33.7 miles per day.

Over those miles, I climbed over 51,000 feet of elevation.

In previous years, I front-loaded my miles, allowing me to coast towards the end of the month. This year, I was closer to just following the 33.3 miles per day I needed to average.

I was behind the average 12 of the 30 days, and ahead the remaining 18 days.

My longest ride was 63.01 miles (#GCCUSA2026 Ride #48)

My biggest day was Saturday 9/12 ... 63.48 Miles ... 2 rides #GCCUSA2026 Ride #21 and #GCCUSA2026 Ride #22.

My shortest ride was 4.83 miles ... #GCCUSA2026 Ride #32

My shortest day was Friday 9/18 ... 15.28 Miles ... 2 rides #GCCUSA2026 Ride #31 and #GCCUSA2026 Ride #32

So, that concludes my 2026 Challenge. As I mentioned ... there is still lots of time to donate at https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/EricShepard.

Plus, I'll be doing this again next year. Stay tuned. I'm sure I'll let you know about it again in 2027!

M is for Mad Macks Brewing

2026-09-30T05:53:00.000-06:00

If you're following along on the A to Z series of posts, and/or read K is for Steep Brewing LaKeside TiKi Bar, you know we are up to the letter "M".

If you don't know what that means ... my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) and I work our say through the alphabet, visiting a local brewery for each letter.

We've done this 6 full times and are working on #7. At "M", we're basically half-way through round 7!

Considering we only hit A is for Alley Brews Brewery & Coffee Shop this past April, we're flying through this round of the alphabet.

And, as promised ... "M" is one of those letters that we actually had a good choice, and this past Friday, we visited ...

M is for Mad Macks Brewing

Mad Macks Brewing is a tiny brewery located at 1921 Youngfield St Unit 210 Golden CO, 80401.

We actually visited this location back in early 2020 with O is for Ohm Brewing Company. I actually don't know when Ohm closed and/or when Mad Macks took over.

From the website:

"Mad Macks Brewing is an independent craft brewery located in Golden, Colorado. Rooted in bold experimentation and community connection, Mad Macks is more than just a place to grab a pint, it’s where neighbors become regulars and strangers won’t be strange for long. With a constantly rotating lineup of boundary-pushing beers, a welcoming dog and family friendly taproom, and a crew of self-proclaimed ‘Agents of Chaos’, Mad Macks invites everyone to embrace their inner trickster and raise a glass to the moments we share. At Mad Macks, community is brewed into every batch."

I got a flight, and the Beer Model got a couple of 5oz pours.

The beers were pretty good, but not anything I'd call great. They do have lots of games, and we played Connect Four. I won.

They don't really serve any food, but just across the street is Teller's Taproom where we had a great dinner.

There are a couple other close restaurants where you can pick up food to bring into Mad Macks.

Incidentally, the server we had at Teller's was the best we've had anywhere in quite some time. We never once felt like we were waiting on her, which is extremely rare since co-vid shutdowns (at least in our experience).

I feel like we will do this Mad Macks for drinks / Teller's for dinner again.

Regardless, we are now moving on the the letter "N".

I'm not sure exactly what we'll pick. The Colorado Brewery Map & List has at least one good option we have not visited, so we might head to Broomfield next.

Stay tuned on Sheppy's Blog: A to Z and find out what we pick.

#GCCUSA2026 Hero Jersey Shots

2026-09-28T05:44:00.000-06:00

In #GCCUSA2026 Jersey Shots, I shared photos of me in GCC Jerseys.

I left out the "Hero Jerseys" that I've earned over the years, so I thought I'd post those.

Here they are:

2020 "Spider Man"

2021 "Wonder Woman"

2022 "Captain America"

2023 "Red Superman?"

2024 "Iron Man"

2025 "Wolverine"

2026 "Robin"

GCC "All Star Jersey"

We're getting to the end of the month, but there is still plenty of time to donate:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/EricShepard

#GCCUSA2026 Jersey Shots

2026-09-25T06:34:00.000-06:00

As you know if you've been following along, I'm riding 1000 miles this month as part of the Great Cycle Challenge.

If you'd like to help out with a donation ... here is my rider page:

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/EricShepard

I've been doing this thing every year for the past 10 years and over that time have collected quite of few GCC Jerseys.

As of a couple days ago, I've taken selfies of all these jerseys (other than 2016, which doesn't fit me and is now in my wife's closet).

Here are those photos:

2017

2018

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

2024

2025

2026

I'm making good progress. As I type this, I've logging over 760 miles, which puts me slightly ahead of the 33-miles-a-day I need to average to hit 1000 by the end of the month.

By the time this publishes, I should have completed over 830 miles, and I don't anticipate it being a problem to finish off the mileage for the challenge.

Keep an eye on https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/EricShepard if you'd like to follow along or make a donation.

Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale (Batch 398)

2026-09-23T06:14:00.000-06:00

So ... remember in Brain Freeze Rauchbier (Batch 397), that my friend "Doc" had a plan to help us "catch up" a little on our low beer inventories?

Well, his plan was a "Quad Brew Day" at his home brewery.

I would brew a batch. My wife would brew a batch. He would brew a batch. His wife would brew a batch.

As it turned out ... neither his nor my wife really planned on brewing a batch themselves, so really it would be Doc brewing two batches and Me brewing two batches.

And ... they ended up needing to babysit their new grand child later in the day, so they decided to just brew one batch.

Honestly, I had not been excited about having to transport (and set up and clean) both my brewing set ups. So, when they said they might be doing one batch, I told them "we" would only be doing the Beer Model's batch....

Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale

When I do "travel brewing" ... I'll usually get a chuck roast started early on the grill. Before heading out, I'll put the chuck roast into the crock pot where it can continue to cook so that we'll have the meat ready to go at dinner time.

I'll also usually get the mash started at home, so by the time we get to our destination, the mash it done or almost done.

Saturday, I did both those things.

We got to Doc's Brewery a little after 10am. I got things set up and told the Beer Model she was all set to get "her" batch brewed.

Well ... at the beginning, she did a bunch of "the things", but we got further and further into the process, I ended up doing more and more while she was "busy" talking with Mrs. Doc.

I'm really glad we didn't decided to bring a 2nd brewing set up. It would have been extremely frustrating trying to get two batches done.

Note to self ... don't agree to do a 2-batch day at Doc's house ever again.

The mash was drained, and the Beer Model had me heat up and add sparge water the the tun. We let it sit for awhile. She stirred and drained sparge.

Pre-boil gravity was pretty much right on. We actually don't have a good way to measure kettle volume in this setup, so we trusted that our calculations were good.

I started the boil kettle. She kept a timer and added the hops.

We designed this to be a short (half hour) boil to make it a little faster brew day.

And, we ended up getting the boil finished about 15 minutes before the other batch, so we were first up on the wort chiller.

Doc's wort chiller is not as efficient as ours, and the wort was probably close to 80 when they were ready to start chilling.

I had purchased a sealable HDP bucket that I intended to use for "no-chill" on the other planned batch.

The recipe design included diluting the wort in the fermenter.

So, I figured 80 was ok. We'd let it cool down more over a few hours.

Both batches finished sort of early as a thunderstorm was rolling through. We ended up hanging out a couple of hours catching up with our friends.

Doc did have a couple really good beers on tap. The one he thought would "blow" still had some left at the end of our time together.

We got home very early for a typical travel brew day. I put a gallon of water in our Fermonster, and placed it in our deep freeze.

I also rehydrated the yeast during this time.

After (maybe?) an hour, I got the Fermonster out, and poured the wort onto the cold water. Then, I pitched the yeast.

I'm actually not sure what temperature the wort was out. The yeast took off real fast, so the wort was probably still on the warm side. I'm sure it will turn out ok, but I wish I would have let everything cool a little more and/or paid attention.

Being a Belgium beer, it probably isn't as important. I guess we'll see how it turned out. I'm typing this on Monday after the Saturday brew day, and it has already stopped bubbling.

So ... it won't be long before I keg it (there is no way I can expect the wife to do that step).

I'm sure I'll share how this beer turns out.

Regardless, it is always fun to spend time with Mr. and Mrs. Doc.

Now, I have to figure out when to brew Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch.

Brain Freeze Rauchbier (Batch 397)

2026-09-17T06:38:00.000-06:00

Even though I have 4 beers on tap, I feel like my beer inventory is pretty low. Every time I pour a beer, I think a keg is going to blow.

Apparently, my friend "Doc" hasn't brewed much this summer, and is in the same boat.

He proposed a plan to help with both our inventory issues, and it will allow us to catch up a little. We're planning on brewing together at Doc's Brewery soon-ish.

PBR vs. PBR

2026-09-14T05:59:00.000-06:00

If you follow along on this blog, you likely remember that I screwed up the Potato Beer.

I won't go into details ... if you need a reminder you can check out the I screwed up the Potato Beer link. For now, I'll just say SheppyBrew's Potato Barley Rye (PBR) is a bit salty.

It isn't completely undrinkable, and I don't have a lot of HomeBrew "Inventory", so I still have the beer on tap.

I actually happen to have some Pabst Blue Ribbon in my beer fridge. Even though these are not comparable beers, I compared them on Labor Day.

I swear Pabst Blue Ribbon is better now than it was when my father-in-law loved it. Actually not bad.

It is, of course, crystal clear, where Potato Barley Rye (PBR) is still fairly hazy. My beer has that salty flavor and is considerably more hoppy.

The one clear advantage Potato Barley Rye (PBR) has is it's head is long lasting and thick, whereas Pabst Blue Ribbon has a head that disappears almost immediately.

I actually wonder how commercial light lagers make beers with such bad head. None of my beers are like that, even when I use adjuncts.

I certainly have to re-brew Potato Barley Rye (PBR) without sodium filled potato flakes. I'm sure I'll do another comparison when have a decent example of this beer brewed.

Our Labor Day meal was ribeye steaks and corn on the cob grilled on my Weber Kettle.

This combination was wonderful.

As is usual for my steak, I reverse seared them. They turned out just about perfect. The steaks actually were very close in doneness, which doesn't always work out when I cook steaks.

The corn was perfect too. I liked how I did them this time.

I removed the husks, cooked them for 15 or 20 ish minutes on the indirect side of the grill. Then at then end I seared them.

I guess it is sort of a reverse sear on the corn as well.

K is for Steep Brewing LaKeside TiKi Bar

2026-09-10T05:54:00.000-06:00

If you're following along on the A to Z Series of Posts, and read L is for Landlocked Ales, you know we skipped over "K".

It just so happened that there wasn't really anything close to our house on the Colorado Brewery Map & List that would really work for us.

But ... we had plans to stay up in the mountains over Labor Day weekend, and my wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) came up with a fantastic idea.

We were staying up in Copper Mountain, which is a short down-hill bike ride down to Lake Dillon.

So, we brought our bikes, and on Saturday morning we headed down to visit ....

K is for Steep Brewing LaKeside TiKi Bar

You probably know this if you follow my socials at all, but I'm riding 1000 miles over September to help raise money and awareness for Childhood Cancer Research with my Great Cycle Challenge.

So, in addition to checking off "K", I was also able to get my Great Cycle Challenge miles in.

If you'd like to help out with a donation, or just follow my progress, check out my rider page at

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/riders/EricShepard

The ride is spectacularly beautiful. We were sort of expecting the bike path to be crowded on the long weekend, but it really wasn't at all.

My photos probably don't do the scenery justice ...

The ride is all down-hill to get down to Lake Dillon.

We did stop quite a few times to enjoy the views and take some pictures.

With Colorado being in a pretty severe drought, Lake Dillon is very low, but still beautiful. We're hoping for a snowy winter in Colorado to hopefully help fill our reservoirs.

Eventually, after a leisurely hour long ride, we made our way to Steep Brewing LaKeside TiKi Bar.

From their website ...

"Tiki culture lives in beach towns. The whole genre is a postwar tropical-fantasy-meets-rum thing born in Hollywood, California in the 1940's. Most tiki bars sit at sea level by design.

We're at 9,017 feet. The reservoir's surface is the elevation of a respectable Colorado fourteener's halfway mark. Aspen sits at 7,908. Park City, Utah at 7,000. Vail Village, 8,150.

We checked the records. The Tonga Hut in North Hollywood, the oldest tiki bar still operating, sits at 707 feet. Don the Beachcomber's various locations: all at sea level. Trader Sam's at Disneyland: 360 feet.

So when we say highest tiki bar in the U.S., we mean it as a stat, not a marketing slogan. The mountains do the work for us."

The bar is located right by the water with a little marina for boats and/or personal watercraft to come right up.

And, of course, it is right on the bike path.

They have many drinks, but the beers are mostly from Steep Brewing, which is located in a nearby ski town, Keystone.

If I'm honest, the beers we had were not the best. They were fine, just not spectacular. The view is the star of this place.

The food was pretty good.

Of course, the ride home was quite a bit more strenuous, as most of it was uphill. The Beer Model has her e-Bike Pedego, so it was quite a bit easier for her than me.

Still, it was spectacularly beautiful.

And ... now we've checked "K" off our list. And we have already done "L" as well (L is for Landlocked Ales).

We're up to "M". The Colorado Brewery Map & List has a couple good choices, but I don't know what we'll pick

Stay tuned on Sheppy's Blog: A to Z and find out what we pick.

3 Floyds Zombie Dust

2026-09-08T06:26:00.000-06:00

So ... remember Zymurgy's Best Beers in America?

Zymurgy is the American Homebrewers Association's magazine. As a member, I continue to get it, but don't really get around to reading it much.

One of the issues I always looked forward to was their Best Beers in America lists. For awhile, I would look at the list, make my own list of beers I had never tried and then attempt to track them down to taste them.

I would share these on Sheppy's Blog: Zymurgy BBIA. The last time I posted an article mentioning the list was early 2015.

Some of these beers were fairly easy to find, but many of them were not distributed to Colorado, so I had to try to get them when I traveled.

One of the beers on the list that I really thought I'd be able to track down was 3 Floyds Zombie Dust, "an intensely hopped and gushing undead pale ale will be one's only respite after the Zombie Apocalypse."

3 Floyds is located in Indiana close to Chicago. I have family in Illinois and visit from time to time. But, I was never able to track it down.

There was one time that we were meeting Illinois family in South Dakota during my attempts to obtain beers from the BBIA list. I thought they'd be able to bring me a 6 pack.

But, apparently, even them as Illinois people were unable to grab some.

Instead, they brought me 3 Floyds Dreadnaught, which was very nice of them.

But, I was never able to get Zombie Dust. And, eventually, I stopped looking for beers on the Zymurgy BBIA list. I don't think they actually do this anymore, but I just might have missed it the past few years.

Anyway .... apparently 3 Floyds now distributes to Colorado, because I saw Zombie Dust in the grocery store one day.

And a few days later, I picked up a 12-pack from my liquor store.

And a few days after that, I spent some time on my patio trying the beer.

It is slightly hazy and gold with a persistent white head. It is a very hoppy 6.2% "Pale Ale" which showcases only citra hops. Honestly, I would categorize it as an IPA, but 3 Floyds calls it an American Pale Ale.

The hop flavor and aroma is wonderful juicy citrus with some tropical fruit and pine. It finishes fairly dry with just the right amount of bitterness.

This was honestly one of the best IPAs / Hoppy Pale Ales I've had in quite awhile, which actually surprised me considering it had to travel to get to me.

I'm glad 3 Floyds is distributing to Colorado now.

August Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

2026-09-06T15:21:00.000-06:00

Plus, from time to time I'll look at older updates just to see where I was in the past.

In previous years, my goals have been mostly around cycling, but starting this year, I've started running as well.

If you're interested, You can always track these workouts on Strava.

So far, I'm tracking pretty well to my 2026 Fitness goals, although a couple of aches and pains (not quite injuries) do seem to be slowing me down a bit (at least on running).

My 2026 Fitness / Activity Goals are:

#MetricCenturyEveryMonth
As of July 2021, I've cycled at least one Metric Century every month, and this month was no exception. This is 61 straight months (over 5 years) I've done this.
#7000MilesIn2026
This is significantly lower than my #8200MilesIn2025 goal, but I figure with the running, 7,000 miles is still a big cycling number. As of the end of August, I have logged 4,692 miles for the year.
#13EverestsIn2026
Also significantly lower than the #16EverestsIn2025 because of the added running goals. My goal is to climb 13 x 29,032 = 377,416 feet on the bike. At the end of last month, I've logged 245,461 feet climbed on my bikes. This is over 8 "Everests".
#Run700Miles2026
700 miles is just under 100km per month. With my Half Marathon (see #5) training, I'm ahead of this pace with just over 513 miles so far this year. I am still fighting "runners knee", and I slowed down quite a bit towards the end of the month. I'm probably not going to run much in September because of the Great Cycle Challenge, I'll probably not run much. But I'm far enough ahead that I'm still on track.
Run a Half Marathon
CHECK ✅
I finished my Runna Half Marathon plan and completed the Platte River Half Marathon in mid-May. I even ran the Half Marathon faster than planned and blew away my 2:20 goal.
VO₂ Max > 44 ml/kg/min
CHECK ✅
As measured by my Garmin Watch, I started the year as 42 ml/kg/min. Right now, I hit 45 last month for most of the month. That is good enough for me to say I've hit this goal.
15 Stone
At my heaviest, I was over 260lbs. I've been as low as 214 last year and this year I started at 221. This month, I sort of ignored this goal. 15 Stone is 210 lbs, which would be lighter than I've been since my early college days. I'm "ok" on this, but it will get more and more difficult.

I am finally catching up to the "daily tracking lines" on my yearly cycling goals. With a huge cycling month coming up, next month I'll be all green here.

Month	Miles	YTD		Elevation	YTD
January	500	500	-94	28,741	28,741	-3,235
February	454	955	-177	23,250	51,991	-9,015
March	470	1,424	-301	25,481	77,472	-15,588
April	576	2,001	-300	31,463	108,935	-15,150
May	659	2,660	-236	32,319	141,254	-14,880
June	659	3,318	-153	33,347	174,601	-12,500
July	650	3,969	-59	33,398	207,999	-9,145
August	723	4,692	+32	37,462	245,451	-5,806
September	...	...	.	...	...	.
October	...	...	.	...	...	.
November	...	...	.	...	...	.
December	...	...	.	...	...	.

L is for Landlocked Ales

2026-09-03T06:33:00.000-06:00

If you've been paying attention to the A to Z Series of Posts, you might have noticed that we had to stretch a little for the past few letters.

The whole idea of A to Z is to help pick local breweries.

But ...

H is for Homegrown Tap and Dough is a pizza restaurant / tap room.

We just blatantly gave up and skipped the letter on I is for IDK.

We visited a beer bar on J is for Jake's Beer Bar.

My wife (aka the SheppyBrew Beer Model) came up with a great idea for "K", but we are actually going to come back to that one.

For now we're skipping ahead to "L". Big L. Little L. What begins with L?

L is for Landlocked Ales

Landlocked Ales is the closest commercial brewery to our house.

3225 S. Wadsworth Blvd. Lakewood, CO 80227.

On Saturday we decided to pack a lunch and ride our bikes there. We took a very round-about route, making it a longer bike ride than it had to be.

There was some sort of something going on in the parking lot. There were a bunch of tents set up and a band. We were not expecting that, but it was cool to listen to music while having lunch.

We have had most of the beers on tap, and decided to grab pints rather than sample flights.

Their Beers on Tap page is a good place to see what they have.

They had a couple of nice food trucks, and it looks like they quite often do. As I mentioned we packed our own lunch.

It was a fun little bike ride to a brewery.

Now, we will come back to a "K" brewery. Stay tuned on Sheppy's Blog: A to Z and you'll see what the Beer Model picked.

2026 Tribute Day Photos

2026-09-01T16:02:00.000-06:00

Here it is ... September already.

As you know if you follow me at all, I'll be cycling 1,000 miles in September to help raise awareness and money to fight childhood cancer.

It is called the Great Cycle Challenge.

If you'd like to help out, head to my "Rider Page" at

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

If you follow me on Facebook, you might have seen me posting about "Tribute Day" on Wednesday, August 26.

The GCC streamed photos of riders on a Times Square billboard. My huge head was on the billboard for a few seconds.

This happens every year, and someday I hope to be there in person, but at least the GCC people were nice enough to send me a photo of the billboard when my head flashed on it.

Their photo is much better quality than the screen-shot I took on the "Live Stream" the GCC provided.

https://greatcyclechallenge.com/Riders/EricShepard

Starting today, I'll be logging my miles to get to that 1,000 miles, and you'll probably see a bunch from me on Facebook, Instagram, and this blog about the GCC.

Sheppy's Blog: #GCCUSA

Roll-a-Style 10: 6B. Rauchbier

2026-08-31T06:08:00.000-06:00

The last time I did a Roll-a-Style post on this blog was Roll-a-Style 4: 9C. Baltic Porter back in February.

Yeah ... that was a long time ago.

So, it is probably worth a quick reminder: I created a list of BJCP beer styles that I've never brewed. When I want to decide which beer style to brew next, I originally rolled a virtual 20-sided online die, and brew the style that corresponds with the number that comes up.

Pretty simple, right?

After my 9C. Baltic Porter, I was down to 12 beer styles to brew, so I'm now using a 12 Sided Die.

It is close to Oktoberfest season, and I've unofficially declared this the "Year of the Lager". There is actually a style that fits Oktoberfest perfectly.

So .... I pretended to roll a

10 ... corresponding to 6B. Rauchbier.

"A beechwood-smoked, malty, amber German lager. The expected Märzen profile of toasty-rich malt, restrained bitterness, clean fermentation, and a relatively dry finish is enhanced by a noticeable to intense smoke character."

Generally, I think a smoked beer is pleasant ONLY if the smoke is very subtle. Too much gets overpowering very quickly.

So, I came up with a classic Märzen recipe with less than 10% smoked malt. You can look at that recipe at Brain Freeze Rauchbier.

I don't know exactly when I'll brew it, but to be consumed during Oktoberfest season, it will have to be fairly soon.

Keep an eye on Sheppy's Blog: Brain Freeze, and you'll find out when I brew it.

Now my Roll-a-Style list looks like this:

Number	Beer Style
1	9B. Eisbock
2	28A. Brett Beer
3	22D. Wheatwine
4	16D. Foreign Extra Stout
5	10C. Weizenbock
6	12C. English IPA
7	13B. British Brown Ale
8	28B. Mixed-Fermentation Sour Beer
9	32A. Classic Style Smoked Beer
10	Re-roll
11	10A. Weissbier
12	33B. Specialty Wood-Aged Beer

My "Bench" now includes:

NOTE ... there a few BJCP Styles that I purposely left off this list. At some point I might re-evaluate these missing styles, but I guess you'll have to stay tuned and see if I add more.

GNorthside Gnome Cold IPA (Batch 396)

2026-08-28T06:40:00.000-06:00

If you're new here, it will probably surprise you to know that I hate Gnomes.

Well ... that isn't technically true. I don't HATE them. It would be much more accurate to say that Gnomes absolutely terrify me.

It creeps me out the way these little creatures sneak around causing mischief. The way they pretend to act like real people is unnatural. Their little voices send chills down my spine. Oddly enough, leprechauns and tommyknockers don't bother me. I can't completely put my finger on what it is, but something about gnomes are completely frightening. Quite often when I see several gnomes together, I scream like a little girl.

I can't help it, they freak me out. My wife has a similar issue with spiders. It certainly doesn't help that the use an unnecessary "G" in their name. Uggggg.

Why do I have Brewing Gnomes, then?

Well ... after one of the episodes of me seeing several gnomes together, and screaming like a little girl ... in front of my young boys no less ... my loving family thought getting me a "therapy gnome" would be a good idea.

For Christmas 2012, my family adopted Gnasty Gnome. Gnasty loves beer and the Chicago Blackhawks. The idea was that having so much in common would help me start to overcome my irrational fears.

I started to recover some, and it wasn't too long before Gnaughty Gnome also joined us. Again, Gnaughty loves beer and is also a Chicago Bears fan. How can I feat a kindred Bears fan?

Interestingly enough, having these brewing buddies made some people think I like Gnomes. (can you image people thinking I LIKE gnomes?)

At some point, a Chicago Cubs Gnome joined the group. For some reason, I never gave this Gnome a name (or maybe I just don't remember doing it) until recently.

He also never had the opportunity to design a beer like Gnasty and Gnaughty (and even Gzombie) did.

Well, here it is August of 2026, and Gnorthside Gnome finally contributed a recipe to SheppyBrew Brewery.

GNorthside Gnome Cold IPA

We brewed it Sunday.

I won't waste your time explaining what a "Cold IPA" is. I'm sure you already know. You're probably not one of those people who would say "aren't all IPA's cold?"

Brew day went well. I didn't get started all that early. I basically got the mash going in the morning, letting it go through going to church.

After returning, I continued on the brew day.

The mash and boil went great, although the bag of Jasmine rice my wife had gotten me was less than I thought it would be, so I had to modify the recipe to accommodate.

Don't worry ... it was still "in style".

I also accidently measured out too much Mosaic hops, and was too lazy to get them out of the cup and put them back in the bag. So ... there are more Mosaic hops in this beer than Gnorthside Gnome originally intended.

Don't worry ... he didn't mind ... and it is also still "in style".

Technically, even though IP A stands for India Pale ALE, a cold IPA is a lager. (I didn't make this style ... I just followed Gnorthside Gnome's recipe )

So ... the beer is fermented with 34-70. The style calls for fermenting a little higher than a "traditional" lager.

I pitched my yeast at 60 - ish Farenheight.

As I type this, fermentation has not kicked off yet. By the time you read this, it certainly has. I'll have added one round of dry hops when you read this too. I'll add more dry hops into the keg too.

This is (probably?) the most hops in any SheppyBrew recipe. Gnorthside likes it that way.

We're looking forward to trying this beer.

Chatfield SUP Photos

2026-08-26T06:24:00.000-06:00

We went Paddle Boarding on Chatfield Reservoir again on Saturday.

This is the second time using the Akaso Brave 7 LE Action Camera. I think its supposed to be more of a video camera ... but I've yet to really take a video worth saving.

Oh Well.

One of us fell in. Sadly, it wasn't me.

Colorado is in a drought and Chatfield Reservoir is certainly showing that we need lots more rain than we've been getting.

I'm really hoping for more snow this winter, and any rain we get between now and then is very welcome.

But, even with the low water level on the lake, it is always fun to get out there and paddle around.

Here are some pictures ...

J is for Jake's Beer Bar

2026-08-24T05:52:00.000-06:00

If you're following along on the A to Z Series, you probably know we're in a tough section of the alphabet.

Round 7 started out nicely. A, B, C, D, F and G all had local breweries that started with the respective letters. E was a little stretch, but not bad at all.

On H is for Homegrown Tap and Dough, we picked a local Tap Room and Pizza Place rather than a brewery.

We totally punted on "I" with I is for IDK.

"J" was another letter that didn't really have any good choices on the Colorado Brewery Map & List, but I thought there was a good downtown Littleton Beer Bar we could slot into this spot.

J is for Jake's Beer Bar

Jake's Beer Bar is located right in the middle of Main Street in Old Downtown Littleton, and has "37 Rotating Taps Featuring the Best Craft Beer."

I would probably prefer more local-ish beers, but their approach is beers from across the country, and a few international beers as well.

"Jake's Brew Bar is locally-owned and operated by two generations of Littleton locals - Vanessa & Jayne. After opening Kate's Wine Bar (named after Jayne's mother/ Vanessa's grandmother), they decided to open a craft beer bar - Jake's - named after Jayne's father/Vanessa's grandfather. It was their dream to have Kate's and Jake's up and running together in downtown Littleton."

"That dream became a reality in 2012. Built from the ground-up, the bar itself and most of the furniture was handmade by Vanessa. Each tap handle has a unique story, hand-weld into place by Vanessa. In 2014, an expansion added the Garden side to Jake's, including a beautiful beer garden - complete with a live music stage and fire pit. Come down, enjoy a cold, craft beer with friendly people and experience the wonderful city of Littleton the people of Jake's feel so proud to support and serve."

It is a cool little place to "pre-game" for Downtown Littleton activities ... or if you have a wife who wants to go shopping ... it is a perfect place to hang out.

The main negative to Jake's Beer Bar is that it appears to be a "Packers Bar". I will have to stay away when the Packers are playing.

They brag to be one of three locations in Colorado to have Duvel on tap. I will say that I'm not sure Duvel SHOULD to served in the high altitude of Colorado from a keg. It took a long time for the bartender to pour me a glass without 90% foam.

It was fine, but I'll keep that in mind.

In addition to the 37 taps, they also do have a pretty extensive bottle collection.

It was pretty wet when we went, so we didn't try the Beer Garden, but on a sunny day, it looks like a great place to drink beer.

This place doesn't really serve food, so we headed across the street to Denver Beer Company for dinner.

We had ice cream at Little Man Ice Cream, which is also right across the street.

A nice location to have beers in Downtown Littleton. I'm sure I'll be back at some point.

And now ... we're up to the letter K. The Colorado Brewery Map & List has one interesting possibility, but I'm not sure that is what we'll pick.

Stay tuned on Sheppy's Blog: A to Z, and you find out what "K" brewery (or will it be another beer bar?) we pick.

I is for IDK

2026-08-20T06:25:00.000-06:00

As you know if you follow along on the A to Z Breweries series of articles, we've decided to continue on with Round 7.

If you're not familiar ... back in February of 2015, I was embarrassed by how few Denver Breweries that I had visited.

I decided to make an effort to hit more of them, and worked my way from A to Z, hitting a brewery for every letter.

At the end of Round 6, I mentioned that I wasn't sure we' really do a Round 7, because it is becoming more and more difficult to tie each letter to a Denver-area brewery.

So far, through the letter "H", we've actually been pretty solid on picking breweries (or at least a tap house) for the corresponding letter.

But, as I mentioned in H is for Homegrown Tap and Dough, "I" has been a challenging letter for us throughout this little project, and the Colorado Brewery Map & List doesn't really have any local choices that actually start with "I". I actually had no idea what we'll do.

I is for IDK

In round 1, we picked I is for IronWorks Brewery and Pub. At the time it was the only "I" brewery I could find in the Denver area, and shortly after we visited, they closed. Honestly, their beer wasn't all that great, so I wasn't too sad to see them close.

In round 2, a brewery re-named themselves and we were able to pick I is for [The] Intrepid Sojourner Beer Project. This was a fun little brewery that we could bike to, and they had good beers. However, they closed soon after we visited too. Actually, I think they changed their name first and then closed not-too-long after.

In round 3, we traveled a little bit to Castle Rock, Colorado for I is for Iron Mule Brewery. This brewery is still open and (as far as I can tell) is actually thriving. It is a great Castle Rock brewery in the older downtown area.

In round 4, we got to "I" around GABF, and instead of picking a local "I" brewery (there were none to pick), I wrote about a few breweries I visited at GABF. I is for {"..."}.

In round 5, we took some artistic license to pick I is for Sanitas Brewing II. Sanitas Brewing was one of our local favorites for awhile, but in a year or two after the post, they also were closed.

In round 6, another brewery had changed its name to I is for Incantation Brewing. Unfortunately, though, even before we were close to the letter "I", they announced they too would have to close. The Beer Model and I went out-of-order to get into this brewery on literally the last day they were open.

And ... here we are back to the letter "I" in round 7. I don't know. I just don't know. Rather than force something into this letter (and probably push them into bankruptcy) ... I'm punting on "I" this time around.

IDK. I'll just skip this one.

Now ... we're up to the letter "J". According to the Colorado Brewery Map & List, "J" is also somewhat challenging. Not sure I can punt 2 letters in a row, so we'll have to come up with something. Stay tuned on Sheppy's Blog: A to Z, and you'll know what we pick.

I screwed up the Potato Beer

2026-08-18T06:15:00.000-06:00

If you follow along on this blog and/or SheppyBrew Brewery, you know that I recently brewed Potato Barley Rye (PBR) ... Batch 395.

I thought it would be fun to brew a Potato Beer.

The potatoes I used came in the form of Idahoan Real Premium Mashed Potatoes, which is basically flaked potato. Add water and you get mashed potatoes.

I checked to make sure that the box said "no added flavorings" and no extra fats.

The thing I guess I didn't notice on the nutrition facts is that each serving has quite a bit of sodium in it. WAY more than brewing salts I'd ever add to a batch of beer.

So ... I recently kegged this beer, and the initial taste was sort of weird. I thought maybe the potatoes came through with a strange flavor.

But, I thought it might settle out. I chilled and carbonated. My taste off the tap, it hit me ... "this tastes a little salty".

This is when I decided to find the nutrition facts online, and sure enough ... lots of sodium.

Uggg!!!!

I am keeping the beer to see if it settles out at all, but once I get other beers brewed to take that spot, I'll probably end up dumping it. I don't think it is undrinkable. I just would prefer not having that salty flavor in a beer.

I don't have another beer brewed, though, so it will be at least a couple weeks before I get rid of it.

In the meantime, Sunday, I used the beer as a brine for a Chicken I grilled.

Brine is actually a pretty good use for this. It would also probably work for things like BBQ Sauce. Next time I make rice, I might use it instead of water.

Whatever it takes to use this up.

My preferred method cooking whole chickens right now is to Spatchcock and then Quarter the bird.

It makes it easier to fit the bird on the grill. I can move pieces around if certain parts are cooking faster than others.

It makes for delicious chicken.

And ... that is what I did Sunday.

I'll admit, I tried the PBR, during the cook, and didn't think it tasted quite as weird as it did a little warmer. In fact, I had a few pints.

So, maybe between using it as a food ingredient, and the occasional drink, I'll kill this keg before I have to dump it.

On Potato Barley Rye (PBR) ... Batch 395, I had enough issues with the Potato Flakes that I thought I'd never brew this again, but now I think I have to try it without the extra sodium.

I'm not sure if I'll be able to find flaked potatoes without added salt, so I think I'll end up peeling and mashing actual potatoes.

Stay tuned on Sheppy's Blog: PBR and you'll find out if and when and how I end up brewing it again.

SheppyBrew – Potato Barley Rye (PBR)

2026-08-13T06:04:00.000-06:00

Brewery: SheppyBrew
Style: Potato Beer ABV: 6.9% IBU: 32 SRM: 4.4

Appearance

Pale gold with a faint amber glint from the rye. A tight, creamy head lingers like mashed potatoes whipped to perfection. Brilliant clarity despite the starchy origins — proof that tubers can sparkle.

Aroma

Earthy and rustic up front, with soft grain sweetness and a whisper of rye spice. A subtle floral hop note floats above a baked‑potato warmth. It smells like a harvest table in late autumn.

Flavor

Smooth malt character with gentle rye bite and a touch of potato‑derived silkiness. Balanced bitterness keeps the sweetness in check. The finish is crisp, slightly nutty, and oddly addictive — like fries you can drink.

Mouthfeel

Medium‑light body, creamy texture, and a dry snap at the end. The potato adds roundness without heaviness, giving it a plush feel that still finishes clean.

Overall Impression

A mischievous hybrid of comfort food and craft beer — hearty yet refreshing. It’s the kind of brew that makes gnomes raise their mugs and laugh at the absurdity of brewing with spuds.

Legend of PBR

Long before the potato monster appeared on tap handles, the SheppyBrew gnomes were deep in one of their classic brewing debates — arguing over mash temperatures, rye percentages, and whether adjuncts were “innovation” or “chaos.” The brewmaster had stepped out for a moment, leaving them unsupervised, which is always when trouble begins.

In the dim light of the cellar, the gnomes discovered a forgotten crate of potatoes. Not ordinary potatoes — these were knobby, twisted things rumored to have sprouted from soil enriched by ancient brewing spills. Some said they were magical. Others said they were cursed. All agreed they were perfect for experimentation.

So the gnomes chopped, mashed, and tossed the spuds into the kettle with barley and rye, chanting old brewing rhymes passed down from the legendary Spudfather, a mythical tuber spirit said to bless only the boldest brewers. As the mash thickened, the air grew warm and electric. The steam swirled, condensed, and suddenly took shape.

From the haze emerged a hulking Potato Monster, eyes glowing like embers, skin mottled like a burlap sack, and a grin wide enough to unsettle even the bravest gnome. But instead of rampaging, the creature reached for a mug, dipped it into the bubbling wort, and let out a satisfied rumble. The gnomes cheered — clearly, this was a sign.

Together, gnomes and monster finished the brew, crafting a golden ale with rye spice, potato silkiness, and a mischievous spirit. When the brewmaster returned, he found the gnomes celebrating, mugs raised high, chanting “P‑B‑R!” in triumph. The monster simply winked and vanished back into the steam.

Wild vs Spotted Cow

2026-08-11T06:25:00.000-06:00

If you read Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch (Batch 394), you know that I designed Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch as a tribute to New Glarus Spotted Cow back in 2020.

As I don't live in Wisconsin, though, my memory of Spotted Cow was sort of fuzzy. My brain had Spotted Cow as a darker beer than it actually was, and the original version didn't look anything like Spotted Cow.

I have family in Wisconsin and since 2020, I've had the opportunity to drink and study Spotted Cow a bit more, and I modified the Wild Cow (sort of) Kölsch (Batch 394) recipe to at least look a little closer.

This past weekend, I had an opportunity to try the beers side-by-side.

Visually I nailed it. Color on both is a gold, darker than typical "light" beers but not dark enough to be considered amber or even copper. Both had fluffy white head. The Wild Cow maintained its head better. Carbonation was pretty close, but I think Spotted Cow had a bit more. Both were hazy, but not the ugly cloudy you get from most hazy IPA's.

I think the malt bills were very similar. Spotted Cow was a little sweeter, and Wild Cow a touch drier and more drinkable. The Spotted Cow can says they follow the Reinheitsgebot, so they don't have the flaked wheat and barely I put in Wild Cow. Tastes close enough, though.

Neither had much hop flavor or aroma, but I think Wild Cow was better balanced and had a little more hop character.

I'm pretty sure that Spotted Cow does not use the Colorado Kolsch yeast that I used. Or ... Perhaps they fermented their beer warmer than I did. There are more esters in the Spotted Cow. I'm actually more of the fan of the slightly cleaner Wild Cow.

They are actually fairly close. And the differences are better in Wild Cow, so this is the recipe for this beer.

I think I'm likely to brew this again sometime.

While tasting these beers together, I was grilling chicken thighs on the Weber Kettle.

Chicken thighs are the thing I cook the most, but I hardly ever mention them on this blog.

They turned out great.

Potato Barley Rye (PBR) ... Batch 395

2026-08-06T06:41:00.000-06:00

I brewed a batch of beer last week, only my 9th of the year, but the 2nd brew this month.

I'm still way behind my usual brewing volume, and tracking to be one of the least-amounts brewed in any year since I started.

At this point, I'm thinking it is unlikely I'll catch up to my "normal" amount this year ... but I guess we'll have to see.

Currently, I have 4 beers "on-tap", which is my maximum, but 3 out of my 4 kegs are very close to being empty.

So ... I may need to brew a few more batches soon.

Anyway ... the beer I brewed last week is an interesting experiment (interesting to me) ....

Potato Barley Rye (PBR)

Yes, I brewed a "potato beer".

Way back in 2016, I brewed a Sweet Potato Beer called #WeAreGroot. For #WeAreGroot I cut up and mashed actual sweet potatoes.

For PBR, I used boxed flaked potatoes, which I thought would be less of a pain. I didn't have to cut, boil, and mash the flakes, so I guess it was a little less of a pain.

But, the flaked potatoes are a pain in their own way. The first thing I noticed was that it was extremely difficult to get all the "dough balls" out (potato balls?). With a bunch of stirring I guess I got them to an acceptable point, so that wasn't too terribly bad.

But ... even with rice hulls, the potato flakes were not very re-circulation friendly. I had the pump going very slow, and still got the dreaded "stuck mash".

Eventually, I just turned off the pump, so that was fine too.

Draining took a ridiculous long time. But, I wasn't really in a hurry, so I just let it go for a long time.

The mash absorbed much more water than my usual malted-grains do. I ended up having to add more than a whole gallon back to dilute.

The pre-boil volume / gravity was actually right on plan after the dilution water, so I guess the difficulties didn't seem to affect my mash / brewhouse efficiency.

Cleaning up the potato "gunk" was also more difficult than a regular malt-based beer clean up.

The boil actually went well. This particular recipe calls for quite a few hops, and I got them all in where I intended.

I caused my own issue with chilling. I pushed the wrong button on the power, so while I was chilling, my Foundry was still heating.

Surprisingly, my chiller still got the wort under 90 degrees. I decided to rack into the fermenter at the higher temperature and letting my fermentation cooling system bring the temperature down to pitching temperature.

It took a couple of hours.

I pitched and the fermentation started up pretty quickly. As of now, we are about a week into fermentation. I'll keg this up and probably start drinking soon.

Should be an interesting beer.

Sheppy's Blog

3 Blondes and a Redhead

2026 Q3 SheppyBrew Stats

September Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

Khupacabra Kolorado Kolsch (Batch #399)

I finished #GCCUSA2026

M is for Mad Macks Brewing

#GCCUSA2026 Hero Jersey Shots

#GCCUSA2026 Jersey Shots

Buckwheat's Belgium Pale Ale (Batch 398)

Brain Freeze Rauchbier (Batch 397)

PBR vs. PBR

K is for Steep Brewing LaKeside TiKi Bar

3 Floyds Zombie Dust

August Update on 2026 Fitness Goals

L is for Landlocked Ales

2026 Tribute Day Photos

Roll-a-Style 10: 6B. Rauchbier

GNorthside Gnome Cold IPA (Batch 396)

Chatfield SUP Photos

J is for Jake's Beer Bar

I is for IDK

I screwed up the Potato Beer

SheppyBrew – Potato Barley Rye (PBR)

Appearance

Aroma

Flavor

Mouthfeel

Overall Impression

Legend of PBR

Wild vs Spotted Cow

Potato Barley Rye (PBR) ... Batch 395

SheppyBrew – Potato Barley Rye (PBR)

Overall Impression

Legend of PBR