Updating the Homebrew Colorado 6 pack

If you've been following my 6 Pack Project posts, you know that I matched up 6 of my homebrew recipes with my Colorado 6 pack list that I put together back in 2013.

As I was brewing beers in my Homebrew Colorado 6 pack, I noted that 3 out of the 6 beers no longer existed at their commercial breweries, so I was unable to compare my beers to the beers that they were meant to represent.

I brewed ... 

• Stone Soup IDA to represent TommyKnocker's Hop Strike Black IPA
• One Hundred Hoppy Brown Ale to approximate Boulder Beer Company's Flashback India Brown Ale
• Irregular Eric's Double IPA  as a tribute to Oskar Blues Deviant Dale's India Pale Ale

Since I was unable to track down the commercial beers to taste, I had to compare my homebrewed versions to my memory of the commercial beers.

I felt like Stone Soup and One Hundred were pretty close to what I remember about Hop Strike and Flashback.

I didn't think Irregular Eric's Double IPA matched real close to Deviant Dale's. I really like it, but it was not a match to the Oskar Blues beer.

So ... I was thinking that I should replace Hop Strike, Flashback, and Deviant Dale's on my 6 Pack Project with beers I can find today. 

Here is what I'm thinking I would add to the list today.

1. Ska Brewing Company's Mexican Logger ... A crisp and refreshing summer Mexican craft lager. More flavorful than the big boys it has a great Saaz hop finish in a low alcohol quaffable session beer. The sort of beer you can enjoy all day. I figure that SheppyBrew's Sin Lima Mexican Lager would be a perfect beer to compare to this. Sin Lima probably has a little more malt flavor and body, but I think they make a good match.
   
   
2. Oskar Blues Dale's Pale Ale ... Colorado's classic pale ale. Nice American citrus hop flavor and aroma with a great malt backbone. 6.5% ABV with 65 IBU. Not quite an IPA, but a little more than a typical Pale Ale. I figure I can take Irregular Eric's and reduce the ABV. According to Oskar Blue's stats, it is already about the right color. I'm planning on naming the new beer Eric's Pale Ale.
   
   
3. Copper Kettle Mexican Chocolate Stout ... Probably my favorite beer from Denver's Copper Kettle Brewing Company. A 7% ABV Chocolate Stout with cinnamon, and various hot peppers. I will have to design a new homebrew recipe to match this beer. I'm thinking I'm going to name my homebrew something like "Caliente Fuerte Mexican Stout".

As luck would have it, I currently have SheppyBrew's Sin Lima Mexican Lager kegged and ready to compare with Ska's Mexican Logger. This is a seasonal beer, but it should be out in the liquor stores very soon.

Follow Sheppy's Blog: 6 Pack Project and you'll see how I think they compare.

You'll also see when I brew Eric's Pale Ale and Caliente Fuerte Mexican Stout.

Stay tuned.

Go Blackhawk!