Always try a new Sam Adams product unless spices are involved and don’t think I’ve seen this before .
I got the beer too cold- 37F But as it warms I’m getting a big upfront bitterness and hop flavor across my entire tongue and past. :o Nice subtle burnt caramel tones and round mouthfeel as it continues to warm. Sweet malt and hop aroma fills up my nose. Carbonation is ok.
It’s totally a SA product, much as I can also recognize a New Belgium beer.
Pushing the limits on dryness. It’s a little drier than I care for, but totally within style for an IPA (I think).
Interesting beer. They say “unique”. The play on the aroma vs the dry bitter character is interesting. Dichotomy there but as a presentation/statement I think I get it.
First beer final impression. Never thought I’d say it: cloying bitterness? And not in the sweet way.
I get a “Magnum” hop flavor, its very green leaf or vegetal tasting and no citrus flavor. Not sure I like this… SA has let me down the last few beers of theirs that I’ve tried now. I don’t mind the light carmel sweetness which took about half a bottle before I noticed any. The bottle is dated for July 2011… :-\
Yeah, it’s “ok” but not an excellent IPA. Agree with Dean’s comments about “grassy” and no citrus. Wouldn’t turn my nose up to one if you handed it to me though. ;)
I had the deconstructed Simcoe and Hallertauer on draught last night. Both were quite good.
Simcoe deconstructed was a typical West Coast-style AIPA, but I thought that the malt could be slightly richer and the hops were a bit rough in the finish.
Hallertauer Mittelfruh was excellent, but it was an APA, not an AIPA. IMO, you can’t make an AIPA using just Hallertauer Mittelfruh - there just isn’t enough alpha acid in them unless you use ridiculous amounts.
Yes, according to the Sam Adams rep who was there at the tasting event, they used Hallertauer Mittelfruh for bittering. Bloody waste of expensive noble hops if you ask me. I would have cheated and used Perle.
I saw this beer at the my local liquor store but passed it up. Now I have to try it as this thread has sparked my interest. Sounds interesting.
From their website:
Samuel Adams® Latitude 48 IPA is a unique IPA brewed with a select blend of hops from top German, English, and American growing regions all located close to the 48th latitude within the “hop belt” of the Northern Hemisphere. The combination of hops in this beer creates a distinctive but not overpowering hop character. The beer is dry hopped with Ahtanum, Simcoe®*, and East Kent Goldings hops for a powerful citrus and earthy aroma. The hop character is balanced by a slight sweetness and full body from the malt blend.
Has anyone found the “deconstructed” on the west coast yet, and if so who is distributing? I went out in search of the SA lat48 decon and was SOL… however, I did stumble across the last case and a half of Pliny the Elder at a neighborhood beer house and snatched up my allotment of two.
I picked up a sizer of it, and for the money, I’m really happy with it. Personally, I like a dry, light on the carmel IPA. In fact, I mash my house IPA at 148*, to dry it out. I bitter with Mags, and go Cascade the rest of the way, so with the SA, the lack of citrus is a pleasant change for me. I guess I can’t really complain about it at all.
The deconstructed Latitude 48 finally got here and I purchased a 12 pack over the weekend. The version using Hallertauer Mittlefruh is nice, but not bitter enough to be an IPA. Much better than the noble hop IPA we had at the BJCP reception in S.D.
I had the Zeus and Simcoe versions since then, both of which are very good (and I’m not a Simcoe fan).
It is a fun experiment and I recommend trying it out.
The individually hopped versions seem to me to be better than the whole version.
Saw the deconstructed out of the corner of my eye the other night at the beer store. P/u a 12er. Have tasted all the single hopped iterations. Only noticed the enjoy by date today. By Sept. Oops. The hop character was a bit muted on all but the Hallertau Mittlefrueh version, the tastiest by far, of the group(at this age). Need to try the offering fresh for sure. In order of preference: Hallertau Mittlefrueh, Simcoe, EKG, Zeus, Ahtanum. Will get to the “constructed” brew tomorrow.
This tasting, plus my love for one of the great all time best single hop beers, THA, has got the wheels turning for a run of single hop AIPA brews. Finally kegging an all Galaxy hopped AIPA this weekend. Tasted very promising before dry hop.
