Latitude 48 IPA - First tasting: The beer pours a dark copper, with a bit of amber, in color, and a small off-white head. For an IPA, the aroma seems very malty. The main aroma to me is a spicy rye bread, with a bit of tea and tobacco. The taste is rye bread, a bit of floral tartness, grapefruit peel, with a very bitter finish. I guess I was expecting a more American style IPA. This is not hop forward.
Another taste on July 8, 2011, preliminary to trying the Latitude 48 IPA "Deconstructed" series: The beer pours brown-orange-ruby in color, medium dark, but clear. There is a half inch of thick and creamy head that is off-white and leaves medium lacing down the glass. The aroma is a bit fruity, red plum jam over a caramel malt. The taste is light fruit, slightly sweet, a solid, but subtle, malt base with a blisteringly dry and bitter grapefruit peel finish (more bitter than citrus). This is much better than the one I tried previously, but it is more of an English-style IPA (bitter over malt base) than American style IPA (citrus, tropical fruit, pine, hop forward).
Zeus variety Latitude 48 - The Zeus variety's growing region is the Yakima Valley of Washington state. This beer pours orange-brown-ruby in color, a shade lighter than the regular Latitude 48. It has over an inch of thick, billowy head that is off-white in color that leaves light lacing down the glass. This is supposed to be a piney variety of hop, but the aroma is subdued, mostly fruit over caramel malt. The taste is massive bitterness, the pine is apparent in the bitterness although not strong, over a light fruity malt base. The bitterness here is extremely strong, and leaves a tonsil curdling astringency at the back of the throat that is vaguely grapefruit peel.
Hallertau Mittelfrueh - The growing region for this variety of hops is Hallertau, Germany. This beer pours a clear orange-brown-ruby in color similar to the Zeus variety. There is a half-inch of thick, creamy, off-white head that leaves medium lacing down the glass. Not a very aromatic beer. The taste is lightly fruity, citrusy, and floral on a bed of caramel malt with a relatively lightly bitter and dry finish.
Simcoe - The growing region for this variety of hops is also the Yakima Valley of Washington state. It pours a ruby-orange brown in color, medium dark, but clear. There is a tall half-inch of thick foamy head that is just off-white in color, and leaves medium lacing down the glass. The aroma is tropical fruit and cantaloupe with a slight musty, earthiness on a firm malty, caramel base. This is the most hop forward aromatic wise of the varieties so far. The taste is a grapefruit bitter tang, fruity, malty and slightly sweet, but with a bracingly dry, bitter finish.
East Kent Goldings - The growing region for this variety of hops is East Kent, United Kingdom. This pours a bright and clear orange-brown-ruby. There is a tall inch of thick, foamy yet creamy off-white head that leaves sticky lacing of medium density down the glass. The aroma is fresh, clean, grassy, flowery, with some plum-like fruit and some light caramel malt followed by a spicy rye note. The taste follows the aroma quite closely. This is bitter, but lightly and refreshingly so. This is a really nice and very drinkable English-style IPA. The Simcoe was my favorite hop, but this is my favorite beer overall of the Latitude 48's.
Ahtanum - This variety of hops is also from the Yakima Valley of Washington state. It pours a bright, clear orange-ruby-brown in color. There is a half inch of thick creamy head that leaves medium lacing down the glass. The aroma is fresh and clean, light grassy and floral notes and light apricot-like fruit. The taste follows the aroma, sits on a bed of somewhat sweet caramel malt, and finishes with a medium bitterness. This is fairly similar to the East Kent Goldings, but has a more bitter finish.
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