The Pour:
Sam’s Latitude 48 poured well darker than I expected it too, the color was actually quite impressive; a very dark copper with a sort of burnt amber look to it. The carbonation builds quickly to a big head on top of the beer that starts to dissipate slowly into a ring of foam with lacing down the sides of the glass.
The Nose:
A very strong nose filled with bright pine needle aromas and very sweet malts. The hops are the most notable note, but the malts really had some depth to them. The biggest malt aroma was that of caramel, but the sweetness of them almost made me think of chocolate. If you swish it around and get the head built back up you can even pick up the stinky earthy aroma, which is really weird a cross between dirt and mushrooms and kinda gross.
The Palate:
Wow! This beer is very complex and well balanced. The dominant hops that came across first and strongest on the nose take a back seat to an upfront malt flavor. The deep caramel malts hit you first and then the hops come into play. The bitterness is definitely there, but as the flavor mixes in your mouth it tastes more like a resiny pine needles that it does straight hops or straight caramel malts. The balance is outstanding. Then at the end of the swallow the hops take over with some citrus notes and a short bitter finish that lingers on the tongue.
In my opinion Sam just may a great play in the affordable IPA range because well all of Sam’s beers are affordable. With so many breweries making imperial and double IPAs that come in at 12.99 a six pack Latitude will surely please your palate without killing your wallet. 4.25 out of 5 stars be sure to pick up Latitude 48 when you get the chances.
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I’m pretty sure I was drooling on the keyboard. I really want that beer now. Woah, thats twice now that I’ve said that. First it was Guinness, and now a Sam adams. Damn, my check doesn’t come in till tomorrow. hah
It was good. And like I said I always think Sam Adam’s is reasonably priced so it is a great beer at a bargain price.
A Bargain price is the .50 a bottle I pay when I can get them from my bro. I am still working on getting you one, I keep texting, he just doesn’t respond sometimes. Along with an additional one so I can give some to all the guys who helped with the pool.
Don’t worry about the guys I am the only important one.
I was disappointed… This is the bud light of IPAs.
Was there anything specifically you didn’t care for? I mean I have most certainly had better but few at the price point.