Brew Batch #47 Baltic Porter

It's spring time and the windows are open, but no matter how many and what variety of Yankee Candle Company candle I burn there's no escaping the aroma of fresh boiling malt in the house itself! Granted the back porch windows are open but hey, this is when you save on A/C. I decided to hang this recipe again because, for me a porter has become a "year-rounder". Nay to those that sip light translucence when the boys start round the bases. It's like tattoos right now, to be different, don't have one. Swallows become California vultures when you get older, guys and gals! Had 2 or 3 boil overs and the alpha acid on the 1st Perle addition was a little higher than last time, but it smells like a winner. OG 1.062+ 0.002 @75F.

Our Tastes-- Latitude 48 Deconstructed

And the coup de gras, Latitude 48. The culmination of all aforementioned hop varieties. A smooth creamy frothy head that would support a small coin (or child). A well balanced IPA that has a less bitter harshness than other favs like SW 420 IPA. I culmination of bittering with Zeus and UK East Kent Goldings, and additional dry hopping with Simcoe, Ahtanum and Hallertau Mittelfreuh. All grown on the 48th Latitude. Way to go Jim on the marketing piece for this one and the idea to capitalize on Single Hop IPAs (sometimes known as bitters, except these are NOT session beers).

Our Tastes-- Latitude 48 Deconstructed

Bringing on the Zeus. I will say that the head is much more frothy, which is a great indicator of alpha acid content for the untrained brewer or brew drinker. The higher the alpha the headier the beer and this one has a good inch on it. No cereal so there must be a ton of hop to it. Wow, it hits the sides of the tongue and paints a coat of bitter across it like a roller and roof tar! Alphas has to be huge on it. I know this because I have 3 VERY healthy rhizomes of this and have brewed with the whole cones. This may be my most favorite hop varietal mainly due to hardiness, but there's nothing like picking a whole cone of this I've grown in my back yard, rolling it around in my palms and whiffing the oil complexity. Don't have a pic of the Zeus label but how about some Mitchell Farms 2010 growth?

Our Tastes-- Latitude 48 Deconstructed

Delving into Simcoe this time. Color, froth are the same with a nose that cuts the cereal all together. The palate is overall much more bitter up front. Simcoe , just released in 2000 as an official hop variety, seems to be a an overall hard bittering hop. Check out the alpha acid on this one. You can really feel the punch. No picture this time.

Let 2012 Growing Season Begin!

Nugget (on the left) meet Sunbeam (on the right)! Sunbeam has been destroyed 2 years in a row by insect and army worms. This is the most healthy growth I've ever seen from it! I may actually have some hop cones this year. I used to grow it on the back porch with partial sun but I think it will stay right where it is. To give you an idea, the posts are 7 feet tall and 6 feet apart except the one around the pine tree that has Sunbeam on the diagonal, they're 5 feet apart. You do the Pythagorean on that one.

Our Tastes-- Latitude 48 Deconstructed

Almost done with the sampler we embark upon Ahtanum. When I say it, I think Native American horse riding tribe. Head, color as expected, which means for someone who wishes to truly test their hop palate this is a great experiment. Not a lot of nose picked up on this one grown in the "Yakimaw" Valley (see Dirty Jobs Vellum Maker episode), but the bitter is intensely up front. Not too much lingers on the backside and it smacks of citrus grapefruit pine! Much more intense than the 2 prior hop varieties we've tried and aggressive on it's bitter character. (And oh yes, we taste in the rain)

Our Tastes-- Latitude 48 Deconstructed

Continuing with our "Deconstruction" sampler we swig away at Hallertau Mittelfrueh. The color remains the same as we have found out that the same malt base is used for this IPA sampler, only the bittering, aroma and dry hops vary with each brew. Head is maintained but the nose is more subtle and not as "cereal" as the East Kent Goldings taster. The taste is more well balanced and not quite as bitter as the East Kent hop. This isn't my favorite IPA so far, I guess because it is more bland than anything else. I understand Hallertau is somewhat of the grandaddy of most hops but the newer versions tend to par better with my palate. The Beer Tasting and Hop Appreciation Kit really helped narrow this subtle hop variety down.