Before we begin, I'd like to apologize in advance (again) for the low quality of the pictures. They make these two beers look like they're the same color, which they're not, although they were similar. Please take my word for it, and don't judge the pictures too harshly.
East Kent Goldings
This comes from, in case you couldn’t guess from the insanely obvious name, East Kent in the UK (if you don’t know where East Kent is, I would suggest looking along the 48th latitude).
This beer brings “fruity, floral, and apricot flavors” to the table, something that I am eager to try.
Color: Closer to a true orange color with just a hint of amber. Pours golden and clear, and there’s not a lot of carbonation. If I had to pick, I’d probably say it was the color of apricots. And if it’s the color of apricots…
Aroma: …then it smells like apricots! It’s fruity and a little bit floral. It doesn’t hit my nose quite in the same way as the Ahtanum, but it still smells delicious. So if it looks like an apriot and smells like an apricot…
First sip: …then it’s an apricot!...Beer! Liquid fruity flavor! More fruity and sweet than the other hop varieties by far, and I can taste a bit more of the malts in this one as well. The apricot isn’t over powering, despite my previous exclamation points. It’s apricot, but it’s hops as well. It’s like an apricot that leveled up and got an ability to naturally produce beer.
Mouthfeel: I can taste more of the apricot, but it’s not too sweet. There is some hop flavor, but it’s a mellow bitterness. It’s not very carbonated, and as a result feels smoother than the other beers.
Aftertaste: So my notes here got mixed up with another beer and what I actually wrote doesn’t make sense. (Let’s also keep in mind I’m a small girl and even 6% ABV can hit me unexpectedly.) But I do remember being left with a sweetness on my tongue and a warmth in my belly (though that may have been the alcohol).
If you can’t get ahold of a deconstructed pack, but still want to try an apricot beer, may I recommend Aprihop, by Dogfish Head, or perhaps Son of a Peach by R.J. Rockers Brewing Co. Aprihop will have more hop presence with the apricot flavor instead of the more traditional grapefruit one, and Son of a Peach will taste fruitier, sweeter, and less bitter (it’s a wheat beer and not an IPA).
Zeus
True to it’s name, this hop variety purports to be the most intense out of all of them. They’re grown natively on Mount Olympus, but I suppose Yakima Valley, WA, has somehow got ahold of them too.
These hops contribute a strong hop presence and “an intense, pungent, resinous pine flavor.” I half expect lightening bolts to come shooting out of the bottle any minute. Or maybe for it to turn into a bull or a swan. Because you know that’s how Zeus rolled. (Mythology! Yeah! No one got that!)
Color: A dark gold. Pours a lighter gold, but looks darker in the glass. It leans towards a light caramel color, but definitely not as dark as the Ahtanum was.
Aroma: It has t
hat familiar grapefruit smell, with piney and earthy notes mixed in as well. After the orangey, floral, apricot, and other diverse smells, this feels a bit like coming home…Kind of like winning the Trojan War and finally getting home after 10 years of epic, weird, and insane adventures.
First sip: Probably the most bitter and intense of all the hops here. I can taste a slight malt flavor and some yeastiness, but it’s mostly piney and resinous. There’s not a whole lot of fruity flavor to this one, but I love hops and bitterness, so I’m not too fussed. It’s like the sweet taste of victory after you’ve successfully surprised the enemy by jumping out of a wooden horse.
Mouthfeel: The pine flavor is quite intense when you let it sit in your mouth for a while. A lot of bitterness—there is almost no sweetness anywhere in this beer. It does get balanced out by the malts, but I only had eyes (or tongues??) for the bitterness. Those who weren’t fans of the East Kent Goldings or Ahtanum may like this variety better.
Aftertase: Bitter. Some malt taste left as well, but it’s mostly the hops. This beer has a great hop presence. Almost like lightening one might say…
I also have pictures from the Blue & Brews fest, which should be up by Saturday (hopefully sooner!). But to give you a bit of a preview, it was probably the most fun I've ever had. With good beer, good food, and good music, it's really hard to go wrong.
Also, I seem to have lost my notes for the Latitude 48 itself (boo, boo, shame on me, I know) so that review will have to wait until I find one to retaste. I'm not sure how likely that is, as I dont know if they have this beer year round, but I shall try to find one.
Upcoming in the next couple weeks, there is a good chance that I shall be going to Armsby Abbey, the greatest beer bar in Worcester (and possibly all of Massachusetts) to partake in the delights that they offer.
And by delights I mean beer, and lots of it.
My mom and uncle, happy because they are about to get liquored up.
A very happy man at the "cask conditioned" booth. Their company takes beers from other brewers and conditions them in casks.
I honestly forget the exact name of this beer, but the one on the left has been cask conditioned. The one on the right has not. I am 99% sure that this was an IPA.
My dad, happily anticipating his cask conditioned beer.
The selection from Blue Hills Brewery. Their Watermelon Ale and Antimatter are really fucking good.
My mom was capture by Uncle Fester. It was weird.
And they had music!
This guy kind of just closed his eyes and "grooved" to the music. This was also weird and kind of awkward.
Many tastings in. My dad was the happiest person on the planet.
Believe this one is from Ithaca Beer Company, but dont remember which one it was. Maybe a smoked porter?
A selection of beers. Also, a girl's bum.
Total, complete, happiness.
And we round the whole thing off with a beer cupcake. Yes, that's right. It has Sam Adams Boston Lager in there.
