Why does Sam Adams IPA taste so much like any Sam Adams beer?

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kansasbrew

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I picked up a Samuel Adams latitude 48 IPA. It's tasty, but why does it still taste so much like a Samuel Adams Boston Lager? I mean, the yeast has to be different. I find it odd. Do they intentionally try to keep a distinct flavor or is that totally by accident? Of course, I find that all my beers taste like they come from my home brewery, i.e., hard to drink, somewhat nasty, swill-like, and so on.
 
House flavor, similar hops used in most of the beers as well as the same process/equipment used to create the beer.

On another note, if all your beer tastes "hard to drink, somewhat nasty, swill-like, and so on." then I'd start making some process changes. The best things I did to improve my beer were Fermentation Temp Control and proper yeast pitching rates.
 
ill be honest, i find Sam adams beers to be weaker than other microbreweries. Maybe I am just bias becuase they are more commercialized than any other microbrew. THey just dont have that, wow this is awesome for me.

I did really enjoy their black lager however.
 
it's a english IPA which is not hop forward and may more balanced to most American IPAs, their Boston lager is pretty balanced too so they aren't as far off as most would think. LIke wyzazz said, they are probably using noble hops to flavor which is the same for BL.

As for my personal taste, latitude was the first 6pack I wanted to take back and get my money back after having the first bottle.
 
I happen to be drinking a Latitude 48 right now, tastes coppery (to me) just like the rest of their beers. Do not like.

But yea, I concur, process, ingredients, etc are all very similar.
 
I had the latitude 48 deconstructed 12 pack which were all single hop beers and those were all better than the regular IPA. I agree with the rather blandness of the standard latitude 48.
 
I had the latitude 48 deconstructed 12 pack which were all single hop beers and those were all better than the regular IPA. I agree with the rather blandness of the standard latitude 48.

Just bought that today, about to crack into it.
 
Lat. 48 is a weak version of an IPA.

I think they all have the same taste due to the water they use. just like Guinness using the same water source for years, SA must get their tast from the water
 
I had the latitude 48 deconstructed 12 pack which were all single hop beers and those were all better than the regular IPA. I agree with the rather blandness of the standard latitude 48.

My favorite was the East Kent Goldings. The Ahtanum was pretty good too.

I still like the Latitude 48 as a change of pace. Not aroma hop forward at all, but that lets the malt and bittering hops shine a bit more. I didn't buy much of the regular 48 but I've gone through 3 or 4 twelve packs of the Deconstructed.
 
StuporMan said:
My favorite was the East Kent Goldings. The Ahtanum was pretty good too.

I still like the Latitude 48 as a change of pace. Not aroma hop forward at all, but that lets the malt and bittering hops shine a bit more. I didn't buy much of the regular 48 but I've gone through 3 or 4 twelve packs of the Deconstructed.

Where do I find that in florida!? Been lookin for it.
 
kansasbrew said:
I picked up a Samuel Adams latitude 48 IPA. It's tasty, but why does it still taste so much like a Samuel Adams Boston Lager? I mean, the yeast has to be different. I find it odd. Do they intentionally try to keep a distinct flavor or is that totally by accident? Of course, I find that all my beers taste like they come from my home brewery, i.e., hard to drink, somewhat nasty, swill-like, and so on.

Sam Adams beers in general taste like obnoxiously dumbed down version of any given style. So while their IPA is an IPA it's so offensively bland there really isn't that big a taste difference between a lot of their other offerings.

While we're on the topic did anyone else try the saison? It tastes like underattenuated pils fermented with T58 too hot.
 
I agree abut the saison. I blame excessive filtration more than anything else. Felt the same about Captain Lawrence's Saison.
 
I find most of Sam Adams beers ok. I think their IPA is decent, but I'd rather drink an IPA from somewhere else if I had choice. I too find their beers to be a little on the "weaker" side of things, but I can understand why. They are craft brewers who are still trying to appeal to a general audience and experienced craft brew drinkers. However, I also find some of their beers to be pretty darn good.

If you are finding some of your homebrews to taste like swill, like some others have already suggested, keep an eye on your fermentation temps. The only time I've had beers taste like "swill" is when I let my fermentation temperatures get out of hand.
 
if I recall correctly, their grain bill is more or less the same for a significant amount of their beers. I like their Boston lager, but picking up certain variety packs bore you after a while
 
That deconstructed 12 pack of 48 really helped me figure out how to seperate hop from grain flavor. I made an esb and thought most of the flavor was coming from the special B, but once I had that EKG lat. 48 I realized it was all the EKG that went into the esb. Kind of like a beer tasting/brewing epiphany.
 
Had their summer lager at applebees last week. I hope that's not what it was supposed to taste like. I'm guessing dirty lines.
 
noodledancer77 said:
Had their summer lager at applebees last week. I hope that's not what it was supposed to taste like. I'm guessing dirty lines.

Their summer ale? Or was it actually a lager? Didnt know they made a summer lager. If its the ale they changed the recipe this year. I think its terrible now. It used to be pretty good. Now its gross. It has an off flavored bitter end to it that I cant stand. I think a lot of people didnt like the original so they changed it. For the worse IMHO.
 
I bought several 12's of the 48 Deconstructed. The worst in the group is the the Latitude 48. The best is the East Kent Goldings, followed by Zeus and Simcoe, Ahtanum and Hallertau. I liked this combo pack. By using the same grain bill and process, it gives a good representation of what each of these hops will contribute to your brew. As a n00b, I'd recommend this combo pack as an "empirical study" to other n00bs.
 
I drink Boston Lager regularly, one of my faves. I didn't care for the IPA either and can't stand the summer ale. Has the worst finish ever.
 
I like a lot of Sam Adams stuff. The first latitude IPA was bad, but after a few weeks I drank the rest and they weren't bad.

I wanna grab that mix pack, heard about it months ago but didn't know it came out already.
 
I agree with others that SA beers are very poor representation of their styles. Very mild versions. They are better than BMC beers, but definitely not my go to.
 
To me they just seem like they are aimed at BMC drinkers,like a transition to craft beer.They are all pretty drinkable but with more flavor than BMC, thats about it. Im just glad i can sample them and not deal with buying a six pack of most of what i dont care for. I remember liking the winter lager alot last year at an applebees,when this was my best choice, but bringing one home in a sampler pack and thinking ehhh,its ok i guess.They still have good beer just not something i would buy often, i guess.
 
The Simcoe Deconstructed was pretty awesome.

But then again, I can put simcoe in my beat soup and I'd love that too.
 
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