Beer of the Week: Latty 88

I have long marveled at the distinguishing tastes of light-lager drinkers who go on and on about the massive differences between macro-beer creations and why they’ll drink one but won’t touch the other. Having drunk so few of them, I can barely tell a Coors Light from a Miller Lite or Michelob Ultra (or Michelob Ultra “Pure Gold”) from low-cal, highly vilified Bud Light. But for those who legitimately enjoy these types of beers and the fact they can drink them over the course of a long day packed with leisurely outdoor activities or sports spectating, the little things matter. Their palates are attuned to the slight differentiators and they want the best example of the style. A local brewing company spent a significant portion of last year developing its own American light lager to provide concrete evidence that the best version of this mass-appeal style is produced by the craft sect. Enter this week’s featured beer, Latty 88 from Latitude 33 Brewing. The latter half of that alphanumeric moniker refers to the calories in a 12-ounce serving. That’s among the lowest totals in this niche beverage segment, and when coupled with the clean, ultra-refreshing nature (see what I did there…that was pure gold) and appealing lemony notes of this scaled-back beer, Latty 88 makes for a compelling alternative to Big Beer’s popular light brands. A craft brewer outdoing LCD-geared conglomerates…who’d have thunk it?

Day-drinker. Porch-pounder. Lawn-mower beer. Fizzy-yellow beer. It goes by many names, but to us independent craft-beer enthusiasts it’s been all but off limits. So, for years, whether it be by the river, at the beach or during any hot summer day activity, we’ve found ourselves reluctantly and discreetly hydrating with mediocre-to-poor light lagers brewed by Big Beer. Finally, we got fed up and decided to brew our own and, well, the team absolutely knocked this one out of the park. With the current shift in consumer preferences towards lighter — but local — alternatives to Big Beer, we strongly believe the timing couldn’t be better for Latty 88; our low-calorie, low-carb, ultra-light lager brewed locally, right here in the Capital of Craft. Simple in terms of ingredients but heavy on processes and quality control, light lagers leave nothing to hide. With razor thin margin for error, even slight imperfections will stand out like a sore thumb. Latty 88 requires nothing less than precise execution from start to finish. It’s simple…but not easy.”

Mike Ingram, Founder, Latitude 33 Brewing