Russian River Pliny the Elder

Brewed by Russian River Brewing
Style: Imperial/Double IPA
Santa Rosa, California USA

Bottled 7-9-09, consumed 8-2-09. Pours a clear amber with a white frothy head. Aroma has tons of pine and spruce, along with earthy manure, barnyard, light caramel malt, and a bit of pollen as it warms; very complex smell. Flavor isn’t as big and aggressive as expected: lots of caramel malt, orange rind, and intensely bitter at the finish. Very good and complex, but maybe not quite up to the hype.

500ml bottle from bottleworks seattle. pours cloudy orange with a dissipating head with great lacing. all about the grapefruit in the nose. ive never had an IPA that actually smells this much like grapefruit! the nose also has some spicy and earthy hop undertones. great aroma. enough malt to keep it balanced but flavour again is all about the hops. Unlike the aroma the flavour is much more varied and no one hop taste predominates. theres citrus, spice, pine and that same interesting earthiness. full body with a great bitter punch at the finish. overall its a very complex and satisfying dipa that is not hard to drink, i feel i could drink a couple pints no problem, the alcohol burn does not cut through as you drink in the same way as with other DIPA. one of my faves!!!

Bottle courtesy of Fred in LA. A hazy amber coloured pour with a slight white head. Huge hoppy/floral/pine aroma. Big hoppy taste, slight bitterness with malt, a very well balanced and complex DIPA. This is so damn drinkable and everything that I imagined it would be. Possibly one of the best beers that I have ever tasted.

Source: On tap Glass: Pint Aroma: Holy cow batman. Tons of pine, and awesome aroma. Appearance: Light copper color, with some haziness. Flavor: Incredible flavor. Tons of hop flavor and bitterness, but still balanced despite an obvious lack of malt sweetness. Palate: Lively carbonation, wonderful lingering bitterness. Overall: Awesome beer.

Brought by friend Dennis
My first Russian River
Beautiful copper color, medium head. It has an intense hoppy aroma, fruity (bitter oranges and light mango) and with pine needles; persistent. The body is lean, with a strong caramel and toffee flavor, dry; the bitterness is strong but not excessive, well balanced, with good resins and bitter orange peels. Very good, but my expectations were very high, for something more astonishing.

Clear golden pour with smallish white head. Aroma is riddled with pine, spruce, and citrus. Its like I sent an entire evergreen forest through a chipper. Floral nectar and spice and earthy tones as well. Some caramel malt comes through subtly as she warms. Flavor is surprisingly subdued- perhaps in part because of the quantity of sweet caramel malt. Lots of bitter orange rinde and sticky resin. Palate is medium for the style, finishing quite dry.

On tap, served in a shaker glass. Lightly hazed light amber with a big sticky off-white head. The nose was somewhat simple with just some pine and citrus coming through. The flavor stepped in and made up for that though with a huge hop presence. Dense resinous pine, grapefruit,and a bit of floral. Deep bitterness is kept in check by a ribbon of underlying sweetness. Very easy to drink, dangerous. I was super excited to finally get to try Pliny and while it was very good and extremely well crafted the hype was a little too much. There are several other DIPAs that are just as good and much more easily obtainable such as Great Divide’s Hercules.

Brewed in the USA...... On tap at Monk’s Cafe in Philly. Pours a hazy orange color with a large foamy white head. Aroma of pine, hops, oranges and pineapples. Taste is also of citrus fruits with some hops, malts for balance and some floral notes. The mouthfeel was full in body with some dryness and a slight bitter finish. This double IPA was on my wish list for appx a year now. It was extremely good and worth the wait.