Russian River Pliny the Elder

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

Pours a fairly cloudy orange with a big white head. Big, bitter hop flavor. Lots of grapefruit and other juicy goodness into a very dry finish. Very glad to have had the chance to try this.

Bottled Hazy golden with a medium, white head. Loads of grassy hoppiness in the aroma. High bitterness. Fresh and sursprisingly light. Elder-berries and notes of tea.

Pours a hazy orange with medium white head. Aroma of hops, mostly citrus, hints of fruit. Taste is similar with extra hints of spices and pine. Bitterness is up front, but finishes in a very pleasant manner. just a wonderful all around IIPA.

Man, I gotta tell you, I fell in love with this straight away. Pours golden tinged with orange and hazy. Pretty thin, lacing, white head. A wonderful aroma of tropical fruit mix, mango, peach, loads of pineapple, and a nice, intense presence of bitter hops. Astonishingly rounded, fruity, crispy, hoppy taste hit your palate hard. Aftertaste of bitter, spicy, peachy hops is just amazing, it lasts and lasts for ages. All this is supported with a perfectly balanced malt base and soft carbonation. I really had some hard time finishing this, since I knew that it would end. More of this and a lot.

Bright golden-orange beer with lacy, off-white head. Big nose loaded with citrus and tropical fruit, wet greenery. Quick, juicy, sticky sweetness consumed by high, sticky, long-lasting bitterness. Fantastic aroma but not exactly drinkable nor refreshing.

Bottle. Average, though not bad, on the appearance. Light straw yellow pour with a small-ish head that laces the heck out of the glass. Nose is a slightly muted mix of bitter, stiky citrus and tropical fruit over top of an earthy fruity sweetness. Flavor starts with a hefty slap of bitterness, though not as aggressive as one might expect. Hop profile shines through immediately- dominant sharp, crisp citrus with loads of grapefruit and lemons. Dank, earthy resinous notes blend in as well. Some light sugar cookie malt sweetness balances nicely with the fruit notes on the back end. Palate lacks some of the dry crispness one might have hoped for, with some lingering semi-oily sweetness, though not enough to detract. Overall very good DIPA- maybe not the best around, but certainly one of the better examples.

Unbelievable. Incredibly drinkable without the candy sweetness that so many doubles have (admittedly usually east coast ipas). Flawless for the style, I wish I could drink a growler of it every day. RE-RATE: Had on tap instead of a bottle. My god, this is ridiculous. Maybe even UNDERrated.

Bottle from Alex, thanks a ton! Pours clear gold with serious lacing and a nice tight head. Aroma is hugely citrusy and piney, with fresh pineapple, grapefruit, and sweet tangerine. The flavor here is actually substantially more subdued than the aroma, but no less special. Some nice upfront lemonade flavors, fragrant soap, and mild honey. Middle flavors bring on more hop characteristics, perhaps even of floral varietals. Finish lingers teasingly, with tart/acidic notes, full of grapefruit, still well balanced. Palate is light on the tongue, just dancing around with flavor. Finish is appropriately dry. This review is starting to sound like the product of free association, so I’d better cut it short. Just a beautiful beer, you really get the sense you are drinking something special.