Russian River Pliny the Elder

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

Dark yellow colored with cloudy appearance. Little white head. Fruity aroma dominated by flowery bitter hops and peach, sweet flavor also with some caramelly note and mild soap. Medium to full bodied, smooth palate. Flavor is also very rich with peaches and flowers in start, aftertaste turns to bitter and mildly alcoholic, with still some flowers lasting. Excellent balance with smooth palate.

Citrus, Hops, Hops, Hops, a fine ABV and the malt to back them up. On-tap this beer is bright, medium amber in appearance with a rocky head. The aroma of hops is noticable from across the table, Wow!! Although steeping in hop necter, the bitterness is controlled by a hearty malt backbone allowing the brilliat citrus flavors to dominate.

Bottle date 7/10/08 Pours hazy, pale gold with a two inch head of porous white. A few dots and streaks cling to the glass after the retreat, and a partial skim coat remained. Aromatics are a pungent blend of fruit, pine, alcohol, and malt. Spruce bark, peach skins, mango pulp, orange zest, and sugar-dusted grapefruit. Mild malt notes mingle with a slight alcohol waft. On the chewy side of medium bodied, with a sticky, almost sappy mouthfeel. Still very dry and crisp though. Bitter citrus fruits and light malt lead off the pallet. Grapefruit, pine resin, orange rind, and mangoe pit. Somewhat earthy and leafy, with a persisting, drying bitterness. A grapefruit at the foot of a pine tree. Finishes with some warming alcohol stepping through the lupulus, and lingering, drying bitter citrus. Incredibly drinkable and very dry. The biiterness is right at the threshold of cutting back on the drinkability. Great to see this fine brew in bottles. More mad props go out to BA RblWthACoz for such a great trade!

Fresh bottle from FlacoAlto. Blonde. What a strong aroma! Loads of pineapple, plastic and leather. Loads of hopbitterness in the flavor. Piney. Oily, but there is enough malt to compensate the hops. Satisfylingly balanced, therefore. Long firm oily hopbitter aftertaste with pineapple. Thanks Sebastian, for sending me this top class beer.

Golden in color with a large off white head with good lacing. The aroma is very hoppy with notes of caramel and citrus with a hint of spice. The flavor has a strong overtone of hops but isn’t overwhelming with a citrus backbone and a hint of pine. The texture is syrupy. Id say its a first class double IPA...HOPS CITY!!!

From a 0.5L bottle purchased at Hi Times Cellars in Costa Mesa. Aroma is thick with hop oils, musky, like I stuck my head in a bag of Cascade or Centennial. Golden yellow with a fluffy off-white head. Flavor is again bursting with hops, orangey pine. Amazingly the malt still balances and t is not over the top. Clean and dry with some lingering bitterness that is quite refreshing. Just about the best Double IPA I have ever had.

Bottle: Poured a deep orangey color ale with a large foamy head with good retention and some lacing. Aroma of medium bitter hops notes with some well crafted citrus notes also dominating. I thought the taste of malt was somewhat subtle and overshadowed by some citrusy and bitter hops. Full body with great carbonation. Although this is a very well crafted IIPA is still think it is lacking some of the grapefruit notes that can elevated the style to another level.

On tap at SPTR. Here it goes, as an "hop hater" I dig this brew. What I like is the fantastic combination of strong, sweet malts and potent, fruity hops - not just bittering hops. Peach, grapefruit, pine, grass and more combine with the potent malt backbone creating an unforgettable experience. And, this is the single creamiest IPA I’ve ever had. Really this beer is something else that lives up to it’s names. Absurdly good IPA.