Russian River Pliny the Elder

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

Bottle: FRESH! 18 days after bottling! Pours a pale gold with some tight bubbles. At least of inch of frothy white head. Nose is hoppy, mainly pine resins and pineapple, some earthly tones too. Wonderful aroma!! Flavors also have the pine resin dominance, very clean. Loads of malt flavors too. Well balanced. The fruity acids really pull at the back sides of your tongue, not quite as intense as the Younger but still in your face there. Very long bitter finish. Wonderful!

A good ipa. Very piney in the nose and flavor. Suprisingly light bodied, but still very full in the mouth. Consumed around forty degrees and pours with little to no thin white head. Enjoyable and goes down easy.

Bottle at home ... Thanks to Jsquire for this one ... Golden orange ... thick tight bubbly white head ... floral and bright sharp citrus hops ...sweet juicy fruity smooth grapefruit ... with a nice back bone of what i think of as typical american hops lots of pine resins ... little drying and some tartness... possibly the best Double IPA ive had ...

Pours clear golden in color with white head. Aroma is amazing of sweet floral and citrus hops. The amazing aroma does not match the taste. Taste of grapefruit hops with bitter finish.I wish this beer had a thicker mouthfeel.First sip I was suprised at how watery the mouth feel was.Overall very drinkable beer.

Bottle. Golden body topped by a messy off white head. Floral notes along with citrus and bit of pine in the aroma. Big grapefruit flavors, pine, fresh floral hops backed up by some caramel. Nicely bitter on the tongue without astringency. Full, smooth body but not overly thick or cloying. Finishes fairly cleanly for such a flavorful beer.

Bottle. Pours a nice golden amber, nice white head. Aroma is a great combination of resiny pine and grapefruit. Flavor delivers on what the aroma promises, more resiny pine and really fresh grapefruit, a touch of malt comes out after the intial assault. Great DIPA, lives up to the hype in my opinion.

pours a semi-clear golden yellow with a small off-white head, very nice lacing. smell is earthy, hops, caramel, some citrus, and a little pine. taste is crisp yet smooth, thick on the tongue, hop flavor grows as you drink, caramel, grapefruit, dandelion, and some woodiness, ends nicely bitter.

Draught at the Bistro. I have long awaited the day to try Pliny the Eder. Maybe I was expecting too much. Hype is a horrible thing. Piney and grapefruit peel-bitter hops are done exquisitely, within a clear golden body topped by a sticky white head. Aromas of pine needles and flowers. Light and dry as the most drinkable IPA. Not like any IIPA that I’ve had. So dry and crisp. Bitter, endless finish. I love the dryness and drinkability; it’s like a single IPA that manages double the hop load, but The hop profile still falls a bit short. I’m missing the tropical, fruity notes that I get out of some other west coast IPAs. Pliny does it’s thing almost perfectly, but that might just not really be my thing in the absolute realm of the hop. Rerate: I get it now. Forgive me, Pliny, for not even a fiery death at Mount Vesuvius could quell your awesomeness. The dryness IS the beauty. I guess it depends whether I am in the mood for a thicker DIPA or a dryer, thinner DIPA, but the power of the hops in this one is outdone by none so far. (4.4) Rerate: My first bottled sample, at about three weeks old, as well as draught a couple times in the last two days. Awesome floral hops in the aroma. The flavor is so hoppy, yet the bitterness is so soft and inviting. You really could drink this for a session and not burn your palate out with bitterness or sweetness. Every sip leaves you longing for another, with a perfectly balanced, dry finish. Stunning stuff, but the glass I had at the grad showed how much this can drop off if not properly fresh.