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Russian River Pliny the Elder 4.22 1059

Russian River Pliny the Elder

Percentile
100
overall

bottled
common

on tap
common

Broad Distribution
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RatingsAverageScoreABVStyle PctlServe in
10594.22/5.04.22/5.08%99.6Snifter, Tulip
Commercial Description:
Pliny the Elder was a Roman naturalist, scholar, historian, traveler, officer, and writer. Although not considered his most important work, Pliny and his contemporaries created the botanical name for hops, "lupus Salictarius", meaning wolf among scrubs." Hops at that time grew wild among willows, much like a wolf in the forest. Later the current botanical name, humulus Lupulus, was adopted. Pliny died in 79 AD while observing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. He was immortalized by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, who continued his uncle's legacy by documenting much of what he observed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Pliny the Elder, the beer, is brewed with 40% more malt and over twice the amount of hops as compared to our already hoppy IPA.
 Most Recent Top Raters Highest Ratings Who's Rated This?  
 biz82 (1328), austin, Texas, USA
3.8 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/103/58/103/516/20

Oct 9, 2008  
Gold in color pouring resinous with low carbonation and a small head. Quite dank and resinous in aroma with peach, apricot, orange, passion fruit and a little green onion. Lighter in body than expected. Bright, clean hop flavor mostly of tropical fruit. Moderate bitterness. Good stuff and very drinkable.

waltersrj (46), Washington, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/104/518/20
Dec 16, 2009  
This beer is wonderful. The pour is golden with an off white head and minimal lacing. The nose is hops (lots of them), pine, citrus, lemon zest, and bready malts. The taste is similar with some floral notes and orange as well as slight butterscotch. The palate is smooth and delicious.


 radagast83 (1314), Fairfax, Virginia, USA
4.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/59/105/518/20
Dec 14, 2009  
500 ml bottle. My eyes have been opened. This beer could not have been better or more well crafted than it was. The hop character is sharp, citrus, pine, but is incredibly balanced with a mild malt sweetness. One of the most well balanced beers that really hit the palate perfectly. This beer was nothing short of amazing.


 blipp (1685), Newark, New Jersey, USA
4.2 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/58/104/517/20
Dec 12, 2009  
Draft. Pours gold with an off white head. Way hoppy aroma with strong piny and citric notes. The flavor is fairly well balanced, with notes of pine needles, citrus, grapefruit, some sweeter tropical fruits, and a light general sweetness. Really, really good.


 Beer2000 (1825), Kristiansand, Norway
3.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
7/103/57/103/516/20
Dec 7, 2009  
500 ml bottle. Golden body with a big, creamy white head. Aroma is apricot and grapefruit. Flavor is soft, sweet malt with a strong citric fruitiness. Nice balance between sweetness and bitterness, long fruity bitter finish. Very nice.


GruitBrewer (11), California, USA
1.5 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
4/103/53/102/53/20
Dec 5, 2009  
This is one of the most over rated beers on the market. It’s a fine double IPA but there is nothing out of the ordinary in the beer... Two row malts...lots of it, hops, lots of them, and the magical hop extract solution...Thats the beer. Aroma:very herbal/floral. Hops you can smell and taste before they hit your mouth. This is a big plus! Appearance:Looks like another other beer...clear, slightly golden hue. I dont think this category does anything to describe the bear. I gave it a three because it looks like any other craft beer. Palate:Rough...hoppy astringent bite. Leaves a long acidic touch to the back of the throat. Hop heads are addicted to it for that very reason. I find the hops and alcohol to be unbalanced and harsh. Overall its a fine IPA but it’s overall build to me is highly one dimensional. Do be warned. The bottles of Pliny are not as good as the draft versions. And draft versions vary from batch to batch. Some batches of Pliny have a lot more balanced malt/hop than others. I suspect that the unstable nature of hops is why it can vary batch to batch. If you are a die hard hop head then the portable pliny bottle will make your out of state travels better :) This is a cult beer for good reason. It is what it is. Don’t feel bad if you don’t care for it. I certainly don’t love it but its approachable in moderation.


 Drink4Satan (586), Bristol, Rhode Island, USA
4.6 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
9/104/510/104/519/20
Dec 4, 2009  
This is a perfect DIPA. Perfect! The pour produces a slick, clear gold with a minimal head. The aroma is pops with fresh floral and citric notes, slight booze, butterscotch, and bready malts. The flavour is equally, if not more impressive. Notes of spruce, grassy dry hops, and slight leather. The body is perfectly carbonated, sharp but not overpowering, and the finish is quite dry and long. Hooray beer! Hooray Russian River!


 kappldav123 (1865), Markkleeberg, Germany
4.1 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
8/104/58/104/517/20
Dec 3, 2009  
Big thanks to mashmaster for this one. The bottle looks good, the beer in the glass also. Starts very hoppy and strong, intense grasy notes. Also quite woody-earthy, but still well balanced. Intense finish, complex hoppy, still dry. Wonderful!


 phaleslu (543), Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
4.4 Aroma Appearance Flavor Palate Overall
10/105/58/104/517/20
Dec 1, 2009  
Bottle from South Bay Drugs. Pours a beautiful orange-gold color with a big rocky off-white head that craters and leaves some uneven lace. I just tried a Blind Pig this past weekend and never thought the aroma could be beaten; well, this equals it. Floral hops lead the charge, with nice orange and grapefruit citrus, mixed fruits, pine, sweet malts, and a bouquet of flowers. The flavor is still outstanding, but nothing could live up to that nose. Sweet caramel malts, grapefruit, bitter hops, pine, and floral notes. This isn’t a hop bomb and the 8% ABV is muted and just the perfect amount. Light-medium bodied, with average carbonation. Dry and resinous. A dry, bitter, semi-sweet finish. The Blind Pig and now this in just a few days- Russian River knows how to brew an IPA, and how to leave me overwhelmed.



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