Russian River Pliny the Younger

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

Tapped on bottle. Nice amber colour. Aroma of hops, citrus, fruits and pine, which also appear in the flavour though more profound. Great brew indeed!

Handbottled from tap thanks to Thomas. Amber colour with a white head. Caramel malty, peach, pine, hop aroma and taste. Medium to full body with a very dry hoppy finish. Vell balanced!

Handbottled from tap, thanks to Thomas for sharing. Clear golden coloured with a white head. Sweet aroma of caramel, hops and pine needles. Sweet flavour of caramel, peaches, hops and pine needels. Hoppy finish.

On tap at the Toronado. After drinking Pliny the Elder too many times to count, I finally came across the much heralded and harder to find Pliny the Younger on tap. Like the Elder, the Younger pours beautifully with a clean, coppery orange and a nice two-finger head. The smell is pungent with citrus/grapefruit hops, but with less of the sweet pine and floral character you sometimes find in the other good IIPAs. Not a bad thing - just different and you know this one is going to hit you big time with the bitter end of the hops. Flavor is dominated by grapefruity bitterness, but kept in check with a biscuity malt. Mouthfeel is medium and fairly smooth for such a big beer. My only real complaint is I find this beer to be a little more astringent and hot with alcohol on the finish than I like. Where the Elder is the epitome of balance for me, I find this one a bit unbalanced. Some like this, but to me it makes this a "have a pint and then I’m done with it" kinda beer. Another excellent effort by Vinnie, the Yoda of IPAs, but I’d rather hook myself up to an I.V. of the Elder for the night!

12 oz. hand bottled from growler. A gift from IrishBoy - Pours a clear orangish-golden color with a one finger thick off white head. Very light spotty lacing. Has a sweet citrus (orange) aroma. Flavor is sweet and full of esters and citrus hops. Slight lingering astringent after taste. Medium body. Chewy mouthfeel. A very nice beer. Thanks Richard.
Re-rate: Had this again from a fresh growler courtesy of Sparky27. The flavor and aroma was out of the park! Thanks to Eric for pulling this monster out early.

(Bottle) Pours hazy redish amber. Extremely hoppy and fruity aroma with tones of citrus, mostly grapefruit and orange. Also some spicy notes. Undertones of strawberry jam, apricots and a light floral touch. Full malty backbone with tones of caramel, toffee and maybe a touch of honey. Full malty and full spicy, peppery hop flavour with tones of fruits, grapefruit, pine, mango, apricots and flowers. The malt brings caramel and toffee. Some alcohol warmth both in the aroma and flavour. Medium to full sweetness. Very well balanced with a late medium to full bitterness. All the hops makes your palate num after a while. Near full body. One million beer hugs to moejuck for shipping this darling our way.

Hand bottled sample from Richard (Irishboy) Thanks a ton for this one! Now this is a double IPA, a seriously good, drinkable double IPA. Pours out a bright orange color with a little white head on it. Smell is a huge smack in the face from the grapefruit smelling hops. Pine, grass, no alcohol noted at all, perfect smell for a double IPA. Taste is smooth and dangerous to drink because of the 11% abv. Bitter and inviting taste, plenty of citrus and pine tasting with some huge grapefruit notes. This is like hopslam on steriods. Vinnie has now proven to me that he can make more than just belgian style beers. This is an unbelievable IPA and if anything rivals Dreadnaught, it would be this beer.

Ross VERY generously shared this rare handbottled beer from Irishboy, Thank You both! OK, this beer pours out a beautiful orange with a thin white head more of a lacing because of the handbotteling. As soon as Ross handed me the glass I could smell wonderful citrus grapefruit aroma and flower nectar. First swallow is amazing the beer is rediculously smooth with all the hops, grapefruit, and nectar forming into a sweet yet piney bitter taste that is just out of this world. AMAZING beer.