Russian River Pliny the Younger

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

On tap at Toronado. Slightly hazy orange color, looks unassuming. Not a very strong aroma, citrus hopes. When cold tastes just like the Elder -- lots and lots and lots of hops, as it warms becomes more oily and creamy. How do they cram 11% into this?

Tap again, its better less cold RR Tap O’briens 1/30/09. On tap at O’Brien’s in San Diego, on 1/19/07. This was a special batch of the Younger for the 13th anniversary of the pub. Poured pale yellow with no head just little islands of foam circling around. There was basically no aroma for this brew which surprised me. The taste is essentially pure hops. The brew has a very fresh tasting sweet and strong hop flavor. There is also a lot of citrus and a deep throat burn connected to the potentcy of the brew. This is certainly a great beer, I’m glad I made the trip out early to the pub to get my mouth on it.

On tap at Obrien’s. Big mouth feel. Hop presence is well ballanced but there. Tastes of mild unripened grapefruit, sweet creamy taste. Smooth finish. Wow what a beer.

On tap at Monk’s cafe at beginning of September. Went back to my notes, but didn’t really need to: this one’s really stuck with me, since it’s pretty much the best beer I’ve had. The balance of citrus, bitter hops and sweetness is extraordinary. I’ve not had the Dreadnaught, but it is hard for me to imagine a better DIPA. Can’t get this in my home state, and it’s going to be a problem--I’ve sampled a lot of fine beers since having this one, and nothing else has lived up to it.

At the B3 learning session in Concord Poured a light burnished hazy gold with a nice ivory head Aroma: The treat begins.... hoppy aromas ranging from resiny, citrus, floral, mango and some apricot... with a little malt peeking thru Flavor: Definitely lots of hop bitters but the hop flavors are immense and complex ... everything. The malt background is big enough to make the hop flavors juicy and explosive. Yum!!! Mouthfeel: For a big beer, this is incredibly light on the palate finishing clean allowing the juicy hop flavors dance. Overall: An incredible treat, it is a treasure worth seeking out. Does make sense to use the word Balance here... but it is undeniable, the mouthfeel, the hop flavors and malt in supporting role and clean fermentation. Hop ecstasy in a glass :) This is a unexpected double treat... what a great beer to be my 100th. I was planning on it being something else

On draft at Toronado. Wow. Hops, hops and more hops. Great beer. Intense citrus hop flavor.

On tap at Toronado. I had this a few months ago, and just found my notes. Seems to be hopped a lot more than the Elder, but it has a big crisp citrus flavor. This brew is more balanced than one would expect, given the hop content.

Ahh yes, another of my favorite IPA’s. Very hoppy flavor, citrusy aroma, smooth flavor. Great stuff!