Russian River Pliny the Younger

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

Also had it on tap at Belmont Station for IPA Week. Floral hop aroma, pine sap, lemon peel, alcohol. Hop flavors almost to excess. Began with sweet rich malt, and eased into a citrusy potpourri of grapefruit peel and pine needles with a long bitter finish. If more hop always meant more enjoyable beer to me, this would be one of the best. Not enough balance to beat the Elder.

Nothing over-rated about this one. After months seeking this DIPA, finally tasted it - 10 oz glass at Belmont Station in PDX. Experiencing this DIPA is like getting corrective lenses after years of not being able to see. This one is an absolute citrus bomb. Wasn’t able to shake the flavor for 4-5 minutes after the first sip. All the glowing descriptions of its aroma are accurate, but the flavor makes the greatest impression. I can now say that I’ve climbed the mountain.

The first tick in a series of beers I never thought I would ever be able to try, all of which were provided compliments of Pepsican, thanks Andy. The Pours with a small but solid head with a good effervescence. The beer couldn’t smell more like pine, just wonderful like walking in a pinewood forest. I love aromatic beers and I could smell this one five feet away when the growler was opened. This is one of the driest hoppy beers I have ever tried, and now I fear I am going to crave it constantly. The beer is bracingly bitter and piney with some great complimentary mango and very mild citrus flavors that lend a hand in the complexity, this is not to say that the fruit notes sweeten the beer at all. There is just not a trace of the huge alcohol , just one remarkably well put together beer.

On tap @ O’Brien’s: Poured in a 10 oz glass and served with just a touch of foamy head. The color is a strong golden blondish hue and glitters with carbonation. Aroma is heavily packed with a juicy citrus hop scent and begs to be tasted without any further study. Flavors are bitter and sweet with obvious tasting of green freshly picked hops and also has a malt bite.

Growler courtesy of Ibrew2or3. Finally have a chance to have this highly regarded beer. Pours a generally clear medium yellow with a thick white head. Aroma is sweet and floral with crisp notes of citrus, grapefruit, pine, caramel, malt and ripe fresh fruit. Flavor is sweet and floral as well with notes of citrus, pine, grapefruit, honey, malt, ripe fresh fruit, caramel and malt. Generally medium body with a pleasing floral hop finish.

growler @Tampa Wkly Gathering shared by tpd975/Greg–pours a foamy/bubbly off white head and gold color. Aroma is peach/orange/some resin hops. Taste is bitter peach/orange/some resin hops, some/faint-light/medium malt with some sweetness.

On tap @ Bailey’s taproom. Clear golden color, thin broken white head. Lemon, citrus, alcohol, pepper, wood, any malt is trapped underneath the rubble of hops. Stiff citrus bite on the taste, follows all the way through to the finish and somehow stays short of being overboard or astringent. Alcohol real low-key on the finish. More brash than Elder, but still great.

On tap. Poured a clear amber-orange color with a 3/4 inch off-white head that faded to a layer. Aroma wasn’t as powerful as I imagined it would be, but once it made it to my sniffer there was some leafy hops, a bit of bright citrus (orange, tangerine, a bit of grapefruit), and some moderately resinous pine. Moderately sweet, crispy entry with some light caramel and a bit of citrus fruit (orange and tangerine mostly) leads into a moderately leafy, bitter hoppiness with some pine and an over-powering astrigency that lingers after the finishes with a light undertone of caramel. Solid mouthfeel and decent bitterness, but the astringency again detracts for the palate. It’s a decent IIPA, but it could have used a bit more bright fruit to offset the astringency, which really muddles the flavor.