Russian River Pliny the Younger

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

This is the PERFECT beer. I had the pleasure of attending Russian River’s beer tasting at Hollingshead Deli in Orange last weekend. While I will eventually comment and rate all 13 beers on display, I simply could not wait to report on this nectar of the gods. This beer is suprising through and through. It has the most powerful and delectable aroma of any beer I’ve tried. Like the previous reviewer, I noted intense peach and tropical aromas. In taste, I was surprised that this Triple IPA wasn’t super bitter, it was pleasantly balanced with a sweet and creamy mouthfeel. Since I don’t consider myself a true ’hophead’, I was shocked that this beer had so much character. Although the alcohol, packs a punch, it is nearly indetectable while savoring the flavor. Honestly, I can’t recommend this beer hightly enough. I only had two disappointments: that the keg ran out before I could purchase a growler of it; and that this won’t be available in bottles for at least two years. Other than that... SIMPLY AMAZING!

On tap at Najas. Holy schnikes this is powerful. It’s akin to a barleywine to my buds. I like it, but it’s hard to have more than one. I prefer The Elder. The flavor is incredibly complex, has all the flavor ingredients to it, but perhaps I prefer the DIPA’s to the TIPA’s. Rerated- 4/27/08: Had a few of these at Luck Baldwins Barleywine festival. It was so delicious I went back for more. Huge hop aroma and taste. Amazing beer. Rerated again on June 20, 2009. My first ever 5. This beer is perfect for me in every possible way. It is the ultimate maven of all IPA beers.

This beer is a Triple IPA by style and has 3 times the amount of hops found in Russian River’s regular IPA, and is dry hopped 4 times. It comes in at a mighty 11% abv and the brewery states "GOBS of BU’s" or bitterness units. I don’t know how many are in this beer, but it has to be well over the 100 IBU mark. I am happy to say I had the pleasure of enjoying some Pliny the Younger IPA, as this beer just lives and breaths hops. It has massive hop aroma, hop flavor, and hop bitterness, and was the perfect beer to end a tasting of hoppy beers with. This is a draught only beer, that can only be found at the brewery/brewpub in Santa Rosa, and select markets in Northern and Southern California. Pliny the Younger IPA pours to a beautiful deep golden color with a thick and creamy white head, and a good bit of carbonation. The nose on this beer hits you from a mile a way. Very pungent, very zesty aromas of lemon/citrus and pine flood the nose in a major way. The smell of this beer alone is hoppier than some IPA’s. The palate is firm with good pale and biscuit malt that supports wonderful, zesty, juicy grapefruit/lemon hop flavor. Pliny the Younger finishes with more zesty hop flavor up front, then ends with a mouth puckering, zesty and tangy hop bitterness that explodes on the tongue and lingers for quite some time. Hops, hops, and more hops. This beer is a neutron bomb of hop character. Pliny the Younger IPA is not for the timid, and is an extreme hop blast of a beer. This beer is dangerously drinkable, and all that pungent hop character masks the fact this beer is 11% abv. You could get into some real trouble if you did not drink this one in moderation, but it is one anyone who loves hops must try. A beer like this should not be matched with food. Enjoy this one slowly, and savor every drop.

Another Amazing RR Brew. These guys are Top five on the planet! Bangs out with a sharp biter finish.

Growler, courtesy tpd975. Pours a clear copper color, with a huge white, cloud-like fluffy head, and a lot of creamy lacing remains on the glass. Nose has huge piney bitter hops with a shitload of citrus, deep mango and tropical fruits. Very complex. Delightful. Flavor is simply amazing. Incredible hops infused deep into the beer with apricot, peach, mango, and very very nice. Lots of pine and citrus throughout. Finishes sweet; nice and malty. The most complex IPA I’ve had. Very incredible masking of the alcohol. Extremely drinkable and sublime. Loved it. My first perfect rating.

A: Pours an ultra clear golden hue that is actually fairly light for the style. Bold creamy head quickly rises to a nice solid cap. Good retention, lots of lace and fizz when swirled. This one begs to be drank. S: Holy hops batman! This baby is pure hop juice. Huge hop aroma with wonderful scents jumping out at you. Juicy orange and sweet apricot play well with peach and grapefruit. Green grass cuts through along with an absolute bouquet of flowers. T: The malt in this beer must be ridiculous for the balance to be so spot on despite the insane amount of hops. Nice sweet caramel malt peeks through but trust me there is much more going on here in the malt department. That being said it has no chance to shine. The hops plow through with the malt doing its best just to provide balance... which it does quite nicely. The hop flavors are like nothing I have ever tasted. Sweet, Citrus, and Floral are all there. Sun sweet apricot and peach really stand out with notes of sweet mango. The green grass cuts through and seems to duel with sweet orange and bitter grapefruit. To call this beer complex would be an understatement. To call it great would be a crime. It is sooo much more and even better I could ever imagine. M: Full bodied, rich, thick, smooth. It coats the mouth and throat with sweet and bitter fruit that just lingers and lingers. Pure sex in a bottle. D: I had two full glasses and if there had been more I would have had a third. That being said I was fine drinking all the beers at the tasting. When finished with this one I was bombed, yet there was no hint of the ABV in the flavor. Huge aromas, and out of this world flavor. This is one many will try to duplicate but will no doubt fall short.

The bigger stronger tasting brother of pliny the elder this rocket fuel is delicious and packs a punch

tasting glass poured from a growler thanks to Kevin at grape & gourmet. honestly, i never thought i would have the chance to try this beer, and it truly lived up to its reputation. pours a very bright, clear golden color with a smooth, thin white head and very nice lacing. aroma was astounding. huge, citrusy and floral hops with scents of grapefruit, tangerine, pineapple, orange peel, and roses. big, resinous pine scents and candied sugar rounded out the aroma. flavor is phenomenal. again, huge citrusy hops dominate but an amazing tropical fruit sweetness and piney bitterness make this one truly unique. mouthfeel is slightly sticky and medium bodied with solid carbonation and just the slightest hint of alcohol burn in the dry, piney hop finish. incredibly drinkable for 11% and while not as balanced as the Elder, i truly enjoyed this one more. cheers to my first perfect DIPA.