Russian River Pliny the Elder

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

Bottled 02-01-10. a very hoppy beer with some balance and depth. very easy to drink at 8% and 100 IBUs. a bit pricey and hard to come by but definitely worth it.

500ml bottle dated 3/4/10. Had many bottles and pints of this, but I suppose it’s time to rate it. This bottle pours a bit more hazy than others I’ve had. Deep golden with uniform white head and tons of great lacing. Nose is right in my wheelhouse with tons of resin, citrus and light sweetness. The haze on this batch is giving a bit more body feel compared to other batches I’ve had...I’m digging that. Carb is tight and prickly as always. Sweet honey and bitter citrus notes up front. Sharp peppery and grassy bitterness in the mid palate...sweetness and bitter then both take turns popping out moving into a perfect amount of bittering to finish. Doesn’t rip the enamel off your teeth or just punish your palate, but let you know you are drinking a iipa. Not much more to say that hasn’t been said already. I will just add that this is better than younger and that the huskies are going to beat marquette; know that!

its a grapefruit hop explosion. golden hue not yellow. do not let this beer go warm to cold after first chill completely diff beer.

Pre ZBF Brussels. Didn’t understand the hype around this. It is a not memorable dry and crisp beer. I guess european tastes and american ones makes the difference. This one’s clearly not for me

Beautiful hoppy floral smell and amber cloudy color. Simply a fantastic work of art. I’d recommend the elder above the younger simply because of the availability. At least you could conceivably order a second glass of the elder whereas it’s one younger for you sir!

Enjoyed from a 16.9oz bottle in a whiskey snifter. The beer pours a slightly-darker-than-straw-colored yellow hue, with a small but long-lasting white head. Strong and complex notes of west coast hops to the nose. The palate is initially quite bitter, carrying notes of grapefruit and pine. Following is a slight note of malt character; but what seems to set the beer apart is its dryness. This is especially evident when the beer is sampled alongside another double IPA, such as Bell’s Hopslam. The finish is dry and clean, making the beer tremendously drinkable, for its heft. Overall, a splendid experience. There is little doubt why it is so heralded.

Bottle. A - Hazy golden orange with a good sized white, foamy head. S - Big fruity hop smell. Lots of grapefruit, pineapple, orange, and just a little lemon. Good amount of pine too. T - Similar to the smell. Lots of hops, grapefruit, pineapple, orange, lemon, pine, as well as some floral and other earthy flavors. Considering all this, it isn’t too bitter. There is bitterness present, but there are so many other flavors it doesn’t seem overpowering. The fruit flavors provide a very subtle sweetness along with some pale malt as well. M - Medium to full body with good carbonation. Very creamy and smooth. D - Great drinkability. Goes down easy and taste wonderful. The hop flavors work so well together and it is quite refreshing. Would love to sit back and enjoy a few, unfortunately the ABV (and at the moment availability) prevents that somewhat. Notes: Wonderful beer with lots of West Coast type of hop flavors. Really good mix of hops that compliment each other. Also considering what it is and the amount of hops that are tasted, it is well balanced. There is a nice bitterness, but that is more in the background.

Poured from a bottle A lite golden color with nice off white head, decent lacing. The beer smells nice and hoppy with some citrus overtones.. The taste is great, loaded with hops, lots of dry hopped grapefruit flavor. The fantastic thing about this beer is it’s dryness. I find most DIPA’s are too sweet but not the Elder, the citrus flavors really cover the huge bitterness of this beer, which is so dangerously drinkable. Cheers to Vinnie!