Russian River Pliny the Elder

500 ml bottle from a cross country trade with my buddy Ryan.. Been dreaming about this brew for some time now. Pours a deep gold, with a reddish glow in the center. Fire opal. Suprisingly white, pillowy head. Cumulohoppus. Aroma is very powerful, pine, fresh-squeezed citrus, and dare I say it, notes of powerful marijuana. Taste is hop centric, with a nice bitter bite on the finish that I find myself missing in other, "smoother" hop bombs. 20 minutes later -- like all great IPA’s, this one has brutalized my palate thoroughly, and now, in the final pleased sip, it is honey sweet, with a bitter kiss. Bravo, California -- how can your economy be such a mess when you’re churning out gems like this one? Four words: San Diego Hop Rush

Very nice brew. Very nice floral aroma, some citrus, a fair bit of pine? Has a nicely balanced flavour of citrus, pine and nice bite of hoppiness. I would still rather a dogfish90 or hop15 personally but this is very nicely done.

Pours a slightly hazy golden yellow/orange color with golden ripe banana hues when held to a light source and a two finger frothy white head with excellent retention, only slowly fading into a lasting cap. Soapy rings of lacing coat the glass. Very floral hop aroma with dank earthy bus notes, resinous hop oils, sticky pine, citrus peel slight alcohol. Lemon peel and grapefruit are prominent with a good bit of earthy pine. Subtle malt backbone but this is mostly all glorious stinky hops. Probably the best smelling beer I’ve experienced. Dry bitter floral hop blast up front with a lot of chewy resinous oily hop notes. There are so many different flavors going on here and this is the most well balanced, drinkable beers I’ve ever had. Lots of sweet citrus notes, mostly lemon peel and grapefruit ans a nice creamy body with subtle malt that provides a perfect balance. Dry sticky pine notes come through in the finish but it is stiil very floral and extremely smooth and quaffable. There is a very slight alcohol warmth towards the end of the swallow and in the finish but otherwise the ABV is very well masked. This beer is so flavorful and well balanced that’s it’s dangerously drinkable. I love this beer and have to say it’s in my top five all time.

With great thanks to HogTownHarry. Appearance: Golden orange with a beautiful frothy white head. Aroma: Sexy. Just a lovely hop aroma, pine, pineapple, floral, roses, just a beautiful IPA-ness about it. Flavour: Sweet jebus, lovely zingy/tangy/pineapple with enormous amounts of floral goodness, I can imagine drinking this by the bucket, delicious fruity finish. Just delicious. Potentially my favourite IPA

#583 (Mark McGwire, Alex Rodriguez as of the end of ’09).

Right out of the bottle, right out of the first sip, this beer announces itself without any ambiguity: It is an Imperial IPA. I can’t imagine a beer nailing this style better than this one, though I have yet to try 3F Dreadnought for comparison.

Nice frothy head misty yellow pour good look,aroma floral citrus peel,citric passionfruit,some stonefruit coming through,hops are superb,mild caramel,flavour wow! this is smooth yet so full of sharp flavours,the bitter of citrus peel a real winner grapefruit,passionfruit and pine caramel hint apricot comes to mind a lovely fizz on the palate,finish so smooth great hop flavours a good bitterness a real palate pleaser.

A fine demonstration of why the USA is now taking over the leadership of new and innovative beer. It’s really good for the strength, and drinks from the bottle very well. I personally preferred the bottle rather than the cask - what a heathen! Not the best of the best, but in the 95th percentile.

Wow! Got this from my friend Tom in CA. One of my new favorite double IPAs. Great balance if your a hop head and love an IPA with good malt flavor and a nice hop bite.