Russian River Pliny the Elder

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

Bright golden-orange beer with lacy, off-white head. Big nose loaded with citrus and tropical fruit, wet greenery. Quick, juicy, sticky sweetness consumed by high, sticky, long-lasting bitterness. Fantastic aroma but not exactly drinkable nor refreshing.

Bottle. Average, though not bad, on the appearance. Light straw yellow pour with a small-ish head that laces the heck out of the glass. Nose is a slightly muted mix of bitter, stiky citrus and tropical fruit over top of an earthy fruity sweetness. Flavor starts with a hefty slap of bitterness, though not as aggressive as one might expect. Hop profile shines through immediately- dominant sharp, crisp citrus with loads of grapefruit and lemons. Dank, earthy resinous notes blend in as well. Some light sugar cookie malt sweetness balances nicely with the fruit notes on the back end. Palate lacks some of the dry crispness one might have hoped for, with some lingering semi-oily sweetness, though not enough to detract. Overall very good DIPA- maybe not the best around, but certainly one of the better examples.

Unbelievable. Incredibly drinkable without the candy sweetness that so many doubles have (admittedly usually east coast ipas). Flawless for the style, I wish I could drink a growler of it every day. RE-RATE: Had on tap instead of a bottle. My god, this is ridiculous. Maybe even UNDERrated.

Bottle from Alex, thanks a ton! Pours clear gold with serious lacing and a nice tight head. Aroma is hugely citrusy and piney, with fresh pineapple, grapefruit, and sweet tangerine. The flavor here is actually substantially more subdued than the aroma, but no less special. Some nice upfront lemonade flavors, fragrant soap, and mild honey. Middle flavors bring on more hop characteristics, perhaps even of floral varietals. Finish lingers teasingly, with tart/acidic notes, full of grapefruit, still well balanced. Palate is light on the tongue, just dancing around with flavor. Finish is appropriately dry. This review is starting to sound like the product of free association, so I’d better cut it short. Just a beautiful beer, you really get the sense you are drinking something special.

Ordered a bottle of this at a restaurant out in SF. Really nice aroma with and a very smooth taste for what I was expecting to be a super hoppy taste. Overall very nice.

On Tap at the Catalyst, beautiful copper-orange color, with a persistent carbonation. Mixture of both citrus and pine upon first hit of lips, taste moves back and forth between citrus and hops as the beer lingers on your taste buds. One of my favourites.

Perfect piney citrusy hop aroma nice amount of creamy amber colored head had just loads of floral hops and a spice that tickles your tongue going down. It is very smooth and highly drinkable ... there is not one bad thing about this brew if this is on the menu order it!

On tap at Capone’s. Clear golden amber hue with a soapy white head. Impressive lacing clings to the side of the glass. Aroma of pine, hops, grapefruit, malt. Lots of nose on this one. On the palate is a smooth amalgamation of hops, pine, grapefruit and malt. Just delicious.