Russian River Pliny the Elder

My Pliny the Elder poured a vibrant gold color into a Duvel tulip glass and I was suprised that when I completed the pour a great white head arose from the bottom of the glass and gave me a nice big piney, hoppy aroma that was so refreshing. The taste does not disappoint either. For a hop lover this beer is great. The bitter hoppy taste and citrus on the tongue and all through my mouth make this a very drinkable beer but at around 8% it is dangerous to put down and not have another. You can definitely taste the hops in your mouth long after the beer has gone down your throat as if you are sucking on a pine cone. I will be sure to savor this one over a night or 2 until the growler is all empty.

Cloudy gold/yellow pour with large creamy head. Wonderful nose. Floral, pine some citrusm but best of all it makes me salivate (seriously). Bitter, lingering fruity and drying.It is a chewy big beer The further into the glass, the more I appreciate the sweet balance of the malt, but it is the hops here that star.

"piney and floral, inticing to the nose, and the mouthfeel and flavor are not a letdown. Big, resiny, almost chewy. Great double IPA!!! Better even than Pliny the Younger, also a solid IPA."

Bottle: Golden pour with a large, ceramy off-white head. Tons of sticky lacing. Sweet and fruity hops mixed with a little pine. Tastes smooth with fruityness and sweets into a lingering citrus hoppiness. Lightly piney. Very nice.

[Feb 19, 2009]
Bottled on January 23, 2009. I love the lengthy warning on the label, in summary: Do not age IPA’s. Yes, those are words of the gospel preached directly to the choir. Anyway, this pours a cloudy orange with a huge fluffy white head. oh my mighty hops. I bow down before the tremendous, omnipotent, glorious hop aroma. Sheer powerful, bitter grapefruit, pine, weed. Just imagine these things as clean, as crisp, as bitter, and as strong as possible in a liquid. The super definied hop onslaught continues on my palate as it dries out my mouth. Grapefruit, orange, lemon, deeply penetrating acidity. The palate is vibrant, extreme, and scrumptulescent. The finish has hints of pineapple and wood. This is beer is extreme.

Big pine needle hoppy aroma, very floral, fresh and big. Taste is very resiny but also lovely dry and refreshing. Caramel balances it out nicely. The alcohol and the overpowering sensation of it all makes me feel a bit woozy but this is a terrific beer, almost worth all the hype.

Sampled at Vintner Wine Market, thanks to gottalottaibu. Golden-amber with a small lasting disc of bubbles. Big aroma of grapefruit, resin and catspray. Flavor is big grapefruit and resin, with some nice backing caramel. Light medium body is slightly watery, tingly and lightly carbonated.

Bottle from joint trade with markwise. Pours a hazy caramel golden color with a one finger white head that settles slowly. Aroma is sweet and floral with notes of citrus, honey, floral hops, grapefruit, pine, malt. Flavor is sweet and malty with notes of honey, caramel, grapefruit, floral hops, citrus, pine, and hints of ripe fruit. Generally medium body with a bitter hop finish.