Russian River Pliny the Elder

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

Bottle, courtesy of and shared with Jerc and Mabel - thank you so much for sharing the much sought after gem guys! Incredible pine hop aroma - wow. Medium to dark yellow, frothy white head. Incredible taste - all pine hops, ,lovely soft body, so balanced. No alcohol noticeable. Soft tingly almost juicy hops. The most well integrated double IPA I have tried? Stunning. This and Yulesmith - you cannot get any better. I give this one the edge - for now.

Appearnce - Pours clear and light gold/orange with some nice lacing that sticks around for the entire ride. Smell - Piney, citrus/grapefruit, floral & hoppy. Smells like one would after frolicking in a field of hops. Taste - First taste is hoptastic... goes down smooth and gets even better once the palate adjusts to the hops; light malt sweetness starts coming through. Every sip is more enjoyable than the one before and dissipates in the mouth into a refreshing clean hop taste. Palate - Great mouthfeel on this one... Crisp and light going down with medium carbonation and effervescence. Drinkability - Zoinks scoob... this is one tasty beer. 8% you say? Blasphemy! Usually I can not drink but 2-3 IPAs since my palate gets overwhelmed andI am left with a dry hoppy taste in the back of my throut... but this one... I could drink Pliny all night. This is one of the best beers I have ever had! RRBC IMO is one of the best American brewers out there.

Had this on tap several time and bottle a few as well. Draft rating. Pour is cloudy orange with a big creamy head that disappears rather quickly, but leaves a bit behind. Nice lacing. Aroma is piney and citrus hops with malt sweetness. Flavor is hoppy, but not overwhelming. Like chewing fresh, wet hops...but with a good malt balance. Finishes very clean. One of my favorites.

Thanks to trevor211 and DirtyMartini for the bottle!
Cloudy golden tangerine with a bubbly white head. Nose is hop extreme with a lot of citrus and minor earthy pine. Flavor is very bitter and with more citrus, some malt finally observable by the end. Full body yet smooth and refreshing, long, bitter finish of fresh hop and orange, some alcohol becomes noticeable in the finish. This is all about pure hop, a mainline right into the mouth. As such, it is probably my favorite IIPA and definitely stands out in the category.

Even at two months, this is hands down the best IIPA I’ve had. I would session this regularly if available. Case closed.

Bottle: FRESH! 18 days after bottling! Pours a pale gold with some tight bubbles. At least of inch of frothy white head. Nose is hoppy, mainly pine resins and pineapple, some earthly tones too. Wonderful aroma!! Flavors also have the pine resin dominance, very clean. Loads of malt flavors too. Well balanced. The fruity acids really pull at the back sides of your tongue, not quite as intense as the Younger but still in your face there. Very long bitter finish. Wonderful!

A good ipa. Very piney in the nose and flavor. Suprisingly light bodied, but still very full in the mouth. Consumed around forty degrees and pours with little to no thin white head. Enjoyable and goes down easy.

Bottle at home ... Thanks to Jsquire for this one ... Golden orange ... thick tight bubbly white head ... floral and bright sharp citrus hops ...sweet juicy fruity smooth grapefruit ... with a nice back bone of what i think of as typical american hops lots of pine resins ... little drying and some tartness... possibly the best Double IPA ive had ...

Pours clear golden in color with white head. Aroma is amazing of sweet floral and citrus hops. The amazing aroma does not match the taste. Taste of grapefruit hops with bitter finish.I wish this beer had a thicker mouthfeel.First sip I was suprised at how watery the mouth feel was.Overall very drinkable beer.