Russian River Pliny the Younger

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

Thanks tpd975 for sharing this treasure. Pours a clear yellow gold with a nice white head. The nose is peach, apricot, citrus, pine, floral hops, grass, and some alcohol. Flavor is apricot, peach, loquat, citrus, and some astringent qualities. Excellent beer with malt, caramel, fruit, grass, lots of balance, all manner of hops (floral, pine, some grapefruit, and tangible Simcoe). Very nice, balanced, finishes bitter and starts fruity. Lots of sweetness among hop flavor several stories high.

Growler at hellbillys courtesy of Sparky27. Pours a nice reddish orange with a small white head. Aroma is piney resinous hops, citrus and really awesome. Flavor is over the top resinous hops, citrus, pine. Awesome yet well balanced oily hop resin bitterness stands out and is balanced perfectly with the citrus and pine. Awesome!

Big thanks to mar to getting a hand bottle of this stuff. Pours with a small white head that fades over a golden body. Even after over a week this still leaves pretty decent lacing. Aroma is sticky gooey pine and citrus hops with earthy and spicy notes as well. Caramel and alcohol also back it up. Hops are straight up Simcoe and Centennial. Very clean, hop first taste with citrus and floral that blends to a sweet caramel and only slightly alcoholic finish. A touch of bitter orange liquor as well. Some pineapple too. This is a great example of hop goodness at its best. Smooth mouthfeel, light bubbles. Can’t wait to have this on tap when I finally move back to Cali.

handbottle thanks to aplusbreaks. nice amber pour with a head of white froth. very citrusy with great floral notes and no real sign of alcohol. awesome on the palate with a fresh hop flavor and some coconut and citrus. very clean finish with some alcohol that is noticeable.

Growler courtesy of Taverner - way to go man. Shared with MatSciGuy and the wife. Pours bright orange and crystal clear with a white robust head. Strong delightful aroma - piney/resinousy - almost leather-like. Strong mouthfeel yet smooth and bitter throughout the taste. It was a great beer and I feel lucky to sample a fresh one. Certainly worthy of my highest ranking to date.

Special thanks to Beerlando for sharing. I was a little under the weather, but I couldn’t pass up the younger Pliny. The nose is straight pine, and is strong and lively. Mouthfeel is substantial and sticky. Flavor is bold, citrusy, sweet and ultra-bitter. This is another elite pale ale from Russian River. I think I like the Elder better, but this is still amazing.

Growler shared by cdumler. Thanks! Pours a clear reddish orange color with a large, foamy white head. Great head retention and good lacing. Aroma is resiny and citrus hops, honey, apricots and other fruity notes. Taste is very bitter. Resin and citrus hop notes. Apricot jam, honey, lime and grapefruit. Full bodied.

Growler sent down by Taverner. This beer is THE definition of the term "hop bomb." The instant that the growler is cracked, a rush of monster pine and citrus hop aroma explodes from within. I can smell this sucker from 3 feet away. I would swear that there were whole, freshly picked hops dripping with resin floating within if I did not know better. Grapefruit, orange, mango, and dank, sticky pine resin are as potent as I’ve ever encountered, and that is a major feat considering the heft of the underlying, smooth toffee malt base.

Visually, this brew looks every bit the part of a monster IPA. Virtually clear and shining orange-amber in color, the body is crowned by a dense, foamy, off-white head that lasts. A sticky wash leaves sugary legging and micro-spot lacing behind.

Flavors are as bold as the nose suggests, palate crushing bitterness stemming from the insane avalanche of fresh grapefruit and pine resin hops. As bitter as it is, this is surprisingly easy to drink due to the excellent balance that the toffee malt offers. Quite simply put, this stuff is delicious.

The body is huge and viscous, appropriately sticky but finishing much cleaner than the 11% ABV suggests. Bitter hop resin lingers for hours, yes....hours, after the finish. Knowing that I would pay for it the next morning, I couldn’t help but drink about 1/3 of a growler on my own. I sniffed the empty growler the next morning before work just to remember how special this world class beer is. Fantastic!