Feature Beer Friday! - Russian River Pliny The Elder

Last night I had a couple of beer friends over for some tasting / reviewing for my Feature Beer Friday! series.  Typically I try to stick with locally available beers and throw in a mix of regionally available beers from TX or Alabama, but when Brenton Day of TheAleRunner.com offered to bring over a Pliny, who was I to say no?  (I also stole the picture from him... he'll have to get over it.) So we're going a little out of the region today, but check back the next few weeks for some Southern Tier reviews, which just recently came to Louisiana!

A little more about Pliny The Elder from Russian River Brewing... it's the third highest ranked Double IPA on BeerAdvocate, and it also has the 2nd highest amount of ratings in the top 50.  So basically, a lot of people have tried it, and a lot of people love it.  Russian River is from Santa Rosa, CA in wine country, but they make some of the best beers in the world.  In addition to some awesome IPAs Russian River has a killer line of sour/wild ales that are among the best in the world.  Pliny The Elder is their year-round DIPA available on draft and in bottles, and for those looking to try it I would recommend one of several websites that offers beer shipped to your door, or talk to a friend on the West coast or in Colorado and see if they'll help you out!

On to the review... 

Reviewers: Eric Ducote (BR Beer Scene), Brenton Day (The Ale Runner.com), and Dustin Davis.

Serving: 1 pint, 1.25 fluid ounce bottle.

Appearance: "Copper color with copious amounts of head," was Dustin's comment.

Aroma: Floral & citrus hops, I picked up some pine as well.  Brenton said it was like a "cat pissed on the Christmas tree."  He has cats, and he gave it a 23/25 so I guess that's a good thing.

Taste: Brenton and I both thought it was pine dominant with the hops, but it was never so out of balance that I thought it was bitter for the sake of bitter.  

Mouthfeel: Easy to drink for such a big beer.  

Overall: This is a world-class beer and it lives up to the hype.  One of the best DIPAs around, if you get the chance, give it a try! 


Overall Rating: 89
My Rating: 89