Pliny The Younger - Russian River Brewing Company

tastyville

California

5/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I had this beer about a dozen times in February and twice in March. I write this review now from notes I had written on my notepad app in my phone. I think this review deserves the complete journey I took from La Habra to Santa Rosa on a chilly evening in February. I drove seven and a half hours to get to Russian River and arrived a bit past 10:30pm. My girlfriend and I ordered a couple glasses of Pliny the Younger. What I saw was a small glass with a clear, obviously filtered, golden beer and a nice head. The aroma was enticing to me, not so much my girlfriend. "It smells like pine cones!" She was not a beer enthusiast like me but I agreed with her- "It also smells like citrus and in very good balance. Not one more than the other." So we drank. Poof! Like a memory it was there and it was gone- it vanished, it evaporated. It was so easy to drink I had to keep the second gulp in my mouth, swish it around and chew it a bit to get the complete experience. I was dumbfounded. "Isn't this supposed to be nearly 12%?" I asked my girlfriend. By this time she was done and ordered another. This was a woman that barely got the hang of Leinenkugel not two months before. As I watched her drink it, swish it around and chew a few times (like I told her to) she would close her eyes and "Mmmm! This is SO good." This was probably the fifth or sixth kind of beer she has ever tried. The aggressive amounts of ABV with the intense aroma and smooth flavor and the subtlety by which the flavors develop in your mouth which is such a rich dynamic from a hop punch in front to a sweet tang of citrus to the back which completely masks the amount of alcohol in addition to being filtered- this beer is quite frankly dangerously delicious and I can't wait for my next journey in February!

Serving type: on-tap

05-07-2013 06:04:10 | More by tastyville

akang

California

5/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I had some at the brewery and liked it so much that I tracked it down at a couple places in San Diego (Hamilton's Tavern, SD TapRoom).

A - Rich orange-gold with minimal head.

S - Strong pine but citrus comes through as well.

T - It's an elevated version of PtE. There is a stronger citrus flavor that is able to hide the higher alcohol content. The overall balance is incredible.

M - Amazing smoothness that makes it so easy to drink.

O - This is my favorite beer so I am biased when I say that this is deserving of the hype. I probably wasted way too much time tracking this in February/March, but I imagine I will be doing the same thing next year.

Serving type: on-tap

05-03-2013 02:04:39 | More by akang

Dowlers

California

4.75/5  rDev +0.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

This beer definitely lives up to the legend.

Appearance) Beautiful straw gold colour.

Smell) rich citrusy grapefruit aroma

Taste) Sweet citrus and grapefruit hops. Rich smooth malty aftertaste. High alcohol content well hidden.

Mouthfeel) Oh so smooth. Unbelievable smoothness considering the amount of flavor packed into the taste

Overall) The outstanding example of its style. For once the hype is justified.

Serving type: on-tap

04-29-2013 00:58:30 | More by Dowlers

gmartinez

California

5/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Great brew, I wish it was bottled and year round. It taste like a concentrated glass of grapefruit and pine. I've had heady topper, and I know this would rank higher if it were more readily available outside of California. I also think that this blows heady topper out if the water.

Serving type: on-tap

04-28-2013 05:42:39 | More by gmartinez

LSx

California

5/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Sampled at the pub several times in 2011 & 2012

Best IPA in every regard.

Pours with practically no head and is a perfectly clear, bright orange-gold color.

Balance is the key with this beer, nothing overpowers and the high abv is hidden very well - all the traditional west coast IPA notes with the citrus, pine, sweetness...just everything is bigger and yet so well balanced. Not enough can be said about just how good this beer is, I set this as my standard to compare all IPA/DIPA's against.

Serving type: on-tap

04-24-2013 17:49:56 | More by LSx

chrisgalvin

California

5/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

World Class Beer. I wish there wasn't so much hype around this beer because I really hate waiting in line to drink. I'm lucky enough to live really close to some of the best craft beer bars in the San Francisco Bay Area and there's always some place that has a keg once released.

The combination of hops, malt character and finish make this a world class beer. Well done, Vinny.

Serving type: on-tap

04-01-2013 04:10:36 | More by chrisgalvin

Dreadnaught33

District of Columbia

4.65/5  rDev -1.3%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5

This is a beer which, like so many of us beer nerds, I've wanted to try for a long, long time. I am a huge hophead, so this was a nice treat for me. Had this yesterday on tap at Varga bar in Philly for the black tie event. I managed to grab two 6 oz pours so I got a pretty good idea of this beer.

A: Almost clear orange/gold color with ample bubbles rising up to a ring of white head, pretty nice lacing.

S: Not the most pungent smelling triple IPA ever, but what is there is all resiny tropical and pine hops, weed, bitters, a crisp and clean aroma overall.

T/M: Really nice composed flavor, this is supremely balanced for a beer of this ABV. Floral and vegetal hops, tropical fruits abound with pineapple and papaya fruits for me shining through. This is very clearly the next step of elder as it has a nice dry finish, resiny front, and clean mouthfeel and the same sort of hop bill, but just more. Some honey soaked malts and a slight spicy note pervades as well- this accents the hops very well and contributes nicely to the feel overall. The taste lingers very nicely long after tasting it, which is always the mark of a great beer.

Overall, this is a great beer, and it is worth most of the hype. Did it blow me away? No. Is it still awesome? Yes. Would I drive to Philly from DC to and from in one day for it again? No. What I learned from trying this beer, is I need to take my hat off to it in that we wouldn't have beers like Boneyard Notorious, Alpine Expo Hoppiness, HF Ephraim, or even my local DC Brau OTWOA if it wasn't for this beer and it's "Elder" version. This beer seems like it would have blown the doors off the barn if I had it like 4-5 years ago, but now there are many comparable beers which maybe makes it seem less magical than it might have been before. As a saxophone player, it seems to me almost like having to appreciate Lester Young and Charlie Parker so that you can really enjoy Michael Brecker and Chris Potter etc meaning that you have to pay your dues to the ones who innovated first so you can see where the 'newer' things have grown out of. I tip my hat to Russian River and this beer for blazing the trail to the yet even crazier beers we have today.

Serving type: on-tap

03-26-2013 02:09:32 | More by Dreadnaught33

Turst3Since1987

California

4.98/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

First and foremost I just want to say that I did not intend to get drunk off younger but the opportunity to have as many glasses as I wished drove me to have my fill of it. And for the first time trying it, it was no less then amazing.

Golden, deep orange and minimum head, almost completely flat.

From the moment I had my first glass without putting my nose to it the smell found me, amazing sweetness deceptively covering the amount of hops it contains.

Mouthfeel was medium body, creamy silk, light oil consistency that made it one easy beer to drink and make u forget its actually 11%

Overall worth the wait and having a beer like this makes me appreciate perfectly crafted beer and has me searching for anything that can tap into the heels of this amazing brew, at least untill next year.

Serving type: on-tap

03-23-2013 01:30:38 | More by Turst3Since1987

GetMeAnIPA

California

4.99/5  rDev +5.9%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I was lucky enough to get two glasses this year.

A - golden crystal clear yellow with almost zero head. There is no head retention because of all the hop oil. Great alcohol legs.

S - the smell knocked me off my feet. So piney and hoppy. I could smell the beer from the table. Almost didn't want to drink it because it smelt that good.

T - perfectly balanced and smooth. Classic RR IPA with the piney, citrus flavored but just the right amount of malt backbone. Some warming but no burn.

O - if this beer was more widely available it would be easily the best beer around. Lives up to the hype and has inspired me to finally make the trek to RR next year for the PtY release.

Serving type: on-tap

03-21-2013 19:32:00 | More by GetMeAnIPA

bluz4frank

California

5/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Can I say anything more about this beer than has already been published? Sat next to Vinnie during the day we were there. He mentioned he thought it was the best batch so far. I agree. My fourth year attending and it was definitely the best. A good friend is a photographer for the Santa Rosa Press Democratn who has done dozens of stories about Vinnie and his beer. Even HE said it was the best batch ever.

Serving type: on-tap

03-21-2013 03:46:46 | More by bluz4frank

jmaharaj

Maryland

4.68/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

Stood in line at Sidecar in Philly for a couple hours to get a pour of this. Was very much worth it.
The beer was lighter in color than I would have expected, but it had a beautiful white frothy head. The aroma was thick. Big hop notes of citrus with hints of tropical fruit, sitting over a big malt base that seems to thrust the hops into your nostrils. The hops and malt seem wonderfully cohesive and you can already tell this is going to be a juggernaut of a beer. The taste is equally satisfying. Thick malt and resinous hops roll across the tongue while a wonderfully complex hop profile opens us with orange, lemon and grapefriut flavors, some deeper notes of tabacco and chalk and the occasional swirl of malts keep this long, complex and drinkable. Wonderfully balanced and surprisingly easy to throw down. For those looking for a grapefruit fix, something like Maharaja might be better, but thsi has got to be one of the most well crafted and tastiest beers out there.

Serving type: on-tap

03-14-2013 17:44:22 | More by jmaharaj

tomakeanend

California

5/5  rDev +6.2%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

I don't know if this is the 'world's best beer'. But it is the best I have ever tasted. Hands-down.

Smooth, bold flavors, and a refreshing, crisp finish. The two loveliest ladies in my life surprised me by waiting in line two hours to secure the last two tickets for a special pouring of Pliny the Younger, while I was stuck at work all day and none the wiser. It's pretty much the perfect brew. I highly recommend.

Serving type: on-tap

03-13-2013 21:46:19 | More by tomakeanend

CuriousMonk

Virginia

4.9/5  rDev +4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

After such a long quest for some PtY, I was finally able to imbibe on some of this goodness at the Bishop's Collar in Philadelphia a couple weeks ago. Poured into a 4oz sampler glass (had two thanks to my wife who doesn't drink beer) - Poured beautiful clear golden with an one-finger super white head with beautiful lacing that lasted very well throughout. The intense aroma was full of citrus and floral hops along with pine. PtY had the perfect blend of hops in the nose that work very well with each other. The taste sweeter and maltier than I expected, possibly to better balance out the loads of hops this beer has. This was by far better than Pliny the Elder - by a mile. Full of grapefruit and sweet like honey. The finish has a nice citrus and resiny note on the end as well. Mouthfeel had a perfect balance with lively carbonation lasting throughout the (obviously very short) drinking session. It really brought out the smoothness and balance between the malts and hops on the tongue without the bringing out the bitterness like I thought it would have due to the Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder, so this was a pleasant surprise! This beer was perfectly balanced all-around. It is truly such a shame that this beer is "very expensive and difficult to make under tight space limits" according to Russian River because this would have been the go-to IPA in many beer circles. Would love to try this again in the near future!

Serving type: on-tap

03-13-2013 05:20:50 | More by CuriousMonk

Homebrewpat

New Jersey

4.84/5  rDev +2.8%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Was abosolutely thrilled to get this beer on draft at the Bishops collar in Philly. Unfortunately they only ended up giving out % oz samples. Still great to try. Nose is Elder on steroids more pine, more tropical. As perfect a mouthfeel as I've had from an IPA. Taste is sublime. Amazingly balanced between bitter hops and biscuit y malt. hope to get a full glass soon.

Serving type: on-tap

03-12-2013 01:29:32 | More by Homebrewpat

smakawhat

Maryland

4.61/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

Poured on tap at Monk's Cafe into a wine glass for the charity event Alex's Lemonade stand. 2 1/2 hours of waiting in line, good chats, and good crowded insane times!

Glass poured ahead of time. Pale brass yellow to bronze amber body. Very clear and crystal, not much noticeable carbonation. Given with only a thin off tan to white soapy collar that never lets up. Very pretty looking IPA, with some matching spider like lacing.

Nose is familiar. A great wet sense of juicy hop orange and tangerine. There's a honey sweetness behind this also, it really reminds me of hopslam, and a very dry heat that come off of it. Not boozy smelling at all. Clean, but doesn't give me the sense of a big body coming.

Palate hits hop front hard. Big juicy but still wet body, not unlike Zombie Dust, but with a quenching almost pilsner crispness. Hop explosive notes of hinted orange from the nose, but the body is far more tropical with giant fruits of mango, maybe peach, but giant fruit punch tropics. Incredibily dry finish, almost getting into brut champagne territory, with pine hop complimenting the arid quality nicely. There is just a touch though, a peck of grainy character on this in the swallow.

It's very memorable, and hardly contains any alcohol boozy heat. I completely forgot this just barely kicks in over ten percent abv, it sure doesn't feel like it at all. It personally for myself is just missing that hint of bigger body, and oomph, and a certain "wow" factor. It's so close but it's a great beer. I'll never forget it.

Serving type: on-tap

03-11-2013 22:36:46 | More by smakawhat

Doc_Hops

Pennsylvania

4.6/5  rDev -2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75

This was released this morning at my local bottle shop. It was released at eleven am, I was the eleventh person in line, the beer is eleven percent abv, and it was gone in eleven minutes.... crazy.

A- Pliny the Younger pour a glowing deep yellow with practically no head at all, which is okay for me.

S- As I take a big whiff I smell loads of pine all the way. There's also a big burst of citrus as well, just as I expected.

T- Crazy amount of hop bitterness to start. More piny notes continue to come through with lots and lots of grapefruit citrus notes as well.

M- It's actually a bit light bodied than I expected. Very medium bodied with a bit of tingly carbonation. It leaves a very interesting alcohol coating as I swallow. A bit hard to describe but still incredible.

O- Very glad I got to try this. Absolutely incredible! Very complex, super hoppy and all around goodness. I don't think it's overrated, I don't think it's underrated. I think it's spot on!

Serving type- On tap poured into a 10oz snifter. Thanks for reading.

Serving type: on-tap

03-11-2013 02:55:31 | More by Doc_Hops

justintcoons

Pennsylvania

4.69/5  rDev -0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75

8oz pour at the Hulmeville Inn.

Appearance
Pale gold with hardly any head. Excellent clarity with very low carbonation.

Nose
Pineapple, pine, mango and honey.

Taste
Pineapple, pine resin, mango, candied orange and lemon. Caramel, honey and pale candy sugars. Resinous pine, lemon zest and tangerine in the finish.

Mouthfeel
Medium-full bodied, oily and smooth.

Overall
Yeah...it kind of lives up to its reputation.

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2013 19:35:45 | More by justintcoons

t8s8l8

Pennsylvania

4.49/5  rDev -4.7%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5

At the bar on my phone so won't make this too long

Pliny has this great dank aroma subtle fruitiness some mango, a little catiness. The thing I love about a lot of rr beers is they all fo.ish dry. The hop bit number the middle of the tongue a bit. Great clarity. A bit malty but definitely need ING with this beer beer. Wasn't sure what too expect. Though I would not wait in line for a taste I would seek out. Glad I had it in 10 oz Serving.

Serving type: on-tap

03-10-2013 16:19:02 | More by t8s8l8

bkeach

California

4.89/5  rDev +3.8%
look: 4.75 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75

This Beer IS AWESOME. I wont go into all my tasting notes because there are tons already. The only reason I give it a sub perfect score is because the hype does not meet the beer in my opinion. Its a bigger version of Elder. But many beers are equally enjoyable to me. Great beer, must try, should be WAY more available.

Serving type: on-tap

03-08-2013 18:40:30 | More by bkeach

writerLJBerg

Oregon

4.15/5  rDev -11.9%
look: 3.25 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 3.75

On tap @ Wildwood last night. 8 oz pour.

A: Melted gold coloration. Very thin head. Translucent. Clear demarcation of the legs on the glass.

N: I can smell this while holding it at chest level. Intense pineapple notes, mango, passionfruit, and a smattering of grapefruit. Caramel sweetness. Very worthy nose.

T: Massive interplay between sweet and bitter. Grapefruit gives way to some onion that is eventually defeated by earth, pine, conifer, and ash. Bitterness is a 10 on a 10 scale. This is the hoppiest beast on the market. Has the caramel of a good bourbon and some honey melon.

M: Dry and desiccating as a desert. Very sticky and washes around in the mouth. Sublime.

O: A beer like this is worth the effort of the chase if you haven't had it. Clearly, this is true. Yet, as I drank the 8oz, the desire for another one diminished with each sip. I've had it 5 times now, and I don't see much reason to continue tracking it down year after year.

Serving type: on-tap

03-06-2013 21:28:40 | More by writerLJBerg

MusicaleMike

Pennsylvania

4.31/5  rDev -8.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.25

Served in a tulip glass.

Good ol' Pliny the Younger. This is my 3rd time with this beer. This came out to me with a half inch white cap of crisp white head on top of a golden amber body that had great clarity which showed off the lazy carbonation. The head eventually faded to nothing, but left a sticky lacing on the side of the glass.

The smell wafts out of the glass with hints of mango, bruised pineapple, butterscotch, and a sweet hint of berries underneath. Fairly strong aroma, and certainly appetizing, though it fades a bit too quickly for me to rate this higher.

Very hop-forward beer for sure, with plenty of tropical fruit in the flavor and a sweet, boozy quality that is present throughout. While a beer like Heady Topper is a master of disguise, hiding all that alcohol behind the Hop Curtain, Pliny the Younger is unabashed by being an 11% alcohol by volume DIPA. The complexity here is the mix of hops and alcohol, with a nice sweet malt backbone.

The carbonation is crisp, the body is strong, a little on the viscous side. Superb mouthfeel...

I think this is a great beer. It would be hard to write about Pliny the Younger without talking about the train of hype that precedes this beer: people freak out about this beer. A bar announces this beer bring tapped, and if they don't announce it, its considered a "strategy." The hype is not worth it though. There are better double IPA's out there...that said, this is a great beer that people won't be disappointed in. I tracked this beer down this year to give it a review, but next year, I won't be on the hunt.

Serving type: on-tap

03-06-2013 14:27:18 | More by MusicaleMike

MitchD14

Oregon

4.98/5  rDev +5.7%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 5

I had this beer on tap in a 12 oz glass at Bailey's Taproom in Portland. I must say, it lives up to the hype. I believe this keg was 10.5% ABV but it was not too hoppy to enjoy even with the high alcohol content. It has a beautiful translucent golden color and goes down extremely smoothly.

Serving type: on-tap

03-06-2013 03:19:15 | More by MitchD14

CommanderOfAwesome

California

3.99/5  rDev -15.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4.25 | taste: 3.75 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4

Had during SF beer week at Bobby G's in Berkeley CA. Had with a PtE side by side.

A: Pours golden color with great clarity. 1 finger white fluffy head.

S: Mango, pineapple grapefruit, sweetness lingering with hops.

T: Hop forward, very sweet citrus fruit. Hides the alcohol well behind a well balanced malt backbone.

M: Well carbonated medium bodied with a bitter dry sweet finish.

O: A good beer that is no where close to the hype. I waited about an hour for this beer which is on the low end, and honestly I would much rather have a TIPA from Knee Deep over this one. Glad to have it once and say I've had it but for this to top in the top 10 beers is all hype based IMO.

Serving type: on-tap

03-05-2013 22:34:02 | More by CommanderOfAwesome

baybum

Pennsylvania

4.61/5  rDev -2.1%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

On tap at TJ's in Paoli. Poured into a 10oz snifter glass.

A - Beautiful. Small white head with colors of orange but not as dark as I thought it might appear.

S - this beer smells absolutely wonderful. Hops and citrus abound. As it warms up the aroma is even better.

T - so smooth! Actually a little too smooth at 11%. But the flavor is a little disappointing for such a high ipa. No bitter bite at all. As this warms up the taste increases as did the smell.

O - I think this beer might fall a little short of the hype. Don't get me wrong I did love this beer. But I actually preferred Citra from a bottle then pty on draft. I would seek this out again and recommend it to any ipa lover. But you won't see me waiting 3 hours in line to drink it. Pte is as good and usually easier to find.

Serving type: on-tap

03-05-2013 19:25:37 | More by baybum

dafla67

Pennsylvania

4.95/5  rDev +5.1%
look: 5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Served in a tulip glass.

A: Golden orange with little head.

S: citrusy (grapefruit), piney and sweet. Each aroma balanced very nicely.

T: At first, there is the sweetness with a slow conversion, like a gentle walk, to the hops bitterness.

M: so very smooth. The finish is a bit dry and sticky. No harshness like with some 11% abv.

O: An incredible DIPA. PTY earned every bit of its lofty reputation and status.

Serving type: on-tap

03-05-2013 18:49:11 | More by dafla67