Russian River Pliny The Elder and New Beer Adventures!

Today has been fairly momentous in my experience of beer. After several years of longing, I finally got to taste Russian River Brewing Company's Pliny the Elder! This double IPA is one of the worlds most sought after beers, and currently ranks as the 6th best beer in the world on beeradvocate.com. Erik made this dream possible by picking up a case for me on his recent trip to Napa Valley for wine camp (He does wine, I do beer!). I've also got a few other California goodies tucked away for later tasting, but this is certainly the crème de la crème.

The production and distribution of Pliny the Elder is very limited, so I consider myself very lucky. But Pliny the Younger, Russian River's triple IPA and currently ranking as the 4th best beer in the world, is only available on draft at the Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa, CA and a few select CA pubs for two weeks in February every year. So.... road trip in February 2015?

Pliny the Elder is actually in the news today as well (how appropriate?). Russian River is updating their brewing equipment to keep up with demand for Pliny the Elder (though not an expansion). And Firestone Walker is lending a helping hand by offering some of their brewing power to continue production while RR takes care of business. Adorable!

If you're curious at all about Pliny the Elder or Younger, check out this short documentary on both.

And finally, here's what makes Pliny a world-wide favorite...

Russian River Brewing Company Pliny the Elder

BG Poured from a 1 pt, 1.25 fl oz (510 ml) bottle into a stemmed tulip, 8% ABV, Bottled 09/23/14 That’s right, it was bottled 10 days ago!

A Gold in color with two fingers of white, pillowy head that leaves thick puffs of lacing behind. A bit of flaky sediment was retained in the bottle on my first pour.

A My nose isn’t even over the beer yet, and I can already catch the fragrance. Very potent floral hops, as if I stuck my nose in a bouquet of fresh catkins. Tangerines, fresh squeezed oranges, grassy hops, sweet pineapple

T Pine, citrus zing, capri sun, white bread, fructose, floral hop bitterness

M Medium body, higher than average carbonation

A Orange rind, hop bitterness

C I’ve never had a beer that screams fresh like this one. The amount of flavor and aroma going on here is incredible in that it isn't overwhelming. It has tropical and citrus notes common in pale ales, the aggressive hop aroma and bitterness found in IPAs, and a tastefully amplified interpretation of the characteristics of both styles all its own. It is by far my favorite double IPA, maybe forever. I am no longer a Pliny virgin!

FP Mango basmati rice with lemon chicken, herb crusted tilapia with sauteed cauliflower, angel food cake


As previously stated, I have a whole case. The label also states at least thirteen times (I counted) to drink the beer as fresh as possible. This is only 10 days after the bottling date, and it's truly a fresh experience. If you want to try some, I'm totally down for trades!

And that's not even my whole day!

After lots of research, consideration, and desire to further promote my beer education, I bought a home brew kit! Note: beer education = brewing and, most importantly, drinking beer! I found a great kit with lots of extras on KSL (it's like craigslist), and then went to Art's Brewing Supplies for the actual ingredients, along with some bottle caps and sanitizers. My biggest task now is educating myself. And my biggest fear is that I'll end up on the other side of this with five gallons of mediocre beer that I desperately beg my friends to take home and try. I supposed the point of all of this is to learn (ok it's to drink cheap beer, whatever...), but my desire to make something extraordinary is what will keep me on the right path.

Right now, it looks as confusing to you as it does to me. But with time, and the 4 instructional books/guides + internet, I'll make some drinkable, fermented suds yet!