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Pliny The Younger
Russian River Brewing Company
- From:
- Russian River Brewing Company
- California, United States
- Style:
- Imperial IPA
Ranked #2 - ABV:
- 10.25%
- Score:
- 100
Ranked #16 - Avg:
- 4.69 | pDev: 7.25%
- Reviews:
- 1,037
- Ratings:
- Status:
- Active
- Rated:
- Mar 06, 2024
- Added:
- Jan 27, 2005
- Wants:
- 6,804
- Gots:
- 608
Pliny the Younger, the man, was Pliny the Elder’s nephew and adopted son. They lived nearly 2,000 years ago! Pliny the Elder is our Double IPA, so we felt it was fitting to name our Triple IPA after his son. It is almost a true Triple IPA with triple the amount of hops as a regular I.P.A. That said, it is extremely difficult, time and space consuming, and very expensive to make. And that is why we don’t make it more often! This beer is very full-bodied with tons of hop character in the nose and throughout. It is also deceptively well-balanced and smooth.
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Swimsum:
Reviewed by Swimsum from Oregon
4.32/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
4.32/5 rDev -7.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4
Growler shared by Grabbin2nd (thanks RJ) on 2/9/10
Poured out a nice and clear amber color. A white head emerges made up of tiny bubbles. A ring around the glass is left once the head settles. Swirling brings the head back for a bit but settles back to ring. This looked a lot like the Elder to me. No lacing down the glass.
A lot of citrus with resinous pine backing that up. A lot more citrus than found in Elder. Citrus is mostly grapefruit but some other tropic fruits possibly there. I love the smell on this and it is very strong. There are some floral hops and a bit of alcohol but not enough to replace the citrus.
Taste is the same as the smell. Tons of citrus and hops coming through. For me it has all the aspects of the Elder with the addition of a lot of citrus. There is a bit of an alcohol bite toward the end of the swallow but this taste amazing and is what I was hoping it would be.
Not a lot of carbonation here (perhaps some loss from the growler?) but it isn't as thick as some other Imperial IPAs that I've had. I like that it's not super thick however. As mentioned in the taste, there is a bit of an alcohol bite but overall this went down very smoothly.
This was a great experience and I'm very thankful for getting to try it. I would love to go get this on tap at Russian River when it is released but hopefully I'll be able to get to try this somewhere down south for 2011.
Jan 04, 2011Poured out a nice and clear amber color. A white head emerges made up of tiny bubbles. A ring around the glass is left once the head settles. Swirling brings the head back for a bit but settles back to ring. This looked a lot like the Elder to me. No lacing down the glass.
A lot of citrus with resinous pine backing that up. A lot more citrus than found in Elder. Citrus is mostly grapefruit but some other tropic fruits possibly there. I love the smell on this and it is very strong. There are some floral hops and a bit of alcohol but not enough to replace the citrus.
Taste is the same as the smell. Tons of citrus and hops coming through. For me it has all the aspects of the Elder with the addition of a lot of citrus. There is a bit of an alcohol bite toward the end of the swallow but this taste amazing and is what I was hoping it would be.
Not a lot of carbonation here (perhaps some loss from the growler?) but it isn't as thick as some other Imperial IPAs that I've had. I like that it's not super thick however. As mentioned in the taste, there is a bit of an alcohol bite but overall this went down very smoothly.
This was a great experience and I'm very thankful for getting to try it. I would love to go get this on tap at Russian River when it is released but hopefully I'll be able to get to try this somewhere down south for 2011.
More User Ratings:
Reviewed by flagmantho from Washington
4.15/5 rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
4.15/5 rDev -11.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
I had this beer on-tap in a tulip glass at Special Brews in Lynnwood, WA.
Appearance: medium-light golden hue with just the tiniest wisp of haze and practically no head.
Smell: a light, sweet, almost tropical fruitiness with some piney hop character atop a pretty pronounced malt aroma. Nice.
Taste: richly malty and a bit sweet, but with lots of bitterness backing it up. There’s a little fruity character here, I’m thinking from fermentation, along with some piney/grassy notes from the hops. It’s interesting — a rich flavorful beer, but neither as cloying nor as harsh as TIPAs often are. Worth the hype? Maybe. But certainly a good beer.
Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and creaminess.
Overall: I like this beer a lot, and I bet if I’d tried it 15 years ago it would have blown my mind (and my palate). In today’s IPA climate, competition is tough and we as consumers are spoiled. That said, this remains a really tasty beer.
Feb 24, 2024Appearance: medium-light golden hue with just the tiniest wisp of haze and practically no head.
Smell: a light, sweet, almost tropical fruitiness with some piney hop character atop a pretty pronounced malt aroma. Nice.
Taste: richly malty and a bit sweet, but with lots of bitterness backing it up. There’s a little fruity character here, I’m thinking from fermentation, along with some piney/grassy notes from the hops. It’s interesting — a rich flavorful beer, but neither as cloying nor as harsh as TIPAs often are. Worth the hype? Maybe. But certainly a good beer.
Mouthfeel: medium body with a good level of carbonation and creaminess.
Overall: I like this beer a lot, and I bet if I’d tried it 15 years ago it would have blown my mind (and my palate). In today’s IPA climate, competition is tough and we as consumers are spoiled. That said, this remains a really tasty beer.
Reviewed by Hayesbro from Pennsylvania
4.8/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
4.8/5 rDev +2.3%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
Not sure what else needs to be said about this beer, it's pretty close to perfection for the style. A little on the light side, piney and bitter with a touch of sweetness. Intense flavors and very very smooth.
Feb 23, 2024Reviewed by NeilSilber1 from California
5/5 rDev +6.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
5/5 rDev +6.6%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5
Pours golden yellow with slight white lacing crown on special edition (once a year) draught at Malibu Wine & Beer. Notes of honey and crisp perfect hops, slightly sweet with a perfect hop punch. This limited batch hard to get pour drinks like a single IPA but checked in at hefty 10.25% ABV putting it into triple IPA category. CHEERS to Russian River and the perfect IPA.
Feb 21, 2024Reviewed by TheIPAHunter from California
4.71/5 rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
4.71/5 rDev +0.4%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 4.75 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.75
Intense gummy bear nose. Taste is soft stone fruit, green pear, grapefruit rind, and an absolute blast of pine resin. Prickly mouthfeel. Dry, bitter finish. Phenomenal.
Sep 19, 2023
Pliny The Younger from Russian River Brewing Company
Beer rating:
100 out of
100 with
3560 ratings
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