Pliny The Elder
Russian River Brewing Company

Pliny The ElderPliny The Elder
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From:
Russian River Brewing Company
 
California, United States
Style:
Imperial IPA
Ranked #3
ABV:
8%
Score:
100
Ranked #37
Avg:
4.64 | pDev: 7.76%
Reviews:
3,973
Ratings:
15,691
Status:
Active
Rated:
Yesterday at 09:20 PM
Added:
Aug 24, 2003
Wants:
  7,659
Gots:
  4,835
Pliny the Elder is brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops. It is well-balanced with malt, hops, and alcohol, slightly bitter with a fresh hop aroma of floral, citrus, and pine. Best enjoyed FRESH! That is why we make it in such limited supply. Actual bottling date is printed on each bottle!
Recent ratings and reviews. | Log in to view more ratings + sorting options.
Ratings by Agent1:
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Reviewed by Agent1 from Canada (BC)

4.33/5  rDev -6.7%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.25
**HAVING SEARCHED FOR THIS BEER FOR ALMOST 4 YEARS NOW, I FINALLY GOT MY HANDS ON BUT A SINGLE BOTTLE. THIS MAY BE THE HOLY GRAIL OF BEER, ACCORDING TO LEGEND**

That being said, I will remain unbiased and impartial and judge this beer objectively.

**Bottled: 030813**

---

Appearance – In all honesty, for a beer of this color and style, it really does not get much better than this. It looks great. Poured into a pokal-style glass. Bright copper orange. The head reminds me of Duvel Moortgat; bright white with excellent lacing and foamy, active bubbles. A very active beer. You can see the carbonation is mid to high just by watching the bubbles race to the top.

Smell – Super, super strong simcoe hops and fresh floral hops. Almost piercingly chemical or enhanced. I've never smelt anything like this from any Double IPA or IPA. Smells very fresh, like opening a vacuum sealed bag of hops. Pine needles and cleaner (not an offensive smell, necessarily, just extremely, extremely potent). This is a very powerful, bold aroma. Plants, citrus, lemon, orange peel, herbs and very strong, concentrated sugar smells. Not much malt is allowed to come through the hops. Very piny.

Taste – Great, clean taste. Definitely suits the style but does not add anything new or take any risks. Fresh hop taste and plenty of light, subtle toffee/ butterscotch notes. Soapy dry hop flavor (pretty standard -- tastes good). Amarillo is in the mix, but blends in with the others. The Amarillo gives this beer something special. Subtle lemon notes with stronger orange/ orange peel and grapefruit at the center. The alcohol is hidden well. Nice bitterness and use of sugars -- the two go hand in hand. Lots of grapefruit notes. I have drank this cool at around 6c, and warmer at around 12c. I wanted to see it change. Not a huge jump like most Belgian ales, but still a tad more enjoyable to me when warmer. Hints of vanilla and spice.

Mouthfeel – Impressive. This lightly stimulates all areas of the mouth, but mostly the roof. A nice clean finish with a hint of fresh hops on the aftertaste. Taste buds mainly feel this on the front-roof of the mouth. Nice and fizzy. The hops and carbonation work wonderfully together. Crisp and clean, buttery and smooth. A great use of carbonation.

Overall – This beer is definitely overhyped and overrated. It is very well-balanced and holds true to its style. An excellent beer, but not nearly as incredible as I thought it might be. I feel the aroma and look of this beer may be some of its most impressive characteristics. Dry, earthy, tart, yet sugary and delicious, this beer is a great Double India Pale Ale. I think it is fairly obvious that most of the beer nerds out there like to boast of Pliny's rarity and perhaps feel extra privileged to take part in the hype. It is very hard to find and I am fortunate enough to finally get my hands on it after approximately 4 years of searching. Do not get me wrong, this is an exceptional beer in its style, but definitely overhyped due to how hard it is to come by. Also important to note: there are plenty of other amazing IPAs and DIPAs out there that rival this specific beer. Overall, this does not disappoint. Pliny, you are delicious.
Apr 20, 2013
More User Ratings:
 
Rated: 4.39 by animal69 from Louisiana

Yesterday at 09:20 PM
 
Rated: 4.61 by SoFistDecayDead from California

Yesterday at 04:38 AM
 
Photo of Gthig15
Reviewed by Gthig15 from Virginia

4.68/5  rDev +0.9%
look: 5 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.5
Nice color, aroma of citrus, hoppy flavor with nice malt finish intermingled with bitterness. Great beer. Lighter than I expected in both color and flavor for an imperial IPA.
Mar 06, 2024
 
Rated: 4.66 by SicemWT from Texas

Feb 29, 2024
Photo of Lexluthor33
Reviewed by Lexluthor33 from New York

4.61/5  rDev -0.6%
look: 5 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.75 | overall: 4.75
Golden orange with a small head and light, bubbly lace.
aroma of mango, pine, hops and fruits.
taste is hoppy, fruit flavors followed by intense hops.
great balance overall.
Some malts in background.
Feb 27, 2024
 
Rated: 4.95 by TeachChefs from Pennsylvania

Feb 24, 2024
Photo of AdmiralOzone
Reviewed by AdmiralOzone from Minnesota

4.64/5  rDev 0%
look: 4.75 | smell: 5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5
Pours clear honey gold with a thick white head that leaves generous lacing as it slowly fades. Aroma is bold, fresh citrus and tropical fruit with some pine. Flavor follows the nose, slightly sweet fruit up front with a real punch of bitterness in the finish. Feel is light bodied with ample carbonation. Overall, a real fine beer.
Feb 21, 2024
Photo of The_Dean
Rated by The_Dean from Illinois

4.85/5  rDev +4.5%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.75 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.75
World class, poured from the bottle into a plastic hotel room cup in San Jose. Paired with In-N-Out DD. Wonderful.
Feb 13, 2024
 
Rated: 4.69 by Tbone10 from Wisconsin

Feb 02, 2024
 
Rated: 4.18 by sbradley41 from Pennsylvania

Feb 01, 2024
 
Rated: 4.12 by Allurex from Kansas

Jan 28, 2024
 
Rated: 4.06 by AmitC from New York

Jan 12, 2024
Photo of MalteredBeast
Reviewed by MalteredBeast

4.01/5  rDev -13.6%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.75 | overall: 4
The quintessential west coast ipa. Hoppy and bitter which lingers. Had both on tap and in bottle. So much has been said about this one already. To be honest, as much as I liked it, I guess with its massive reputation, I was expecting a bit more. This one suffered from too high of expectations.
Dec 21, 2023
 
Rated: 4.96 by Kdog311 from Texas

Dec 20, 2023
Photo of george_pond
Reviewed by george_pond from Maine

4.2/5  rDev -9.5%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.25
I found this at Nocturnem Draft Haus in Bangor, Maine. It was very good but maybe the hype caused my expectations to be set too high. I have yet to find a beer that equals the robust flavor of Eldridge Pope’s original Thomas Hardy’s ale.
The color was bright and clear; the flavor crisp and balanced. I’m sure I won’t get too many arguments if I say it is an excellent beer.
Dec 11, 2023
 
Rated: 4.75 by JLaw55 from Missouri

Dec 02, 2023
Photo of JacobusFavier23
Reviewed by JacobusFavier23 from Texas

4.36/5  rDev -6%
look: 4.25 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.25 | feel: 4.25 | overall: 4.5
Had on tap for the first time ever at a bar in Denver.

L-Golden colored beer with lively carbonation. Lacy thin head that stays around for a while.
S-Strong notes of floral, and fruity notes. Lots of apple and some strawberry, pineapple and blueberry. Fresh hop, earthy and piney resin, slight sweetness that follows.
T-Minimal yet bitter bite, slight crisp sweetness. Grainy and floral flavor throughout. Peppery bite. Some strawberry, blueberry and apple as well. Fresh.
F-Crisp, light and bubbly mouthfeel. Very light. Refreshing.
O-A damn good and perfectly crafted ipa. I can see how this is world class. Incredibly fresh and refreshing from end to end. Articulate flavor profile. Rewarding to drink. It started it all, and everyone is trying to recreate it’s greatness. It did it first. Glad I got to try it.
Dec 02, 2023
 
Rated: 4.29 by Jcreek from Illinois

Dec 01, 2023
Pliny The Elder from Russian River Brewing Company
Beer rating: 100 out of 100 with 15691 ratings