Double Dry-Hopped Pliny The Elder
Russian River Brewing Company

 

A - Pours a clear gold with a nice white one finger head. Nice amount of soapy lacing.

S - Aroma is orange, grapefruit and grassy hops.

T - The taste is orange, grapefruit, lemon, biscuity malts and a wash of piney hops.

M - Medium body with medium carbonation. Soft mouthfeel with a crisp dry finish.

O - This is a classic West Coast DIPA.

16oz can. Label is marked for the canning date of '21 NOV 2022'.
Mostly clear pale gold colored body. Thin white head but this beer mostly has a spotty cap and ring. Just a few small spots of lacing.
Aroma is all about balance, with tangerine hops and lightly toasted malts.
Taste is much "hotter" than a regular Pliny. Sweetness quickly moves to a dank performance. Orange, grapefruit, and tangerine, but then a bitter, piney rush comes forward. Aftertaste has the pith and the dank hop residue.
Medium mouth feel, with a slight bit of syrup. Supportive carbonation.
Aggressive Pliny offshoot, and is well executed (power of hops to provide aggression) and well balanced in its execution. Not as Sonoma as the original.

On tap at Ale Arsenal in San Carlos. 3 pours made me a mess

This is everything I love about Pliny amped up just a little bit, with a slightly more hop pop, slightly fruitier on a clean delicate malt base with the same classic bitterness. Drying, bitter finish, clean floral, fragrant and delightfully hoppy.

 

Had this on 2022-12-08 near Pittsburgh, PA from a couple of fresh 16oz cans my son-in-law brought back on the plane from the brewery today. What a wonderful treat.

A - Almost clear gold with a 2-finger white head and good lacing. Looks great.

S - Strong hop floral, pineapple, orange, and pine that fills the area in front of me. Fantastic.

T - Complex fruit tastes with nectarine, pineapple, tangerine and orange zest. Background malt is biscuit with a dab of honey. The angelic pine and herbal hop spices are complex and perfect for this brew. There's lingering bitterness but never over-the-top and there's compensating sweetness for balance. This beer tastes great and it is oh-so refined.

M - Medium body and carbonation. Refreshing, smooth and a bit resinous. Perfectly balanced and always left me wanting the next sip.

O - Well, I've reviewed more than 2550 beers here since 2007 and have never given an overall 5.0 to any of them. But there's always a first and this is 5's in all categories. For me; this is a perfect beer.

 

 

 

Sweet tropical hoppy, old-school hoppy, and piney-dank nose on this one! Taste follows with a super-clean and tasty, old-school hoppy and piney bitter finish. That bitterness lingers on the palate for a while, but is well-balanced with some of the hoppy sweetness upfront. I am having this 4 days after canning date (7/13/2022) and it is fantastic! Comparing this to a DDH Pliny I had a while ago that was about a month after canning date and it is not even close! Pliny is meant to be enjoyed as fresh as possible IMO...preferably a week or so after canning/bottling. Outside of that, the hops become slightly muddled and the finish not as flavorful and enjoyable. Outstanding example of a classic, old-school bitter West Coast DIPA when fresh! Yum!

 

 

From the latest release (about 3 week old I'd say)
Consumed 3/27/22

This beer was such a pain to get into Chicago. USPS almost destroyed my package and I think I love the beer more because it took so long in the mail. As for the beer though, I LOVE the dry finish, drinkability (for an 8% abv) and flavor. I feel like this style of beer is unfair on ratings when compared to hazies. There's just not as much happening on the nose and they're not as pretty as a hazy beer. But this kills in the hop bite and mouthfeel. It's a world class beer and worth seeking out.

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Received via LIF from one JayORear related to NBW BIF #14 and drank it at 27 days old.
Pour was into an imperial pint pilsner glass - the color was honey orange and it appeared unfiltered. The cap was a 1 finger nearly white head that dissipated quickly but left very clingy lacing. Enticing!
The aroma is no less promising, in fact it is so inviting I had to sip before the head had settled all the way. West coast piney goodness in spades.
The taste follows. No surprises, it's just straight up WC IPA in piney flavor and dryness (yet manages to be thirst quenching - how is *that* done?)
The feel, well if I hadn't consumed it so quickly I might be able to share more on this feature, but I can say for certain that nothing at all detracted from it.
OA, so glad I finally got to try this; thank you Jay!

 

A pleasant surprise at Pizza Port OB! They just tapped this as I was about to order a PP beer. Well, as expected, a massively hopped and bitter monster. Incredibly balanced yet dry and approachable. Oddly enough, I’d prefer this in a can or crowler as it’s so huge that I’d rather enjoy at home.

 

Enjoyed on tap, straight from the source.

Like a bright ray of sunshine, this glows in the glass. Bracingly bitter, with all the piney Pliny goodness you’ve come to love. Hops pop. Drying finish. I love it.

Type: 32-oz. crowler
Reviewed as: American Double / Imperial IPA
Glass: Melvin 14-oz. Spiegelau IPA glass
Price: $12.99
From: Blind Lady Ale House in Normal Heights (San Diego), Calif.
Purchased: April 15, 2021
Consumed: April 15, 2021
Misc.: Crowled on April 15, 2021

Saw that this was at Blind Lady Ale House. Had to sneak over and grab a crowler of it. Russian River’s website described it as “Pliny the Elder was one of the first commercially brewed Double IPA’s created by Vinnie in 1999 while the brewery was still owned by Korbel Winery. In 2020, we brewed Pliny for President by taking the original recipe and adding a 2 step double dry-hop (DDH) process. This beer was a huge hit with not only beer enthusiasts but the entire RRBC crew! So we decided to bring it back in 2021 with DDH Pliny the Elder. The original Pliny and DDH Pliny both have the same hop bill, while the amount of dry hops is roughly doubled in the DDH Pliny. The original Pliny is dry-hopped on day 7 with about 2 pounds per barrel, and DDH Pliny is dry-hopped on day 1 and again on day 6 for a total of about 4 pounds per barrel. This double dry-hopping process adds even more flavor, complexity, hop aroma, and freshness to the beer.”

Poured a medium yellow clear color with 4-to-5 fingers of rocky white head. Just a few bubbles underneath the head. World-class foamy lacing. Almost-perfect foamy retention. (Sight - 4.75)

Smelled Simcoe, Amarillo, pine, black pepper, onion, garlic, cat piss, orange rind and lemon. Smelled even better from the crowler can. (Smell - 4.50)

Tasted even better than the nose. Got Simcoe, black pepper, bitter pine, resin, onion, garlic, cat piss, orange rind, Amarillo, tangerine, lemon, lime and CTZ. Pretty smooth for 8 pct. ABV. (Taste - 4.75)

Medium body. Creamy texture. Average carbonation. Long, bitter finish. (Feel - 5.00)

Just an almost perfect beer. I know my taste has changed, but for a West Coast DIPA this was almost perfect. NOTE: Realized after the fact that this was my exact rating (all five categories) to the regular Pliny the Elder. (Overall - 4.75)

4.72 | 100 | A+

 

It's quite refreshingly delicious. Unfiltered golden body, big pine and citrus, medium caramel, great balance. Packs a bit more grapefruit and pine resin than standard, which is great- keeps up with evolving palates. Medium bodied, good carb and balance

 

 

 

 

Received from @2beerdogs. Canned on 10/28/2021 so 3 weeks old when reviewed. Poured into a Spiegelau IPA glass. It pours a slightly hazy, pale golden-honey color with a large, creamy, bright white cap and lots of thick, clinging lacing. An intense, citrusy nose with lots of lemon, grapefruit, orange, and a whiff of pineapple. The taste is dominated by West Coast-style bitterness along with tart lemon peel and grapefruit rind, resinous pine, and some tasty orange notes from the Amarillo hops. The CTZ and Simcoe add an herbal touch to the citrus. The flavors are bright and the bitterness is clean. As it warms a bit I'm tasting more of the earthy malt backbone. This ale is crisp with fairly lively carbonation, and it drinks easily at 8% ABV. In fact, despite the bitterness there is an overall softness that really hits the spot. Overall, while this version of Pliny the Elder doesn't quite have the star power of the original recipe, it's nonetheless a world-class DIPA that any brewery would be proud to make.

 

Poured from a 16 oz can dated 9;08/21 into a Willi Becher pint glass.
L - Pours a clear golden color with a fluffy white head.
S - Smells of citrus and pine.
T - Tastes of citrus with a nice bitterness.
F - Medium body and carbonation.
O - After so many New England IPAs, this is a delicious West Coast IPA.

The beer is a clear light golden color that is clear. The head pours a white and moderate foamy head that dissipates at a moderate pace.

The smell has a nice stonefruit note with a light but noticeable grapefruit in the finish.

The taste is very good. The stone fruit is a bit less present than it was in the smell and gives more space to the grapefruit note. There is a slight sugary and sweet note from the malts in the finish.

The feel is good. It has a medium body with some lightness to it. The carbonation is biting and tingling.

Overall, this a good example of an old school West Coast IPA that isn't overly hopped but relies on a unique blend of flavors.

 

Draft at Monks Cafe

on draft, served in .4L will becher type glass

clear, medium golden in color, thick white head. Big grassy and floral hop aroma. Taste is refreshingly bitter and crisp. drier finish. thin to medium bodied.

 

 

A: crystal clear; medium gold in color; 1 finger ivory head that receded to a splotchy cap; nice lacing;

S: dank pine;

T: apricot, peach, citrus, and pine from start to finish; moderate bitterness at the end;

M: medium bodied; moderate carbonation; moderately dry finish;

O: really nice, but I prefer the original;