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 phattysbox:
Photo of phattysbox
Reviewed by phattysbox from New York

4.87/5  rDev +5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 4.5
Got from a trade with beerbeagle...

Poured into DFH snifter. Nice off white and fine head that retreats to thin lace. Some nice webbing. Awesome orange amber hues with near perfect clarity. A very nice looking brew.

Smell: WOW! Citrus, grapfruit, and lemon abound in the nose and linger for a long time. There's a really nice sweetness to the nose (from the malts) that melds perfectly with the hop profile. Earthy and grassy notes also pull through in the nose.

Taste: More WOW! Initial bittering hops hits the palate - earthy, resiny and very oily. If hops could have a thick profile - this would be it. The hops linger, but do not destroy the palate (which is very hard to get a big hop profile and not wipe out taste buds). The hops that do hit fast slide to back really quick to let in sweet malts. Notes of buttery toffee and sweet candy come to mind to balance out this perfect DIPA.

Mouthfeel was extremely smooth for the strong hop presence. Alcohol was not evident and this brew went down very quick to my amazement! I have one more bottle I'm dying to open, I'm going to have to trade for more.

The pentultimate DIPA IMHO. Perfectly balanced between hops and malts. Better than DFH90...
Oct 30, 2008
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