Regular Heady Consumer Tries Pliny The Elder

i can see why some would - different taste. Abrasive more grapefruity with lemon zest on the background. Heady more orange, mango, peachy. personal preference.

Abrasive makes my top 4

Heady makes my top two

Abner makes my top one.

 

Laughable. Abrasive = Heady wannabe.

 

Heady = Abrasive Light; as Miracle Whip compares to real mayonnaise.
Truth.

 

Denogginizer rules.

That is all.

 

There are so many fantastic double IPA's out there but for some reason Heady and Pliny seem to remain the most talked about. I guess it has to do with the limited distribution of both (more so heady). I have had them both a few times and I would pick heady over Pliny but I am not certain either one is actually a top 5 beer in the world. That being said I could crush a few cans of heady right now.

 

*Sigh* Has Pliny finally reached the ranks of traditional European beers? Beers that are perfect in every way, yet seem uneventful now, by some, in comparison to the brewing gymnastics that others wish to stretch the parameters of style? And as a consumer who always walks the line between tradition and new directions, I am still not ready to call Heady Topper a "better" DIPA, but it was the first East Coast DIPA that came off like a West Coast DIPA and is a phenomenal beer in it's own right. But I just don't think that HT has the same drinkability that Pliny has and for that reason, I don't think that it is as good a beer.

 

There are plenty of more limited IIPAs out there that are aguably better. It's all about brewery location and hype. Both beers are good... Pliny was my favorite for a long time, but the idolization of certain breweries is always going to push a few beers on to center stage.

 

Anyone that doesn't like their Pliny, send it here please. I have had them all and I still can't get over the aroma of a Pliny.

 

Reading your posts makes me laugh.. You're one goofy dude. Surly makes a beer that pretty much sums the rest of their beer up...

 

Well said. I think the answer to this question is yes.

 

All of this talk about Pliny made me start to miss the old bastard, so I just texted a CA friend to throw one into the care package that he is sending out.

 

Has the HT recipe remained consistent? The one off bottling was quite different from the first canning runs and from what is being put out now (which are different from the initial canning runs). Seems like it's been tweaked quite a bit. If the beer Alchemist bottled a couple years ago is different from what they're canning now, it seems unlikely that what they were serving on tap in 2004 is the same beer as what's currently being canned.

 

Why does one "have" to be the best ? Ht is amazing, Abrasive is as good , I love Pliny whether It's 1 or 5. It's just different, and an enjoyable brew, Vinny got it right and it stands the test of time.

 

As far as nose goes you need to stick a fresh abrasive under the schnozzola ,it like shoving a fresh grapefruit up your nose.

 

Pliny is my fav IPA but HT is still extremely drinkable for being such a hop bomb.

 

The thing I'm finding funny about this thread, is the folks calling PtE "balanced". I can remember plenty of comments and threads over the years here on BA about PtE being a major hop bomb with no malt balance. I just checked my review from 2009, and my thoughts were that the body was very thin, with no malt taste. Now, the same brew is considered by the hive to be balanced? I'm ready for a beer.

 

The hop world has changed a lot in 5 years brewers are killing it with the hop combos . Ipa's are where the money is right now, and what used to be cutting edge is in the rear view mirror. Still Pliny is most excellent.

 

You are forgetting that Pliny is all things to all people, all at the same time.

 

This is what I've always said. Enjoy By is better, heady is better. Pliny is a classic, that's all.

 

Bc no one except RR would've excessively hopped a pale ale... RIGHT