Two weeks ago my wife and I spent a 5 day anniversary trip to Sonoma County, and I was able to partake of the beverages and food at the RR brewery/pub twice. Being the sophisticated beer advocate that I am , I was able to order numerous PTE's by the proper pronunciation of Plinney instead of Pliney, of which I was guilty of calling it during my neophyte years. Imagine my surprise when all of the waitstaff called it Pliney. Even a few of the bartenders, when repeating the order, said Pliney. What gives? Which is it? I was crestfallen that the home of this magnificent brew would not give it the due respect it deserves by using the proper pronunciation.
Yeah, it's this. Besides, the normal English speaker sees "Pliny" and rhymes it with piney. Sure, someone with a background in the classics will know that Pliny comes from Plinius (which I think makes the "plinny" pronunciation more obvious), but damn near no one else will.
I pronounce it Plinny and get to deal with the awkwardness of being corrected constantly by fellow beer geeks. I've chosen to adhere to my love for linguistics over my love for beer culture on this front. There's always that awkward moment where I have a fleeting thought to correct the people who corrected me. Same thing happens with "naivete." Whatever. Whatcha gon' do?
Crap. A 5 day trip celebrating our 30 year anniversary. Partaking of a PTE that I brought back.......
Hope you had a great trip, bud! That brewpub is one of my favorite overall for enjoying a nice pint (or five) while chomping away on awesome pizza... Although Pizza Port is pretty darn good, and I love the BBQ at Alpine as well.
Pliny is a great beer but since it is named after a historical figure it should be pronounced correctly. I honestly think Vinnie wants it pronounced incorrectly so that it doesn't rhyme with his name.
