What's the sweet spot for Pliny?

If you're keeping it cold, one month is probably not going to make or break. I got two bottles from the April batch and had one the week I got it (within 7 days of the bottling date) and then the second bottle one month later. The depreciation was negligible.

I did keep them both cold from the moment I received them, and that will definitely help slow down hop falloff.

 

Honestly, I had it at a little over a month, and it was a malt bomb; definitely not the west coast hop-bomb it claims to be. Still tasty, but definitely a 100 that its given. If it starts to fall off past a week old, it's not worth getting in my opinion, but that's from someone on the East Coast who can't get it fresh from the brewery.

 

does it claim to be a hop bomb? I find it above balance with hops making a strong appearance. and I've had week or two old Pliny on draft it was unchanged from when they tapped it

 

Without getting too philosophical, there's something to be said for a sense of place. I don't imagine a Pliny or any other beer will ever taste better than right where its made because part of how subjectively "good" something tastes is psychological.

That said, batch variation itself to me is bigger than the difference between 1 and 3 weeks old. I've had pints of the stuff that I could smell from a foot away, and pints where the aromatics were subtle even with my nose in the glass.

 

LOL, 1 month pliny is a malt bomb.

 

I have had bottles of Pliny that have been aged for years (accidentally) and they are still tasty albeit not as hoppy as fresh. One month should be just fine.

 

23 days.

 

Hey, to me it was. I know it has the designation of being 'the most balanced DIPA' out there, but for me the malt dominated. Like I said, it was still tasty and I finished it and liked it, but to be in the top beers in the world, at 1 month old it was rather pedestrian. But hey, that is just this humble 2013's opinion.

 

If mood and hype actually influence how much enjoyment one gets from drinking a beer, odds are good your sister will enjoy it.

Avoid talking about freshness, or throwing any negative statements out there, and just enjoy a beer with her.

Month old Pliny isn't as hoppy as day/week old Pliny, but its not a Drainpour by any means.

 

If it was in a palla growler it would be good for years, any other growler would only be good for 2 days

 

not true for all styles, particularly a iipa

a few months ago i ordered a pliny at my bar that always has it on tap and it was gross. went and looked at the keg and it was more than a month old. because i drink this beer extremely regularly i can notice the difference, but i think thats the only reason.

im sure a month old pliny is going to be wonderful for your sister

 

Nope, 23 hours

 

As has been mentioned before, batch variations are a bigger deal when it comes to things like this. I spent years as a regular at a very privileged bar that always had PtE and I have probably had some of 90% of the batches since it reached Socal. We always used to greet each other with "this batch is on" or this batch is off. " but the reality is that each person had their own preferences that determined which batches were on or off. My "on" would be the bigger malt backbone batches, while others preferred the thinner mouthfeel caused by an almost astringent hop aggressiveness. It isn't that some batches use more malt, but how biting the specific hop batch is, that messes with the balance.

 

Or if you want a more traditional BA answer, you are f'd after 4 days.

 

Less than a week in all honesty. Pliny is more sensitive than any beer i know to both temperature and time.

 

I agree batch variation is also very prominent with pliny, with the best being spectacular.

 

I will contend, I have only had Pliny once, and am working to try it again. I will take what you said into consideration and give it another try, even at the 1 month mark

 

any good beer will still be good even months afterwards, because a good beer has attention paid to all aspects of it. I frequently note how great Hopslam is, even a year later, only as a different beer. The worst example of a great tasting IPA that turns into a total drainpour after just a couple of months is Sweetwater. I have had fresh and months old several times and I have never seen a beer deteriorate so dramatically.