Pliny in San Francisco

Toronado.

 

You're not going to sit on bottles of Pliny for two months, right...?

 

Every Wednesday, City Beer on Folsom St. receives a shipment of Pliny around noon. There's a four bottle limit, and you have to ask for it, as they keep it in the back cooler. Also, the brewery (Russian River) itself is about a 90-minute drive from SF if you time it right; it's well worth the trip, and you can normally buy up to a dozen bottles of Pliny. Re: the two-month comment above, many people (including me) think Pliny "falls off" significantly after a few weeks, so you might want to give it as an early Xmas gift.

 

Agreed with all the above.

I always had really good luck getting to-go bottles at Toronado. Usually they'd give me 4. Otherwise, the source is worth visiting for sure if you have time. If you're planning to hold this til Xmas, don't...unless it's just for the novelty of the person having Pliny at that point, because it won't be close to the same beer fresh and won't blow anybody's socks off.

 

So I'm not positive they do it in the city but Whole Foods in Walnut Creek and Orinda gets Plineys at noon every Thursday. You can buy two bottles and it's 6 bucks a bottle which is the cheapest you will find anywhere.

Call them up in the SF locations and ask them if they get Pliney and what their delivery dates and times are. You'll find a group of people waiting around for them to come but there's usually plenty to go around. In Walnut Creek, it's mostly a bunch of stuffy elderly Walnut Creek housewives I assume getting for their husbands.

 

I've had more Pliny than I can count over many years. I've had it three times over the past 6 months or so. It's really really different these last 3 times. It's not nearly the beer it normally is - used to be complex and balanced. Now it's innocuous. Lighter in color and body. My brother who has shared many of these with me agrees. I've always gotten them from the brewery so it's not a distro problem. Does anyone else have the same opinion?

 

No.

 

Any place near Berkeley have bottles to go or Pliny on tap?

 

Beer rev in Oakland usually has bottles on Thursday, sometimes into Friday. Ledgers in Berkeley on University Ave, probably the same day(s). Ben and Nick's on College (technically in Oakland, but right on the Berk/Oak border) quite often has it on tap.

 

My first Pliny was at Ben and Nick's!

 

Found some at Ledgers! Thanks!

 

Bobby G's in Berkeley and Lucky 13 (Alameda and SF) seem to almost always has it on tap.

 

I know the thread is 2 months old now, but I was wondering if anyone knew of a place to get Pliny bottles somewhat near SFO as I have a long layover and want to grab a few to check.

 

Hate to be a downer, but it's very unlikely this is going to happen for you. Bottles show up once a week or so at best at a relatively small number of stores and are usually gone within an hour or two. You'd probably have to Uber into the City to have a decent shot . . . City Beer regularly gets a fair amount on Wednesday afternoons, which is the only place I could count on while I was living there. You could always try to set up an in-person trade with a local.

 

Depending on how long your layover is you could rent a car and drive to the source. With no traffic it'll take you 1 1/2 hours one way. Traffic > 2-2 1/2 hours one way.

 

K&L gets them occasionally and you can buy them online ahead of time: http://www.klwines.com/p/i?i=1040901. Their store in SF is a pretty quick Uber or Lyft ride away if you do manage to snag a few.

 

Great info for someone coming from out of town. Looks like they post availability on their website around 7pm on Wednesday evenings and will hold the beer up to 90 days from purchase (obviously you don't want to wait that long). If you are someone coming in town for only a short time, check the Wednesday before to possibly reserve your beer.

 

Forgot about this option; those are pretty accurate time estimates, too. I personally wouldn't try it without a layover of at least six hours, as you'd need to p/u and return the rental car, go through security again, etc.