NAME: Pliny the mutha-shut-yo-mouth Elder
BREWERY: Russian River
ORIGIN: Santa Rosa, CA
ABV: 8.0%
REVIEW: This is a special one fellas. Honey color, white foamy head with moderate lacing, rich citrus and tropical fruit smells hit you right away, sweet taste up front with a red grapefruit-y bitter finish. It’s bitter but balanced, sweet but smooth, complex but super drinkable. This is the gold standard my friends. Only to be enjoyed in the presence of a globe and leather-bound book.
goodwilltasting grade: A+
EDITOR’S NOTE: When I lived in California a few years ago, you could get this beer at almost any beer store, specialty market, and basically any Whole Foods. It was still just as good but I guess demand wasn’t as high so it was relatively easy to get. The last time I visited California I had to call around to a couple markets to find it in stock and even when I did find one they had a 1 bottle per customer limit. One bottle! I have friends back on the East Coast who have been dying to try this beer so they could have tripled their sales right then but they said no. I get it, demand greatly exceeds demand. Pliny is gaining quite the following and I am happy for Russian River for creating such a wanted beer.
First of all, I want to say this: I liked it before it was cool. Sorry there aren’t many things I can say that about so just wanted to get it out of my system. Second: If you are hoarding this beer, please do not. It’s a heavily-hopped beer and time is of the essence to drink it at it’s peak taste. Third: If you are a price-gouging reseller, please stop. I saw an ad on craigslist selling bottles of Pliny for $20 a pop. You sir, are the worst. You ruin it for everyone else. And while I’m at it, the same goes for ticket scalpers and people who sell their cronuts for $50 in Manhattan.
For everyone else who has since starting enjoying Pliny the Elder and thus created such a beer drought, I commend you. You have chosen wisely.
goodwilltasting 