This was probably the most hotly-anticipated beer experience of my recent life - after all, the two RUSSIAN RIVER BREWING "Pliny" beers - PLINY THE ELDER and PLINY THE YOUNGER -- are said to be among the world's finest Double IPAs....and in the case of the "Younger", a mouth-destroying TRIPLE IPA. Thatsa alotta hops, bambino! So it's with a slight feeling of deflation that I rate this one at "only" a 7 out of 10, which is good enough to beat the band but not as good as some recent examples I've had recently. My lord, the Rate Beer folks have this one at a 99 out of 100, which basically makes it a perfect drink. What I liked about it was that, as advertised, it was a dense and intense level of hops, and it smelled quite citrusy and fresh. It had just spilled out of a tap at Toronado in San Francisco, where I imagine great quantities of this brew are poured. Something about it just seemed a little out of balance, though. It may have been too tart, but not tart enough to give my mouth that chewed-over feeling I get from a great IPA like Bear Republic's. It would stand to reason that because I'd already enjoyed 2 bold pints up the street at Magnolia Pub & Brewery, this one just didn't quite have the fighting chance it might have otherwise had. More research is definitely warranted and will be forthcoming, but now I'm sticking with my story - 7/10.
Monday, April 24, 2006
REVIEW: RUSSIAN RIVER PLINY THE ELDER
This was probably the most hotly-anticipated beer experience of my recent life - after all, the two RUSSIAN RIVER BREWING "Pliny" beers - PLINY THE ELDER and PLINY THE YOUNGER -- are said to be among the world's finest Double IPAs....and in the case of the "Younger", a mouth-destroying TRIPLE IPA. Thatsa alotta hops, bambino! So it's with a slight feeling of deflation that I rate this one at "only" a 7 out of 10, which is good enough to beat the band but not as good as some recent examples I've had recently. My lord, the Rate Beer folks have this one at a 99 out of 100, which basically makes it a perfect drink. What I liked about it was that, as advertised, it was a dense and intense level of hops, and it smelled quite citrusy and fresh. It had just spilled out of a tap at Toronado in San Francisco, where I imagine great quantities of this brew are poured. Something about it just seemed a little out of balance, though. It may have been too tart, but not tart enough to give my mouth that chewed-over feeling I get from a great IPA like Bear Republic's. It would stand to reason that because I'd already enjoyed 2 bold pints up the street at Magnolia Pub & Brewery, this one just didn't quite have the fighting chance it might have otherwise had. More research is definitely warranted and will be forthcoming, but now I'm sticking with my story - 7/10.
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2 comments:
where you get it matters- it took me forever to learn this, but the length between keg and tap, the cleaniness of that length, the cleaniness and width (that's right- thin is actually better)of the glass (ultra beer snob alert!)- they all matter. That's why the best place to drink these beers is at Barclay's (no, I don't work there) on College Ave. in Oakland. They deliver by far the best beer I've ever had, and the Moylan's I had there was orgasmic. Try the Pliny's again if you cross the bridge, and you might have a different experience.
I would bet that the Toronado is pretty religious about the cleanliness of their taps, though this does make a huger difference than I would've ever guessed. Sacramento is unfortunately the home of the dirty tap. So many places ruin their decent selection by doing a half-assed cleaning. I've fortunately found a place where the owner is super proud of his clean taps & the lines are only about 6 inches long so the beer tastes fantastic. This place mainly has Czech beers (though not overly typical ones) so it's no good for the hop high, but a nice crisp lager or pilsener is gonna be the order of the day in a month or two here!
scott
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