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Russian River Pliny the Elder

Russian River Pliny the Elder

Rated 4.085 by BeerPals
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Brewed by Russian River Brewing

Santa Rosa, CA, United States

Style:  Imperial IPA

8% Alcohol by Volume

Availability of this beer is unknown


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Pliny the Elder was a Roman naturalist, scholar, historian, traveler, officer, and writer. Although not considered his most important work, Pliny and his contemporaries created the botanical name for hops, "Lupus salictarius", meaning wolf among scrubs." Hops at that time grew wild among willows, much like a wolf in the forest. Later the current botanical name, Humulus lupulus, was adopted. Pliny died in 79 AD while observing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. He was immortalized by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, who continued his uncle's legacy by documenting much of what he observed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. Gold Medal, 2006 World Beer Cup (Double IPA Category) Gold Medal, 2005 GABF (Double IPA Category) Bronze Medal, 2004 GABF (Double IPA Category) Available year round in the pub, for distribution, and in 500mL bottles.

ID: 8184 Last updated 12 years ago Added to database 22 years ago

Key Stats

100
percentile

0

Drunk

51

Reviews

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Statistics

Overall Rank62
Overall Percentile99.9
Style Rank7 of 2412
Style Percentile99.7
Lowest Score2.9
Highest Score4.9
Average Score4.149
Weighted Score4.085
Standard Deviation0.492

Rating Distribution

Beer vs Style

51 Member Reviews

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ABBYB 1 reviews
rated 4.6 12 years ago

Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

Probably my favorite beer. Very floral, hoppy, and bitter, but with a nice sweet malt character and fruitiness to offset the bitterness. The flavor damces on your tongue.

  • VIPINVELP 2001 reviews
    rated 3.6 6 years ago

    Aroma: 6 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

    Clear dark yellow, off-white lacing foam head. Nice hoppy aroma and strong bitter taste. Long lasting aftertaste. A through hoppy beer. (Houston 201705)

  • MITCHFORGIE 683 reviews
    rated 3.6 10 years ago

    Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 7 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

    What can be said that hasn't been? One of the finer examples of a West Coast IPA with more malt body than some. Well balanced with medium body. Nice colour, orange/crimson/amber. Citrus, Pine some light spiciness to the aroma and flavour. Fills the mouth and drops down so easy. Not overly bitter, not really complex, almost slightly sweet at times, but completely enjoyed.

  • HEYBEERMAN 1025 reviews
    rated 3.9 11 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 8

    A nice dipa with lots of caramel and hops and a good alcohol burn. Not as complex as I would have thought based on other reviews. Seems fairly straight forward for the style, its no Hercules.

  • RAINMAN 892 reviews
    rated 3.7 11 years ago

    Aroma: 7 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 8 | Overall: 7

    Fun, finally able to try another Russian River thanks to Dave! Pours dark yellow, fluffy white head and tons of lacing. Aroma and flavors of pine predominate, along with a nice hop bite. All in all OK but am hoping for more from the remaining choices in the fridge.

  • GGRUMET 311 reviews
    rated 4.4 11 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

    Bottle pour into a pint - bottle date 5/16/12 - so this is pretty fresh. The pour is orange hued with a sticky white head that caps nicely and laces the glass beautifully. Pine dominates the aroma, along with grapefruit and lemon notes. The mouthfeel is superb, as this is supremely drinkable with pleasant carbonation. This is a hop bomb. Notes of the aforementioned pine dominate, but citrus tones challenge and it finishes with a nice, sweet malt backbone. Certainly worthy of the praise, even with new comers that challenge its throne, Pliny is still in the top 2-3 in its style.

  • PHISHPOND417 3045 reviews
    rated 4.3 11 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 8 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

    Alrighty. Had this on tap at Russian River in Santa Rosa. A beautiful sunshiny day in California. Into my glass it pours beautifully. Deep orange, mystical. Head is generous with a huge floral nose. The flavors are incredibly fresh and tropical. Like a basket of mango, grapefruits and lemons right in your face. The hops are dank, dripping off the vine dank. Fresh cut grass and resiny. Little bit of wood.

  • CYBERCAT 11711 reviews
    rated 4.4 12 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

    Strong, hoppy aroma has a strong overtone of grapefruit. Very grapefruit-y. It pours a clear amber with a respectable white head that leaves some good lacing. Flavor is - WOW! Very hoppy, mainly of grapefruit, hardly bitter with a hint of honey sweetness. Firm body is smooth and has plenty of fizz. No wonder this is so recherche.

  • ICHORM 144 reviews
    rated 3.8 12 years ago

    Aroma: 8 | Appearance: 7 | Mouthfeel: 8 | Flavor: 7 | Overall: 8

    I was really excited to find these at a fairly unexpected source in Portland. Hard to find, these Plinys. Aroma: How to rate an epic beer with reasonable expectations... maybe I got a bad batch, maybe there's some radiation that destroys the hopmagic as soon as you cross the 49th parallel, but I've had way more aromatic beers. Above average. Flavour: Kinda watery, surprisingly limited in flavour. Hmm... I mean... It's Pliny the Elder! And yet.... Mouthfeel: So I wasn't blown away with the first one, and I hoped that drinking #2 at a leter date would be better. it isn't. This is a high expectation, but sadly disappointing review. I hope to amend this review some day.

  • FUNK 898 reviews
    rated 4.5 12 years ago

    Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 9 | Overall: 9

    I really hate hype. I've been reading so much about this beer that by the time I got the chance to try it, I was expecting a mind blowing beer revelation. Don't get me wrong--this is definitely a world class beer--huge hop bomb but with a solid malt backbone to keep everything balanced. It does rank in the top 5 IPAs/DIPAs I've ever had but a part of me is still a little disappointed it wasn't better.

  • ABBYB 1 reviews
    rated 4.6 12 years ago

    Aroma: 9 | Appearance: 9 | Mouthfeel: 9 | Flavor: 10 | Overall: 9

    Probably my favorite beer. Very floral, hoppy, and bitter, but with a nice sweet malt character and fruitiness to offset the bitterness. The flavor damces on your tongue.

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