Category Archives: Beer

“He was a wise man who invented beer.” – Plato

How to ruin Pliny the Younger – RESPECT YOUR BEER!

PlinytheYounger

Pliny the Younger. Some call it the best beer they have ever had. Some call it “liquid gold”. I’ve even heard it called “The Nectar of the Gods”. To me, it’s a very well-made beer that’s been hyped up so much that people treat it like it’s a fresh pair of Js on a Saturday morning (Hi, my name is Andrew and I’m a hypocrite). I won’t deny that it is markedly better than Pliny the Elder, but it is not wake-up-at-4AM-in-the-morning better. But let’s make it clear, it’s a damn good beer.

I’m not here to review Pliny the Younger. Go read Jason’s write-up for that here. I’m here to tell you about how one bar nearly ruined a Pliny the Younger tasting. As in, it made it taste bad. How? By not treating it with the respect it deserved (because good beer deserves your respect, and that’s the way it is).

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Pliny the Younger, Worth the Wait

Courtesy of Russian River Brewing Co.

 

Russian River, Pliny the Younger (2014)

Style: Triple IPA

ABV: 10.25%

OG:1.088

When there is hype there are always vaunted expectations. For Russian River’s Pliny, the Younger,  there is a mystique surrounding it and its limited release helps fuel this. This leads to long lines and at times disappointment as some of my friends were the victims to being turned away and rejected as they made it to the front of the line and found out the tap runneth dry. When the opportunity arose that guaranteed a taste I took it, partially to lord it over them but mainly because I wanted to know why the hype. Continue reading

I Need a Beer: The Inaugural Edition

wheres-my-beer
Aren’t there times when you say to yourself, “I need a beer”? Tragedy occurs, desecrated by work, the hangover shower (how dare you judge me?), celebrating one of life’s glorious moments (like having Chocolate Rain for the first time)… stuff like that. When the moment strikes, just about any beer would probably do the trick. But that’s not what I’m trying to accomplish. My goal is tell you EXACTLY the beer I needed when I needed said beer. So that you, my friends, will have a beer with just the right amount of whimsy or gravitas necessary to capture the moments of your life. Without further ado, let’s kick this off with…

The day my dog turned blue.  Continue reading