Pliny the Elder (American Imperial IPA)

What else can be said about Pliny? From the nose, I smell massive sweet hops and citrus. I also try to figure out how they crammed a whole damn pine tree into a little bottle. The pine scent, and later, flavor, stands out.

Drinking it, the beer strikes an amazing balance between floral, orange, hops, and pine.  Really complex beer, but super simple at the same time, with little alcohol astringency (ABV is 8%). My wife thinks it’s awful, but she won’t touch anything with any hop to it, so that’s no surprise.  For such a sought after beer, it’s not too pricey. I generally pay about $5 for a 12oz bottle and drink it immediately.

Russian River Brewing. Santa Rosa, CA.