Beer Review, Russian River Pliny the Elder

Well, Scott finally came over last night after work, so I was able to open up Pliny the Elder and not feel too guilty about it. You'll remember this came in the gift pack from Rob.

You can see that it was rather orange looking. It was an opaque orange, not a thin one. Held up to the light, there was no visible light streams coming through. It had a very persistent head that clung well to the glass. It smelled of citrus, pine and grass, lots of hops made up that bouquet. It didn't feel very thick or syrupy, but if it sat on the tongue for a while it became very effervescent.

It tasted piney (Scott accidentally called it Piney the Elder, as he was leaving), with bitter, if bitter is actually a flavor, this one was it. It also had some citrus flavor.

Man, this was a good beer. Really full of flavor. The bitterness made it kind of dry. It was awesome. This was one of the beers that Scott and I had been wanting to try for almost a year and a half, and we finally got to. It was worth the wait, but I really wish I didn't have to wait that long. I'm not sure when we'll be able to have it next, but thanks Rob for this one.

Days of the Beer, August 25

The beer for today is Russian River Pliny the Elder.

On August 25, 79, Gaius, also known as Caius Plinius Secundus, better known as Pliny the Elder, died.

Pliny was an author, naturalist and philosopher. His most famous work was Naturalis Historia. The book covered nearly the entire field of ancient knowledge. It had subjects on medicine, plants, agriculture, architecture, sculpture, geology and mineralogy.

One of the plants he named was "Lupus salictarius" which meant wolf among the scrubs (namely willows). The name was later changed to Humulus lupulus, humulus referred to the plants habit of climbing. Lupulus still means wolf. Of course, that plant is Hops.

Pliny died on August 25, at Stabiae, one of the towns destroyed by Mount Vesuvius. Pliny and his nephew Pliny the Younger, both saw the eruption. Pliny was at Misenum and sailed to Stabiae, to observe the volcano and to help rescue people.

Pliny's body was found on August 26 underneath some ashes with no injuries. His death is attributed to asphyxiation, or poisoning from gases released from the volcano.

As to the beer:

Russian River Brewing is out of Santa Rosa California. For the longest time, Pliny was only available on draft and at a few locations. In the past month and a half, it has become available in bottles, but again, only in a few locations.

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.

8.0%ABV, 1.071 O.G

So, if you are lucky enough to get your hands on some (I'm still willing to trade Rob), have a Russian River Pliny the Elder. It's listed as a 100% on Ratebeer an, A+ on Beer Advocate, and is currently #9 on BA's top 100.