Pliny The Younger

OK, I got caught up in the Pliny the Younger hype. This afternoon I called around to the better beer bars in San Diego to see what bars had Pliny the Younger on tap. I knew Toronado had a keg yesterday and that O'Brien's was tapping its keg at 5:00 p.m this afternoon. Other bars are waiting until later in the week to tap their Pliny the Younger kegs. To my surprise, Tornado still had Pliny the Younger on tap.


I went to North Park to experience the hype. It was my third trip to Toronado, and the first on a weekend. It was packed at around 4:00 in the afternoon and I ordered my 13oz tulip glass full of Pliny the Younger. There is no doubt it's a triple IPA as the hop aroma and taste are a sharp slap. There is so much going on in each mouthful - sweet, bitter, malty, hoppy and touch of cloves. Its mouthful had a stickiness to it, due to the 10% alcohol, but the alcohol was not present in the taste. This is an awesome beer. Its balance is unbelievable. I am not sure how Russian River crafts this beer, but it's amazing. It's also a scary beer because it is so easy to drink, despite its high alcohol level. Pliny the Younger is a rare beer that lives up to its hype.

I only had one Pliny the Younger because Toronado threw me a curve ball by having Lost Abbey's Angel's Share on tap. This is another rare, highly hyped beer. I have never tried it before and here was my opportunity. It was excellent, but maybe not the best beer to try after a Pliny the Younger. It is a sipping beer with tons of flavor. Its 12% alcohol was present on every sip. It's a rich beer and worthy of its reputation.

It was well worth getting caught up in the PtY hype, and getting to try Angel's Share was an added bonus. I am going to try to get a few more glasses of PtY this week as kegs are tapped around town. It is a rare beer that is so good and so balanced.