Sunday, February 12, 2012

Our Quest for Pliny the Younger

Some may say that planning a mini-vacation around the release of a beer is crazy.  Those people don't know my husband and I, and clearly they don't know good beer.  Months ago we vacationed with friends in Bodega Bay and took a day trip to Russian River Brewery in Santa Rosa to try one of our favorite beers: Pliny the Elder.  Soon after that trip we found out about Pliny the Younger, and that it would be released for two weeks in February.  A Triple IPA? Another trip?  Um, yeah, we're game....  and it was booked. 

"Fourteen Days of Younger" it is called.  I wish I could say we all felt younger after we left the brewery, but sadly the day after we felt like a bunch of Elders that tried to act like we were Younger!  Perhaps that headache was a reminder of why one should not partake in too many beers that boast a 10.5% ABV? Do we regret it?  Heck no, we're ready to book our next trip!

February 3rd through 16th. That's it.  Friends that went towards the beginning of those "14 days" waited in line for four hours to get a taste of Pliny the Younger.  This is a beer that is not available in a growler, nor is it available via a bottle.  Your only way of having it is in a 10 ounce glass, for $4.50, at the brewery itself.....  unless you just so happen to come across one of the few establishments that get it for San Francisco or Sacramento Beer Week.  If you want to get your hands on it next year, I recommend going the 2nd week.  Our wait was less than thirty minutes to get inside- on the 9th, during lunchtime (a Thursday!).    

And was it worth the wait?  Um...  that's my husband savoring his first sip (gulp?) after 30 minutes of waiting outside.  Pliny the Elder is a double IPA, Pliny the Younger is a triple- and I'd say that the Younger was twice the flavor that Elder had if that makes any sense?  So that would be a BIG FAT YES.

As much as we were there for the Younger, Russian River Brewery had 22 beers on tap when we were there.  They had so many beers available for their favorite customers that they couldn't fit them all in their beer sampler.  So many favorites available!  We recommend sampling Blind Pig, the Pliny's (both of them), Segel Select (if you like hops), Rejection (their Black Pale Ale- great for folks who like Pale Ales AND Stouts), and Supplication, Temptation and Consecration for you Sour beer lovers (which we are...they are yummy...stock up when you are here). 

Elder, meet Younger.  Younger, meet Elder. Of course we had to compare Pliny the Elder(left) to Pliny the Younger (right).  As much as I love the Elder, I have to admit that the Younger was totally worth a weekend away from Sacramento to go and try.  So much so that I will be on the hunt next week to try and find it here in Sacramento during Sacramento Beer Week (ahem, if you're going to The Art of Beer event, I'll be volunteering there! And if you're going to Sacramento Brewers Showcase or Capital Brewfest- we'll be drunk there!) 

Elder, Younger, Damnation, Rejection, Mortification (their Quadruppel Belgian, my 3rd fave of their offerings)....  Oh my... After a few trips here we've moved past the sampler pack- we come here and order exactly what we know we'll like.  And there are so many that we like.... 

More beers, 8 growlers To-Go of Damnation, Rejection and a whole lotta Pliny the Elder (Argh- I wish they'd fill the growlers with Younger!), a bunch of food in our bellies, and we were on our way back to the beach house in Bodega Bay. 

If you're ever in Santa Rosa, you must come here.  If you're ever within an hour of Santa Rosa, you must come here.  And to somewhat keep this blog post gardening related, if you are attending The Heirloom Exposition here in Santa Rosa (Sept 11-13th, 2012), you must come here!  See you in September!  You'll know where to find me :)

7 comments:

  1. I'm so jealous! I want to taste! Hell, I just want to be able to find more Pliny the Elder! =) In Seattle.

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  2. 8 growlers? WOW! The quality of Elder starts to slough off after 10 days though the alcohol percentage seems to go up. That's alot of BIG BEER. Locally they had the preview tasting of ZZHop from Auburn Alehouse at the Owl Club. A triple IPA very much on par with Younger. There's also talk of a double IPA coming from Loomis Brewery. I am hoping for a good local source of a good double and triple IPA. Ever since elder became trendy it's a pain in the ass to get locally in a bottle. The Owl club no longer has it on tap and I'm not big into the Yardhouse or BJs Brewhouse.

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  3. http://auburnalehouse.com/craft-beer/

    http://loomisbasinbrewing.com/index.html

    A shout for two local breweries.

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  4. I would be stoked to find Elder anywhere at Sac Beer Week, but younger can be had around town... Ill see you at the art of Beer, I'm also volunteering. Ill be the pregnant one - sad to not be drinking this year (but we hit pliney-fest last year).

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  5. Holy moly, looks like a great time! Thanks for the heads up on the existance of Pliny the Younger. :)

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  6. any leads on younger here in sacramento? great read and excited to have some!

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  7. Now this is my kind of vacation! Hope I can get my hands on some of this during beer week. :)

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