Russian River Pliny the Elder

This could be the pinnacle of all IPA's to date. Vinny at Russian River has created the ultimate balance of malt and hops with Pliny the Elder.

When you first see the bottle you are a let down by the bottles size. At only 16.9 oz I felt a little let down by Russian River. The bottle itself is decorated in a well layout design that is intriguing to read and kept my flipping the bottle around to read the label.

When I opened the bottle the aroma of malt and hops hit my face like a rocket. The smell of fresh Simcoe and Cascade filled the air. The hops did not stop with the aroma, the malty body needs a big hop aroma to carry the sweetness without over powering it. It did just that. Every full bodied, malty drink let itself to more hops...

The ABV is very high on this Pliny considering the malty backbone. It makes me realize why Russian River put Pliny the Elder in the smaller 16.9 oz bottles.

A very well made Brew, Cheers