While visiting my wife’s family this past weekend for birthday celebrations for our daughter, I had the opportunity to sample a beer that seems to take on legendary status for some of those that have enjoyed it, meet the new head brewer at a local establishment and snag several stouts that have been on my holy grail list for quite some time.
Let’s try and tackle this chronologically…
I knew heading down on Saturday that I would be treated with a very special brew, so I was pretty amped up upon arriving at the front door. This particular bottle of Pliny the Elder made its way to my father-in-law by way of suitcase from San Francisco — lucky for me he was willing to share.
We split the beer into a couple of Duvel chalices.
Pliny pours a rich golden in color, but didn’t form much of a head, leaving only a wisp of lacing on the surface. I can tell you this however, you can smell the hops from a mile away once that cap comes off — floral, piny and lightly spicy. It certainly looks and smells amazing.
The first sip is pure, unadulterated hops. Far from a brutal attack on the palate, Pliny the Elder, instead, is a wonderful blend of hops that is smooth, crisp and tasty as hell. The hops deliver a subtle sweetness, citrus notes and piny presence. The finish does have a refreshing and welcoming bitterness with light spices and leaves a residual, sticky sweetness on the lips.
I loved this Double IPA and could see many many bottles disappearing from my fridge on a regular basis, but I’m not sure that it was life-altering. It’s certainly one of the better IPAs that I’ve ever had the chance to taste.
The FBI
After splitting the Pliny we hit the road for a Fredericksburg Brewing Insiders (FBI) meeting that allowed us to sample, among other brews, a nicely crafted Pliny The Elder clone. Brewed by The Pub’s head brewer Lyle Brown, the Pliny clone was damn near spot on and was definitely a favorite, filling my cup often. Other beers available on the rain-soaked back porch, were a smoked blonde, a couple of ambers (that I didn’t get a chance to taste) and a pretty darn good Saison.
Much of the conversation was well over my head, leaning toward home brewing specifics and recipes. I understood a bit of it, but as I’m not involved in home brewing, I just happily stood by and enjoyed some tasty brews and food.
Super Stouts
Finally, after a couple of hours of tasting we hit the road once again to pick up pizza for dinner. Having placed our order we decided (perhaps unwisely) to head a couple of blocks down from the restaurant to check out the offerings of Kybecca. I love the selection at this shop, but their prices get me every time. Saturday was no different, as I walked away with a mixed six pack consisting of: Nøgne Ø Porter, Thirsty Dog Siberian Nights Imperial Stout, Weyerbacher Heresy, De Dolle Extra Export Stout, Brewdog Paradox Islay (batch 009), and Avery Mephistopheles (batch 2 bottled Nov 2006).
I am super stoked on my purchase, but man, the wallet wasn’t all that thrilled about it. I’m going to try and let these sit till colder weather has a firm hold on the house, but with me you never know.
August 25th, 2009
Phil said:
Pliny love! Certainly it’s a lovely beer, the easy bitterness is where it’s at… The massive aroma is simply sublime. But for me the RR IPA, dead leaf green and the straight pale ale are amazing beers, that get lost with pliny and blind pig love.
Phil
great dark beer haul too!