Piney as Hell Beer: A Review of Pliny the Elder from Russian River Brewing Co

I caught fragments of my first spring training baseball game today on the radio and was feeling all nostalgic but with the frigid weather outside and now these colors on the bottle and the taste coming from within this earthy broth, it could just as well be the yuletide season. Yet, with beer as bitter as this stuff is it's always winter but never Christmas for your taste buds.

If you haven't had a chance to try this Imperial IPA -- and I do suggest that you try it for yourself -- let me fill you in on how it tastes: put a handle on a pine tree and drink with caution. Seriously, I feel like I should be Billy Mays screaming about how the citrus solution will clean everything from your thorax to your dirty little skid-marked underoos. Let me be the first person to say this: PLINY THE ELDER SUCKS!

I don't care what historical figure's name is on the bottle and how many polo wearing yuppies on Beer Gladhandvocate call this a masterpiece, I find it abysmal. Something akin to Listerine with the bile of a sour stomach churned in to make an astringent urine cocktail. Blech. Call me a girly man and a cretin just don't pin the bitters club badge on me, bub. Take these hops and shove 'em.

8.0%ABV
1.071 O.G

Gold Medal, 2006 World Beer Cup (Double IPA Category)
Gold Medal, 2005 GABF (Double IPA Category)
Bronze Medal, 2004 GABF (Double IPA Category)

Available year round in the pub, for distribution, and in 500mL bottles.

- Wörtwurst