SPLURGE Review: Russian River Pliny The Younger

Type: Imperial IPA
Origin: Santa Rosa, CA
Price: $7 10oz. at Obrien's
10.5% ABV
NSP: 8.0 scaled
website

Word had it that Obrien's would be tapping a keg of the much sought after Pliny the Younger on a Friday at 11am. For those of you who haven't heard about this beer: It's the imperial version of RR's fucking phenomenal Pliny the Elder, probably the BEST west coast double IPA on the planet. Note that I call it a west coast beer, because that is exactly what it is; incredibly dry and incredibly hoppy and incredibly bitter, and yet somehow still incredibly palatable, not to mention absolutely delicious.

So anyone going in to try Younger must have high expectations. But there is one caveat. This beer is so highly sought after in the craft brew drinking world, and produced in such small quantities, that people literally shit themselves on the opportunity to taste it. Yes, I did use "literally shit themselves" in the last sentence, and I did mean fucking literally. It's so obnoxious it makes me wanna shit on them too. I mean, there's obviously never enough shit placed all over these fucking people, so the more the merrier in my eyes. And those who make it far enough they know they will get a taste? They fucking jizz their god damned pants. That's right, straight up splurge inside their pants while in line. I absolutely don't get it, nor will I ever. To further my point, I made a work of art for you to enjoy.

With that in mind, you may wonder: "How are you any different you fucktard?" Good question. The answer is brilliantly simple, Obrien's. This wonderful beer bar would be my go to choice, without a doubt, if it wasn't for good 'ole Regal Beagle just around the block from my abode. They sent out an email to their loyal patrons (of which I am not, unfortunately), and told people to shut the fuck up about it, come on down, and have a taste of this beer people jizz and shit themselves for. I got a tip from my great pal Riley, so we headed on down for a taste. We got there 10 minutes before 11. To our delight, there were only 20 other people around. Fan-fucking-tastic. We got a pour after a 2 minute wait in line. As the time wore on, the line grew, but it was never longer than 10 minutes in length. The best part? The median customer age was probably 40 years. Nothing prickish about it, and nothing like the horror stories I heard about the experience at Toronado's among other bars (who were also charging $8 for an 8 oz pour, dicks).

Now for the moment you've all been waiting for. The Beer. It's good. Really good. But is it worth the hype? Not for me. It's slightly maltier than the Elder, and has a less bitter finish because of it even though it has way more hops in the recipe. But it's still a hop bomb by any standards. It has a similar flavor to the Green Flash Imperial IPA: onions. That's right. Something I've noticed ever since a bartender at Regal pointed it out. These super hopped IPA's all have a slightly oniony flavor, and anybody can pick it out, it doesn't require a refined palate . Younger is also much fruitier than the elder, and makes the drinker think it sweeter as a result. It's definitely not sweeter, maybe a tad, but not much. All in all, this is one of the best imperial IPA's I can remember having, considering I rarely drink them. Yet it's not leaps and bounds better, and in the end I still prefer Pliny the Elder over it.

Take home message: If you can get it without having to fight for it or wait in an enormous line, then you should. Otherwise, let all those suckers shit and jizz themselves for it.