Russian River Brewing’s Pliny the Younger set for annual limited release

(KRON) — An annual event coveted by craft beer aficionados is at hand as Russian River Brewing prepares for this year’s limited release of Pliny the Younger. The high-octane Triple India Pale Ale is a favorite among IPA fans and will be available for a limited time beginning Friday, March 22.

Although don’t go down to your local grocery store beer aisle and expect to pick up a case. The beer will be available only at Russian River’s two pub locations in Santa Rosa and Windsor. Triple IPAs, according to the Russian River Brewing website, are higher in alcohol and have “tons of hops.”

Pliny the Younger, not to be confused with Pliny the Elder, which is available year-round, usually comes in at around 10.25% alcohol. According to the brewery, “it is remarkable dry for the amount of malt used” in the recipe.

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“It is loaded with hop flavors, bitterness, and aromatics,” the brewery states.

Pliny the Younger was first brewed in 2005 as a winter seasonal brew, intended to build on the Pliny the Elder recipe, “while pushing the envelope with malt, hops, and alcohol just to see how far we could go!” the brewery added.

The hops used in Pliny the Younger change every year “based on the cream of the hop crop selected from the prior year’s vintage.” The basic recipe, however, stays the same.

Hops used in this year’s brew include Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic, Elixir, Warrior and Nectaron. The brewery describes the beer’s flavor as “medium-bodied with tons of hop character in the aroma and mouthfeel with notes of orange, stone fruit, and citrus.”

If you want to try this year’s version of Pliny the Younger, you’ll only have about two weeks to do so. The beer is available at Russian River Brewing’s two pubs between Friday, March 22 and Thursday, April 4.

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