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Pliny the Younger Says We're Going Through a Hop Crisis
Feb. 21st, 2008 | 11:59 am
I survived Beerapalooza 2008.
Maybe I should put that on my beer resume. As expected, it was a pretty crazy weekend in the Bay Area. I had a great time and came through it tired, but in relatively good shape. I could and should write a long, rambling account of all the beers I drank, people I met and places I went. I'll try to get it all out over the next few days, but first I feel like I need to organize my thoughts into something coherent.
A couple of things I'll get off my chest right now. Russian River's Pliny the Younger is an absolutely incredible thing to experience, a "wow" beer if there ever was one. For those that don't know, the Younger is a strong, hoppy pale ale (or triple IPA if you have to categorize) brewed by Vinnie Cilurzo once a year. It has three times the hops of their standard IPA and it's dry hopped four times. I think I huffed the first glass I had of it for a good 2-3 minutes. It smelled so good, I almost didn't want to drink it. Scratch that. I wanted to somehow bottle the smell and then drink it. I knew it was a fleeting moment I was having and desperately wish I could've preserved it. It was that good. The flavor was every bit the equal of the aroma--delicious and impossibly smooth for an 11+% beer.
Right alongside the Younger for most memorable beer of the weekend was the 21st Amendment Hop Crisis, a beer cut from the same cloth as the Younger. It also had an amazing hop aroma and flavor and a deceptive smoothness that made it's high alcohol content (11.8%) impossible to believe. Forget about the Barleywine Festival, having the Younger and Hop Crisis was the highlight of my weekend.
Now that I've gotten the hop worship out of the way, I'll turn my attention to the weekend's events in my next few posts. Quickly, I should mention what's going on here in Seattle. Perhaps our busiest beer time of the year is upon us. First out of the gate are the 4th Annual Real Strong Beer Festival at Collins Pub and the 12th Annual Winter Beer Festival at Elysian. I wrote about each at Metroblogging Seattle:
4th Annual Real Strong Beer Festival at Collins Pub
12th Annual Winter Beer Festival at Elysian Brewing
Maybe I should put that on my beer resume. As expected, it was a pretty crazy weekend in the Bay Area. I had a great time and came through it tired, but in relatively good shape. I could and should write a long, rambling account of all the beers I drank, people I met and places I went. I'll try to get it all out over the next few days, but first I feel like I need to organize my thoughts into something coherent.
A couple of things I'll get off my chest right now. Russian River's Pliny the Younger is an absolutely incredible thing to experience, a "wow" beer if there ever was one. For those that don't know, the Younger is a strong, hoppy pale ale (or triple IPA if you have to categorize) brewed by Vinnie Cilurzo once a year. It has three times the hops of their standard IPA and it's dry hopped four times. I think I huffed the first glass I had of it for a good 2-3 minutes. It smelled so good, I almost didn't want to drink it. Scratch that. I wanted to somehow bottle the smell and then drink it. I knew it was a fleeting moment I was having and desperately wish I could've preserved it. It was that good. The flavor was every bit the equal of the aroma--delicious and impossibly smooth for an 11+% beer.
Right alongside the Younger for most memorable beer of the weekend was the 21st Amendment Hop Crisis, a beer cut from the same cloth as the Younger. It also had an amazing hop aroma and flavor and a deceptive smoothness that made it's high alcohol content (11.8%) impossible to believe. Forget about the Barleywine Festival, having the Younger and Hop Crisis was the highlight of my weekend.
Now that I've gotten the hop worship out of the way, I'll turn my attention to the weekend's events in my next few posts. Quickly, I should mention what's going on here in Seattle. Perhaps our busiest beer time of the year is upon us. First out of the gate are the 4th Annual Real Strong Beer Festival at Collins Pub and the 12th Annual Winter Beer Festival at Elysian. I wrote about each at Metroblogging Seattle:
4th Annual Real Strong Beer Festival at Collins Pub
12th Annual Winter Beer Festival at Elysian Brewing