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My September resolution : blog sometime

The Plinian

Pliny the Elder died when Mount Vesuvius erupted, while trying to rescue his friends and family by ship. He was a scholar and a commander in the Roman army, and due to his infamous demise, the term "plinian" is used to describe a particular type of catastrophic eruption of a volcano.

He is immortalized by the Russian River Brewing Company in their double IPA bearing his name. They attribute their choice to the fact that it was he who gave the binomial nomenclature to hops, Lupus salictarius, meaning "wolf among scrubs." Which, given the taste of Pliny IPA seems amazingly apropos. Pliny elevates the taste of hops to a flavor that is palatable and intense, yet leaves an incredibly smooth after taste.

However, I attribute the naming to the fact that Pliny the Elder is an eruption in your mouth.

I tried it last year because I thought the name sounded funny. At a flat 8.0% alcohol, I quickly learned that one Pliny is more than sufficient to get soundly drunk, which balances out its slightly higher cost than cheap domestic brews. However I can't quite stop myself once I get started. I need to work on that.

And it wasn't until I tried a Bevmo in San Diego that I learned that Pliny is known to be the top double IPA. Arguably, ever.

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

For now, I totally agree.