I see that Pliny the Elder is once again the top ranked beers voted on by the people. By no means am I saying that this beer isn’t the best beer in America…Just wanted to put that out there first. I can’t wait until the day that I get to try it. But that’s the thing…The only city on the East Coast that you can get it is Philadelphia from what I understand. Everytime that somebody I know goes to the West Coast, I have them on the search for Pliny the Elder. They never find it. This beer is mythical in my part of the country. This beer could very well be the best beer in America. I am not questioning that. I’m questioning if people (who have never tried it) voted for this beer just because it’s Pliny the Elder. I voted for my top 20. This beer was not on my list, because I have never tried it. Many of the beers that I voted for are on the list and very high on the list. I just wonder if gets votes, because of its prestige. Maybe like the athlete that is injured for 3/4’s of the season, but gets voted to the All-Star game because of who he is.
Now…if anybody would like to ship me this gem, I would much appreciate it… Maybe I’ll vote it first place next year
I’m suspicious, too. Even if that many people have had it, how many have regular enough access to it that what they’re tasting is the beer itself and not their excitement about getting a chance to try it? On the other hand, considering so many great craft breweries that aren’t big enough to distribute nationally it is kind of nice to see that the list isn’t dominated by beers like Boston Lager simply because of sheer force of numbers.
The bit that gets me even more is that of the top 20, 13 are IPAs and another three are other kinds of hoppy ale. With a few breakfast stouts tagging along. C’mon people, there’s more to life than 14B!
I do think that Pliny has a mystique that gets it votes, as has every other “top beer”. Dogfish head 90 won it a few years in a row, but they distribute far and wide. The one that gets me was Alaskan Smoked porter, it won a couple years in a row and its distribution was very limited. The other thing to think about is how many homebrewers live in California… Quaff, Doze, the Maltose Falcons and the Brewing Network (not all are in California, but I would bet that a substantial number are), are some of the most populous homebrew clubs and they are all in CA… I think the days of a non-California beer winning best beer in America will be few and far between.
I can have a Pliny the Elder whenever I want. Rest assured it is the best beer on that list, IMO. With the sheer number of beers available, it is insane to attempt such a list. San Diego has 71 brewing locations now, Stone is very good but hovers around as my 5th or 6th favorite locally- and there are probably 20 or so I haven’t been to yet. IPA is king, a 7 barrel owner looking to expand told me 80% of his sales were IPAs. I think most popular/heard of non macro beers is a much more accurate descriptor, in fact I shot some pretty good beer out my nose reading the list…
Could it be that the actual recipe is available to anyone who wants it and it has been brewed by so many? Not saying a homebrewed version will taste like the original but it likely tastes great. I’d guess that a lot of homebrewers are simply voting for the recipe. I haven’t had Pliny, original or homebrewed, but it just moved up on my to-brew list! Cant…resist…hype!
It could be. I think it’s awesome that Vinnie has released it for us. I also feel that he does a lot for the homebrew community. I’ve brewed the recipe. It’s not my best brew ever, but it’s certainly in my top five. Be prepared to use 9 metric tons of hops lol.
All of my beer buddies say that Pliny is the best beer out there, but again, none of them have ever tried it.
I made the clone and it is a pretty good beer, but the cost of the hops alone is staggering. What does it retail for? I’ve outgrown IIPA’s, they are not in my favorite profile anymore - note Drew Beechum’s article on session IPA’s. I drink more sessionable beers these days, but brew and store a Dubbel or sour for the occasional diversion. I find that an IIPA is best served as an after dinner drink as the slow sipper before heading to the recliner for the evening - my last beer for the day, so it can blast my taste buds without spoiling it for anything else.
I’ve been out west and had Pliny, and it is great and worthy of being at or near the top, but there are other West Coast breweries like Alpine and Bear Republic for starters that make IPAs nearly or as good that aren’t on the list . So I agree that the Pliny recipe is part of it. Also ,it has a myth around it much like Westy 12, because it is so hard to get that the myth only grows bigger. IMO Rochefort 10 is better and St Bernardus Abt 12 is very comparable after overpaying online for Westy. But know what? Those 2 beers are readily available, so no myth there. I just have a problem with somebody voting Pliny at the top who never tried it, and only brewed a recipe clone. We all know that 5 guys brewing the same recipe would make five somewhat different beers.
I have a clear favorite beer, or at least a clear favorite 5-6 beers, but if giving a top 20, near the end I’m going to end up picking some famous beer I don’t get that often. I’m lucky if I get PtE twice a year, and it’s terrific. I’m guessing it’d be somewhere around #15 for me. I like it better than almost every beer that made the top 50. I think I’d put (fresh) Sculpin, The Abyss, and KBS ahead of it and nothing else. (Haven’t had Heady Topper if someone wants to hook me up. ;) ) Thousands of people have reviewed Pliny online over the last decade, and I bet plenty of them have enough fond memories to put it there too.
Taking nothing away from the quality of the beers on the list, but it is kind of a most famous beers list, isn’t it?
From my understanding is Pliny doesn’t travel well and doesn’t say fresh all that long, so they don’t bottle/keg a ton of it. From experience I can tell you that I bought a bottle from the brewery (I live about an hour away) and didn’t get a chance to drink it for about a month, it went downhill fast. Fresh it is an amazing beer, the balance is just about prefect.
I’ve read a couple places that Vennie suggest that if you have access to hop extract use that for bittering to cut down on all the hop matter. They use it in recipe for a few of the hop additions.
I have only had it once. A couple of weeks ago at Monk’s Café in Philly. I also had Blind Pig IPA. I actually liked the Blind Pig better, but I must say the Pliny is in my top two for DIPAs, the other being Stone’s Enjoy By, which I have also had on tap and at this time is the best DIPA I have ever had. IMHO. It would be interesting to do a blind tasting of a few DIPAs just to verify my tastebuds.
I have had Pliny many, many times. Will have it again in Oct.
The zymurgy best beer list is what AHA members vote for. Beer with a big reputation and/or a good distribution do well. I have had 45 of those listed, so those are easy to find locally, or in my travels.
+1. I love hoppy beers and RIS as much as anybody, but hard to believe Boulevard Saison-Brett and Founders Backwoods Bastard (for example) wouldn’t be on there somewhere.
