The scarcity is annoying, but I don’t really sweat it when most of the rest of my top 10, and many other great IPAs, are readily available. I enjoy Pliny’s hop flavors much more than any of the catty Citra bombs that crowd the tap handles these days. Few IPAs compare for pure tongue tingling hop bitterness. Sierra Nevada’s Southern Hemisphere Harvestįor me, Pliny the Elder is an excellent Double IPA.Sierra Nevada’s Northern Hemisphere Harvest.That said, here is the IPA ranking I did a couple years ago:Īnd a few other’s that could make that list but haven’t been mentioned yet: I don’t think there is any doubt that Pliny the Elder is a very good beer, but trying to rank it is foolish. Distribution issues aside, is Pliny the Elder the best Double IPA? The huge variety of IPAs, and the variation in people’s tastes, make this a rather stupid question. First off, this whole article is probably the stupidest thing I’ve ever written since this is all so subjective. Hop Stoopid, Dorado, Enjoy By, and Hoptimum are all tasty, and widely distributed.įinally, I’ll venture my own opinion. Some of those are small breweries who probably don’t distribute any more widely than Russian River, so that might not be too helpful to you, but there are a few contenders. Here are some that have come up just this week: This usually comes with the usual responses of “overrated” and a few suggestions of alternative Double IPAs. Pliny the Elder comes up regularly on my Facebook feed and in the Chico Beer Geeks Facebook group. I can totally get Ballast Point’s Sculpin in my area, and it is delicious, so I think we have our first contender! Ballast Point is the 31st largest craft brewery, so their distribution is much larger than Russian River’s. I posed the question on Twitter and got a couple responses: I had my doubts about that answer, so I turned to social media. So far, the answer to our question is “No, Pliny is the best and you should sell your house and go on a quest to obtain it at all costs.” I’m not sure I could get a top 10 Double IPA from any of those lists at my local bars or bottle shops. You can really see the hype in action on these rating sites. Clearly these beers’ ratings benefit from their scarcity. Untappd has Heady Topper in the lead, with a couple beers I’ve never even seen in person, Lawson’s Double Sunshine and Maine’s Dinner, then Pliny the Elder. Beer Advocate has Heady Topper on top followed by Younger, then Elder. RateBeer has Younger on top, then Elder, then Alchemist’s Heady Topper, another beer that isn’t distributed to the West. The next two on the list are the even scarcer Pliny the Younger, and Bell’s Hopslam, which I certainly can’t get in my area. Beer Graphs has Pliny the Elder at the top of their Imperial/Double IPA list. Let’s start by taking a look at the beer rating sites. Inevitably this leads to some backlash and calls of “overrated.” The whole thing is rather silly and very subjective, but let’s play along: Are there better Double/Imperial/Extra IPAs that are more readily available? It can also be a problem for bartenders and bottle shop employees in areas that don’t receive Russian River distribution. Their Double IPA, Pliny the Elder, in particular has reached a near mythical status, with people all over the country clamoring to get their hands on a bottle of what can seem rarer than unicorn pee. This is a problem for people outside of Santa Rosa, California that want their beers. Russian River Brewing has very limited distribution for such a popular brewery. Here, have a couple more: Why Pliny the Elder is Super Duper Overrated Is Pliny the Elder the Best Double IPA Ever Made? With some of the highest rated IPAs in America, Knee Deep is set to explode into the Pittsburgh Market.Did that bullshit, click-bait title annoy you into reading this far? Breaking Bud American IPA (Beer Advocate Rating 92), Lupulin River Double IPA (Beer Advocate Rating 95) as well as Hoparillo Triple IPA (Beer Advocate Rating 93) are just some of their incredible offerings. More updates will follow on social media as the launch nears.įor fans of hops, Knee Deep’s products will be a welcome addition to the Pittsburgh beer scene. There will be several launch events at local bars and bottle shops, as well as previews of their products at select events during Pittsburgh Craft Beer Week. Knee Deep is set to launch in the Pittsburgh market in early May. Knee Deep is the first of many top quality craft breweries that Steel City Beer has lined up to bring to the Western PA market. Based in Lawrenceville, Steel City Beer focuses on distributing craft beer without being financially controlled by a major brand. Newcomer Steel City Beer Wholesalers will be importing and distributing the brewery here in Western PA.
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