Every February for just a few short weeks Santa Rosa brewery Russian River releases its extremely limited draft only fan favorite Pliny The Younger. This year is the 14th release and will probably be the first time in three years I have missed the event. While I have never made the trek and waited in long lines in front of the angry neighboring businesses on 4th Street in Santa Rosa I have attended various events in the bay area (my former home) and even made the trek to the only east coast city that gets Russian River products (Philadelphia).  

However, my favorite experience drinking this rare 10+ percent ABV beast was in Portland where there was no waiting in line, no massive crowds and it was a full pour! When the Uber dropped us off in front of Belmont Station I was sure of one of two things: Either they didn’t actually have Pliny The Younger or it was already sold out. Much to our surprise, it was simply another beer on draft, with the only caveat being 2 per person limit! I sipped this amazing beer in peace and had a delicious pretzel from the food truck out back in between rounds. This is a great craft beer bar in Portland, and I highly recommend it if in the area.

Below is an article I wrote last year about the experience chasing down Pliny The Younger for my first time on the east coast. Sadly this year, due to almost every event in Philadelphia being held on a Sunday I don’t think I will get enjoy this glass of this years iteration. I do wonder if the bars are trying to keep it local, or just using it to draw large crowds on what would normally be a slow Sunday in February.

Piny The Younger @ Belmont Station PDX

Orginal article written in 2017:

Pliny the Younger, a must have for true beer enthusiast!

This ultra-rare brew from Russian River Brewing is only available once a year. It is distributed to select accounts in the greater Bay Area of California, and even fewer accounts in Portland (OR), and Philadelphia.

The Chase:

Historically, there are few ways to score more than one glass of this golden liquid, and most involve waiting in long lines depending on the area. Outside of the Santa Rosa brewpub, which often has lines of 3 hours or more, most bars only receive one keg and it is often floated in under an hour. No matter where or how you choose to hunt for Pliny the Younger, procuring a glass is no easy feat.

The Experience:

This year we choose to hunt for Pliny in Philadelphia. Thanks to the folks at: http://phillytapfinder.tumblr.com/, we were able to know which bars would have it and when they would be tapping their kegs.

We settled on the Friday, March 24^th event at Eulogy. We arrived at 35 minutes early and to our surprise there were only about 30 people already lined up. As is the new normal in the smartphone world, most people were playing on their phones, while a few beer and other work discussions occurred. A particularly funny element was listening to those who didn’t know what the line was for guess as to why so many people were in line. Since most of us were standing in front of a building advertising passport photos, many passersby said things such as, “I wonder why so many people need passports today.” The beer enthusiast crowd found this funny but surprisingly didn’t feel the need to inform them as to the true prize at the front of the line. Perhaps they hoped to score a second glass if not enough people showed up.

At precisely 11:00 AM, the line began quickly moving, cell phones were put in back pockets, and the entire focus shifted to beer. We made it just to the door when it stopped moving. Perhaps the bar reached a bar stool capacity, and lacking sufficient manpower to pour beer fast enough from the single tap things came to a crawl. Just as we stepped into the bar two gentlemen offered to share their four-person table with us. We were torn because we didn’t want to violate the rules of reaching the front of the beer line and then miss our chance, but the prospect for chairs in a packed bar was tempting. They assured us the server was taking orders and would delivery Pliny to us. That sealed the deal and we joined our new Philadelphia friends at a table.

A few moments later when the prized brew arrived, we posted it to social media as we wished to show we had conquered the beer world today. The beer was just as remarkable as previous tastings. We were among the lucky who did manage to get more than one glass. We triumphed in tracking down the coveted beer two years running.

Final thoughts:

Overall, our weekend trip to Philadelphia for Pliny the Younger was a success. Our tablemates, who were great company, enhanced our trip. They had visited our home state of California for wine tasting, one of my favorite hobbies, so it was easy to talk to them. They also picked up the tab, which seems to be a common gesture by beer lovers from an older generation. Making new friends, even if for only an hour over rare beer, is always a fun experience.

Is the hunt for Pliny the Younger worth it? Well if you are reading this beer newsletter, then yes it probably is. But I don’t suggest bringing a newbie or someone whose go-to beer is Heineken. They may not see the point of spending an hour in line for 10 ounces of strong beer. But to my fellow beer enthusiast, I can tell you the hunt in Philly was fun and I would do it again.