On Friday of the Craft Brewers Conference week I went to the San Diego Brewing Company, one of my favorite bars in town. The night before was SDBC’s IPA night celebration and luckily they still had a lot of great brews on tap.
When I saw they had Pliny the Younger on tap I had to start with it in case they ran out. I’d never had it before and was glad to have an opportunity. Pliny the Younger is a triple IPA made by Russian River, who also makes Pliny the Elder, a double IPA. You’d think that the Elder would be stronger than the Younger, but it isn’t. Maybe they didn’t plan on making a Younger when they created the Elder.
Anyway, the Pliny the Younger was excellent. Very strong, both in alcohol and in flavor. They served it in a small glass, which was a good thing given that it is 11 percent alcohol.
Next I had a Dogfish Head 90 Minute IPA. Dogfish Head hasn’t been available in Southern California for a while but it is back to stay as of Friday night, or so that’s the word. I liked the 90 Minute IPA but need to try it again. I’d just had the Pliny the Younger so my palate was a little cooked.
SDBC makes some excellent house brews — their Hopnotic is one of my favorite IPAs — and they had a new one called Peep Show. It’s an American Pale Ale made with Peeps, the Easter candy marshmallow things. It had a little bit of a pink hue to it. You couldn’t really taste marshmallows, but it did have a nice smooth taste to it. I’d be happy to drink it again.
For the record, here are some other beers they had on tap that night:
- Russian River Pliny IPA
- Alpine Pure Hoppiness (on cask)
- Alpine Exponential Hoppiness
- Alpine Duet
- Sierra Nevada Chico IPA
- Pizza Port El Camino IPA
- Pizza Port Black Lie IPA
- Bear Republic Racer 5 IPA
- Alesmith IPA
