I had my first -and, hopefully, not last- taste of the 2024 Pliny the Younger triple IPA from Russian River Brewing Co., yesterday at Øl Beercafe & Bottleshop in Walnut Creek.
Øl was having an on-the-down-low Younger release event –the beer wasn’t on the board, you had to know to ask for it– before announcing to the public on social media at 5 pm (when they’d be fully-staffed). Luckily I checked in on a group chat board where friends from Club DOZE let me know about it!
This year’s Younger is tasty. It has a touch of funk and fruitness. It has fewer piney notes than I seem to recall from previous years, and definitely fewer than Pliny the Elder double IPA. For such big beer (10% abv) it is impressively light-bodied and dangerously easy to drink. In a word, it’s good!