This Week in Beer
I <3 Russian River. Sorry, just had to get that out o my system. Vinnie and his crew are churning out some of the best brews in the country, and it's a rare treat that I get to enjoy one of them, let alone several of them, let alone on draft. That's just the position I found myself in this weekend though as I made a couple day trips into Pennsylvania for Pliny the Younger. Pliny the Younger is a so-called "triple IPA", Russian River's 11% ABV absolute hop bomb, and goes back and forth with Westvleteren 12 as the highest rated beer in the world. It's draft only, a once a year release, and the Philadelphia area is the only market east of Colorado to see any. Needless to say, the tapping of the one keg a few select bars get turns into a big deal. Accordingly, my cousin and I made the trip down to Capone's in Norristown for their Pliny tapping Saturday morning. Like most places, Capone's only got a sixtel of Younger, and the result was a single small (~5oz pour) for 100-150 of us that were lined up by the time the bar opened, and a keg that was kicked within a few minutes of the doors being unlocked. The bar took the opportunity to turn the day's tap list into a hoppy beer extravaganza, thus meriting the pre-6am alarm and 4 hours round trip driving. Aside from a glass each of Pliny the Younger, my cousin and I split Pliny the Elder, Blind Pig (another Russian River IPA), Williamsburg Alewerks Bitter Valentine, Hill Farmstead Edward, and Weyerbacher Uniform. There wasn't a bad beer in the bunch, and after a couple hours at the bar we checked out the attached bottle shop (find of the day: 2005 Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout). We got home early enough to get a brew day in as well, a Belgian tripel aggressively hopped with Galaxy that I really have high hopes for. We capped the day with a late dinner at the Cloverleaf Tavern, highlighted by a brownie sundae for dessert paired with a Victory at Sea Coffee Vanilla Imperial Porter.
Saturday wasn't my only Russian River adventure though, as I again set my alarm to go off early this morning, got ready and hopped in a friend's car to head down to the famous Monk's in Philly for another Pliny the Younger tapping. Monk's is widely regarded as one of the best beer bars in the country, and it's the owner of Monk's relationship with the people from Russian River that led to their beer being distributed in Philly. As such, Monk's got a full half barrel keg of the Younger, built a Russian River rather than hoppy draft list around it, and made the whole day a charity fundraiser. 100% of proceeds from the PtY keg went to Alex's Lemonade Stand, as well as 10% of the sales from all the other Russian River beers. The owner even pulled out a ton of great bottles from his cellar to raffle off and raise more money for charity. The much larger keg plus the weekday vs weekend crowd meant a lot more Younger to go around, as over the course of the afternoon I had about three and a half glasses worth. I also enjoyed pours of Pliny the Elder, Damnation, Supplication, and Consecration. I honestly can't think of a much better way to spend the day. I could, and maybe should have been done for the day after that, but tonight's Monday night, and that means it's time for...
Cellar Monday
After all the great hoppy and sour beers I had this afternoon, I knew whatever bottle I pulled from the cellar tonight was going to have to be a malt forward beer just to keep things interesting. I eventually decided to pull a bottle of 2010 Abyss from Deschutes Brewery.
The Abyss is partially barrel aged stout (blend of 1/3 barrel aged, 2/3 not) that has a bit of a unique bent to it with the inclusion of licorice and molasses in the brewing process. The licorice stands out a bit more than the molasses, but both leave room for some milk chocolate and roasted grain flavors. There's no overt flavor contribution from the barrel aged portion of the beer, though I imagine there's a bit of vanilla mixed in with the chocolaty notes. The body stays away from being syrupy or excessively full, and it's actually fairly lean (without being too weak) for a stout. I like licorice (and to a certain extent molasses) when it's playing a secondary role to the rest of the beer, but it's still fairly prominent in the 2010 vintage. I look forward to seeing how my other bottle responds to some long term aging.
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