Excuse me Sir, What's your favorite beer?

One of the most frequent questions I get at work is- "What is your favorite beer?" It's an interesting question because sometimes I can see that the person asking the question is genuinely interested in my answer. Other times though I can see a look in the eye of the curious which means they are testing my "beer knowledge". I guess if I were to answer Bud Light or PBR I would fail their grand test and not be worthy of selling them beer. I don't really care. You can test my beer knowledge all you want. I don't pretend to be all knowing. But what answer would appease them? Rochefort 8? Westvleteren 12? Surly Darkness? Three Floyds Dark Lord? Pliny the Elder? Oh yes, I can name drop with the best of them.



The truth is there is no correct answer to that question. Generally I'll give them my standard answer of- "That's like asking me which is my favorite kid. Can't answer it." Now granted I have spawned successfully but only once so I only have one favorite kid. Either way, it's an answer that has too many variables to reach just one conclusion.

What time of day is it? Is it cold outside? Is it warm outside? Where am I? What am I doing at the given moment I have said favorite beer in my hand? Is there a local brewery around? Am I naked? Those are just a few situations that affect my beer mood. When I worked at NOLA Brewing my loyalty ran deep and I could answer your question with a quick answer. Cask Conditioned Dry Hopped NOLA Blonde. But then again it was only my favorite beer of the moment. Things change. If it's cold outside I prefer darker beers. Warm outside? Lighter beers. Darker beers and lighter beers? Hell that's just a general answer. I could break it down further from there but the answers could be mind boggling.


I'm not even really sure I can give you my top 5 favorite beers of all time because then you have to break them down again. Are you asking me my top 5 favorite DIPAs? Stouts? American Wild Ales? The list goes on and on and on and on...you get the idea. You can look at my reviews here on The Beer Buddha and see which beers get the most Buddhas but then you have to think that maybe I drank that beer at the right moment for it to earn 5 Buddhas. And maybe a beer that earns 5 Buddhas from me won't earn jack squat from you. Just cause I like a beer sure as hell doesn't mean you will.

I guess the easiest way to answer this question is to turn it back around on the person asking the question. My favorite beer isn't what is important. You can sit there and read my reviews and think that Beer X must be the best beer because I gave it 5 Buddhas or Beer Y must suck cause I only gave it 1 Buddha but in the end it doesn't really matter. What matters most is what beer you find to be your favorite and that's it.


Cheers!

The Beer Buddha

Beer Review: Russian River Pliny the Elder

Ok, so here we are. Pliny the Elder. I was going to save this one in order to drink it with a couple of buddies(Sorry Riki and Kenny)but with this Hurricane Gustave and me about to evacuate I figured what the hell. A friend of mine through work, Devon, brought me back this delicious elixer from his trip to Napa which he took with his wine class at University of New Orleans. Awesome choice Devon! Thanks!

So, why the name Pliny the Elder? Who the hell would name their kid Pliny? Who the hell is Pliny the Elder? Well, I looked him up and it gets real wordy and historical and boring so I went to the brewery website and they were kind enough to give us the Cliff Notes version. It reads as follows:

Pliny the Elder was a Roman naturalist, scholar, historian, traveler, officer, and writer. Although not considered his most important work, Pliny and his contemporaries created the botanical name for hops, "Lupus salictarius", meaning wolf among scrubs." Hops at that time grew wild among willows, much like a wolf in the forest. Later the current botanical name, Humulus lupulus, was adopted. Pliny died in 79 AD while observing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius. He was immortalized by his nephew, Pliny the Younger, who continued his uncle's legacy by documenting much of what he observed during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius.

Thanks professor that was awesome. Now, on to the beer!



Brewery: Russian River Brewing Company

Beer: Pliny the Elder

Style: American Double/Imperial IPA

ABV: 8.00%

Recommended Glassware: Snifter, Tulip, Oversized Wine Glass

Serving Type: Chalice

Appearance- Nice golden copper color with a descent size white, fluffy head. Lacing was present and stayed throughout the life of the beer.

Smell- Pine. Straight up pine trees. Also has notes of citrus(oranges and grapefruit) and a pleasing maltiness.

Taste- Imagine running through a forest, let's say your being chased by a monster or something(I know, just follow me here ok), and all of a sudden BAM you run right into a bushel of pine tree branches and it all gets into your mouth. Got it? Ok it tastes like that. A pine tree Mike Tyson punch to your mouth. Once you get past the pine tree extravaganza you get a nice hint of citrus and herbs.

Mouthfeel- A little lacking here. It was a bit thin and watery. The carbonation is medium which is nice.

Overall- OK I'm not a big IPA fan but I did my best to judge this beer properly. I had hoped for more balance between hops and malts but as far as DIPAs go I would say this is one of the best I've ever had. At 8% it makes for a very drinkable(sessionable) beer and I'm extremely excited to have been able to try it. Big thanks go out to my boy Devon who brought this back from his trip to Napa.

Score: 4.5 out of 5 Buddhas