That’s right, all you hop heads. Russian River Brewing will be tapping this year’s batch of Pliny the Younger at their brewery tomorrow. They’ve actually timed the release party perfectly to be one of the first official events of San Francisco Beer Week. But, you don’t care about that…you people just want to know if and when it will be hitting taps in Seattle, right? Right.

According to their website, the Seattle area will be receiving “a tiny bit” of this hopped up elixir. No word yet on the exact when and where, but they note that “if you are familiar with these markets you can make an educated guess” as to where it will be pouring. Last year, I remember that Brouwer’s, Collins Pub, Uber Tavern, and Naked City all had kegs of it, which should give you a clue as to where it will be again this year.

For those of you not familiar with this beer and all the hype surrounding it, here is a description from the brewery’s website:

11.0%ABV, 1.098 O.G, GOBS of IBUs
Pliny the Younger was Pliny the Elder’s nephew, in the case of this beer, the “Younger” is a triple IPA. Pliny the Younger is hopped three times more than our standard IPA, and is dry hopped four different times. Seasonal release (February) available at the pub and for distribution

People go crazy for the stuff, and I’ve received several emails from people asking about it already. In my opinion, it is interesting to try and worthy of the hype, but most days I’d take a regular Pliny the Elder and definitely a Blind Pig over the Younger any day. It’s just a damn big beer.

Here is the full update from Russian River:

Well, just a few more hours until we finally release this year’s batch of Pliny the Younger, which I sampled a bit of today and it was tasty! We are ready for the festivities this Friday, February 5th, for the official release party, and, apparently, it has become one of the first official events for San Francisco Beer Week. That was not on purpose- it just worked out that way! So let’s go over the details:

* Pliny the Younger is NOT available in bottles!
* Younger will be tapped when we open at 11am on Friday the 5th! Please follow this link for directions and parking suggestions. We suggest you park in the garage on 5th Street to avoid those unpleasant parking tickets. There are also hotel recommendations if you are going for the Full Younger Experience! http://russianriverbrewing.com/web/visiting.html
* Half-gallon growlers of Younger are $35 NEW, $29 for a refill (I did my math wrong on the last blog- too many Blind Pigs, I guess!).
* We do not and will not fill ANY other breweries growlers. It is against the law in the state of California. Look it up if you don’t believe me.
* Younger will be served in a 10 oz. glass at our pub with NO Happy Hour prices and certainly NO pitchers.
* I don’t know how long it will be available at the pub. However, I venture to guess less than one week and more than one day!
* We are delivering Younger to select accounts in the Bay Area and sending a tiny bit to our distributors in Southern California, Portland, Seattle, Denver, and Philadelphia. We do not know where exactly it will be available, but if you are familiar with these markets, you can probably make an educated guess!
* Pliny the Younger is still NOT available in bottles.
* We have NEW Pliny the Younger t-shirts available in our on-line Gift Shop at this very minute or at the pub! Be the first on your block to own one! Available in blue, green, and natural, which I am wearing right now.

In addition to the Younger this Friday, we will have about 17 other beers on tap, including 3 barrel aged sours and our annual Valentine’s Day Belgian Black Ale, Rejection. Of course, there will be plenty of Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder, too! Batch 4 Supplication is also newly available in a 375ml bottle with NO limits for $12/bottle. They don’t need to be kept chilled and travel pretty well for those of you coming from afar.

Vinnie, our staff, and I look forward to seeing you this Friday if you are in town and planning to stop by our pub! And a big thank you for your continued support, whether or not we see you Friday!

Cheers!

Natalie and Vinnie

Thanks to the appropriately named Hophead22 on Flickr for the photo.