Waiting 2.5 hours for a "perfect" beer. Crazy?

[two fingers]

Yep. Not only is the story worth every bit as much as the beer, but I bet you meet some pretty interesting people in line.

[Ripper]

If I was in the area, I would make time to go there, both for the experience and because I love beer, so top level beers I enjoy going after (the "Gotta catch 'em all" syndrome of us 90s kids...). I've gotta get to Cal sometime and at least try Elder. Timing has to be right to get Younger.

And whoever mentioned Westvleteren, I'm incredibly jealous. That's another I'm waiting to check off my list.

[plankspanker13]

Life is too short to drink inferior beer.

[jmattbassplaya]

So are you going?

[Smokin' Toaster]

Originally Posted by UncleFluffy

For those who're interested, the recipe for Pliny the Elder is here, together with a lot of hints as to how to "upgrade" it to Pliny the Younger. Personally, I'd rather spend 3 hours making 10 gallons of the stuff than waiting for 10 ounces.

3 hours? I take it you are using malt extract, not all grain.

It takes almost 2-3 hours to mill the grain, mash the grain, sparge (rinse the grain to extract the fermentables), and get a boil started. Then it's an hour of boiling, half hour to an hour to cool the wort. Then you can pitch the yeast and let fermentation begin. Of course, I'm brewing 10 gallon batches, 5 gallon batches would go a bit quicker.

I've done a 10 gallon batch in about 6 hours at best, from cracking the grain to pitching the yeast.

Oh yeah, and I'd stand in line for Russian River beer. Those people are artists, their beers are superb. I can easily understand why people come from overseas to do so.

[GregC]

Sounds crazy to me. I love a good microbrew, but traveling across continents and waiting in line two and a half hours for one kind of reminds me of the dot com craze.

Perhaps the mania for Pliny the Younger is like the Pets.com Super Bowl commercial--a signal of the peak.

[UncleFluffy]

Originally Posted by Smokin' Toaster

3 hours? I take it you are using malt extract, not all grain.

It takes almost 2-3 hours to mill the grain, mash the grain, sparge (rinse the grain to extract the fermentables), and get a boil started. Then it's an hour of boiling, half hour to an hour to cool the wort. Then you can pitch the yeast and let fermentation begin. Of course, I'm brewing 10 gallon batches, 5 gallon batches would go a bit quicker.

I've done a 10 gallon batch in about 6 hours at best, from cracking the grain to pitching the yeast.

Yeah, I'm 10 gallon AG as well. End-to-end it's "an afternoon", maybe not 6 hours but not a lot less. (Pumps, plate chillers and big burners help). But I'm not counting the time where I can do something else while waiting for the water to come up to temp or whatever. "3 hours of my attention needed" may have been a clearer phrasing.

Originally Posted by Smokin' Toaster

Oh yeah, and I'd stand in line for Russian River beer. Those people are artists, their beers are superb. I can easily understand why people come from overseas to do so.

Agreed on all counts apart from the wait. I'm spoiled - I'll admit it. I can get everything except for Pliny the Younger with minimal effort.

[Smokin' Toaster]

Originally Posted by UncleFluffy

Yeah, I'm 10 gallon AG as well. End-to-end it's "an afternoon", maybe not 6 hours but not a lot less. (Pumps, plate chillers and big burners help). But I'm not counting the time where I can do something else while waiting for the water to come up to temp or whatever. "3 hours of my attention needed" may have been a clearer phrasing.



Agreed on all counts apart from the wait. I'm spoiled - I'll admit it. I can get everything except for Pliny the Younger with minimal effort.

I'm jealous, I wish I could get Russian River beers within 100 miles of here.

And you are correct, my brewing rig could be upgraded to speed up the process. I've been considering going to a metal fabrication shop and discussing a brew stand big enough for 3 burners side-by side and 3 -15 gallon vessels on. This would allow me to speed the process up considerably.

[UncleFluffy]

Originally Posted by Smokin' Toaster

And you are correct, my brewing rig could be upgraded to speed up the process. I've been considering going to a metal fabrication shop and discussing a brew stand big enough for 3 burners side-by side and 3 -15 gallon vessels on. This would allow me to speed the process up considerably.

Have you looked at the Sabco stuff? Not cheap, and overkill for my needs, but very nice if you're wanting a 3 side-by-side setup. I'm using the Blichmann stand so that I can push it into the corner when I need garage space.

You could probably knock something up with 2x4s and Strong-Ties as well.

[MAJOR METAL]

Crazy? Most certainly not. Enjoy!

[Smokin' Toaster]

Originally Posted by UncleFluffy

Have you looked at the Sabco stuff? Not cheap, and overkill for my needs, but very nice if you're wanting a 3 side-by-side setup. I'm using the Blichmann stand so that I can push it into the corner when I need garage space.

You could probably knock something up with 2x4s and Strong-Ties as well.

Man, if I won the lottery...

I'm way too cheap to spend that kind of money on brewing. I've probably got less than $600 in my brewing equipment, and that's been accumulated over 10 years time. I'm a terminal do it yourselfer and improvisor.

I'll probably get this shop down the road from me to weld the stand out of 1.5" -2" square tubing, and plumb it for gas and liquid myself. I'll put some wheels on one end and handles on the other so I can wheel it around like a wheelbarrow in order to put it away.

[spade2you]

I have an extract barley wine that I'm not gonna touch until next winter. Should be lovely by then.

[ErebusBass]

Originally Posted by jimc

Russian River has their marketing right!

I go to a place in Folsom called Manderes that always has great stuff on tap. They usually have Pliny the Elder but don't bother putting it on the beer menu because it sells fast enough anyway!

I've seen people leave when they find out the Pliny is off even though there are least 2 or 3 more double or triple IPAs on tap. Pliny is good, very good but it's not that good!

Any fans of Knee Deep brewing? They're local and producing some really good stuff like Hoptologist.

Whoa back up. I've just been getting into IPAs these past two years or so, and very recently discovered the magic that is a double IPA. Do you mean to tell me that triple IPAs exist?

Mind BLOWN.

[bassarchaeology]

I've waited 2+ hours for younger twice and doing so again this year(there are several places that have it is Southern California).

Not only is it far superior to the elder but the experience of a bar filled with fellow beer enthusiasts to chat with was well worth the experience. Plus everyone was given a free Pliny the Younger mug to take home

[macaroni tony]

who's got it in socal????

[kentiki]

Originally Posted by macaroni tony

who's got it in socal????

Realistically probably nobody. A large part of their marketing seems to be keeping it limited, except at the brewery. A lot of places advertise, but rarely have it. One owner told me he gets a couple of cases every 3-4 months and they instantly sell out. This has led to the Pliney mystique.

last year my buddy went to the event the OP is talking about and said it was totally worth it.

Tony, try the Tustin Brewing Company. They advertise it, but didn't have any 2 weeks ago when I was there.

[kserg]

I LOVE RUSSIAN RIVER BREWERY...

Pliney the Younger? I might need to make a trip up to Santa Rosa!

I do LOVE their sour beers.

[bassarchaeology]

Tustin brewery does have it in small quantities on certain days in February. The place I go to is hollingshead deli and its a one day event on the 18th

[macaroni tony]

I've got an aversion to Tustin Brewery, for some reason. I'm usually across the street at Bradley's

[Jared Lash]

I would.

Pliny the Younger is fantastic.