Mar 2010 22

I’m gonna say it- Pliny the Younger is overrated. I wouldn’t kick it out of my goblet or anything, but there are so many other great IPA’s out there that it’s not worth going out of your way to have some PtY. It falls in line with another overhyped beer- Three Floyd’s Dark Lord (soy sauce anyone?) though much of this hype is from the DL event/beer exchange. It’s not that I don’t think PtY is a good beer- it is- but there are other (much easier to find) IPA’s are out there that more than just rival the “world’s best beer”: Ballast Point Sculpin (Dorado and Big Eye are also tasty), Stone Ruination, Tyranena Scurvy, Green Flash West Coast IPA, Bell’s Two Hearted, even Pliny the Elder, a slightly less overwhelming sibling to PtY. Russian River also makes Bling Pig (6%) and even a regular IPA (6.5%) that are both delicious. I’m also a huge fan of Alpine’s Nelson (that recognizable grapefruit rind taste makes New Zealand’s Nelson Sauvin hop my favorite). These might not offer as much in-your-face hop but they do offer one thing PtY doesn’t: availability.