One of my life’s dreams was fulfilled yesterday- I finally got to try Russian River Brewing Co’s Pliny the Younger triple IPA. Kabluey and I went to the special tasting at Belmont Station and we were able to try Pliny the Younger and Pliny the Elder side by side.

The Younger was tasty. It was a tiny bit too sweet for my liking, but it had a pretty dry finish and the vast amount of hops dutifully made their presence known. And at 11% ABV, you could definitely taste the alcohol. While I’m glad I finally got to try this beer, I can confidently say I prefer The Elder, which is convenient because that beer is brewed year round and is definitely easier to get my hands on.

As with every single beer event that I attend in this town, I saw Ken The Taplister Guy. He told me about some new features they are working on for Taplister, and in a rare but amazing bit of social perfection, my beer glass ran dry right about the time our conversation topics dwindled. Some days are just awesome like that.

To balance out the exclusiveness of the Pliny tasting yesterday, today I joined millions of people for a time-honored, Green Dye No. 3-filled tradition. St Paddy’s day wouldn’t be complete without it.