Pliny the Elder

[Beer-lord]

I'm drinking this now. It pours beautifully but didn't have the aroma I thought it would. It's there, just smaller than I expected.
It's very good and I definitely get the bitterness of all the Columbus hops all the way thru. I wish I had the real deal to match it up against but all I have is my crappy, fusel version but take away the fusel, and mine and yours taste remarkably similar but of course, yours is much, much better.
My only minor critique is on the nose end but it in now way takes away from the beer.

I don't recall your recipe but mine had a 12 day and 5 day (I think) dry hop schedule and I think it's the latter that helps with the aroma. I'm sure you'll have to drink these up fast because it's an IPA and you while you don't need a reason, I just made up one.

[BlackDuck]

Thanks for the comments Paul. Your thoughts are right on par with mine. I thought the aroma was a little lighter than I thought it would be. Maybe it is the dry hop schedule. My recipe did not have the 12 and 5 day dry hop, it only had a 7 day. I thought the aroma was a little lighter than I was expeciting it to have. We'll see what Jeff thinks after he posts.

[Beer-lord]

I'm drinking a Flipside right after your Pliny. It tastes like water compared to the Pliny!
For the record, the few beers I've brewed from Austin kits all seemed week in the aroma department. I do admit, between Pliny and Maharaja, I'm sold on Columbus hops.

[Kealia]

LOL, I think just about anything outside of an Enjoy By/Maharaja/Heady Topper is going to taste like water after a Pliny!

Chris - that feedback is awesome, I agree. To see somebody's face and eyes light up when they taste it and say that is just a great feeling. Congrats to you!

[Inkleg]

On my next rebrew of Pliny, I'm going to do the first dry hop of 1oz of Simcoe, Centennial and Columbus in the secondary and then do the dry hop in the keg with an oz of each.
That should ramp up the aroma a notch or two.

[Beer-lord]

I'm going to do what I did before without the fusel and then shut up and be happy.
Regarding the Enjoy By Ron, it's hard to get here. Seems it's talked about all over and the little that came here is going very fast. I hope Greg listened to me when I said we should get it every trip.

[BlackDuck]

As promised, here's a pic of tonights pour. Now that I'm drinking another, the aroma is rather light. Gonna have to fix that the next time around.

[Inkleg]

The color of yours looks close to mine. Mine is on the left.

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[Kealia]

Ok, I can literally smell those while looking at the screen. Thanks for the pics guys!

[BlackDuck]

I'm drinking Paul's Pliny right now. Paul, I'm getting something in there, but I'm not sure that it's fusel. It almost seems like it's a funny hop bitterness to me. I could be wrong there, but it just seems like a weird bitterness. I wonder if you got a bad pack of hops somehow. It's really not that bad though. The aroma was pretty good, but not as much as I was expecting, in fact that part was very similar to mine. The color seemed to be a little bit darker than mine.

I've had Paul's, Jeff's and my version of this so far....and, in my opinion, Jeff is the winner. But none of them are bad beers.

[Beer-lord]

Let it warm up and you'll get the fusels. I had one tonite and didn't even finish it. I don't think it's the hops. I've use those same hops on other beers and they were ok. It's definitely yeast and/or fermentation related. Not nearly as bad as when I kegged it but I've always read they really don't go away. Likely the reason we don't get more of it is because there were so many hops in this beer.
I have to agree, Jeff's was the winner but don't tell him or he'll make it again and send us more of it.

Sorry I sent you a loser. Whenever I do this again, I'm not even sure what to change but I have to try just to tell myself I can do better.

[BlackDuck]

Funny you posted that. I was coming back to this thread to update it after the beer warmed up. Yup...your right, it's definitely there after it warms up. I think your right about the amount of hops hiding it. I bet that's what lead me to make my first comments, then, like you said, it warmed and the fusel did come through. The hops hide it until the beer has a chance to warm. I don't think I would change much, other than the fermentation temp, for the next time. And, I've mentioned it before, if you use S-05 next time, pitch it direct without rehydrating. Let it sit for 30 minutes, then aerate and close up the fermenter. But, more than likely, it's the fermentation temps. By the way....I drank the entire glass....it's there, but it's drinkable, at least for me!!

[Beer-lord]

Thanks Chris. So it's official, I am not crazy. The Sublimely had even more fusel if you can believe that.
I appreciate your comments and suggestions.

[Inkleg]

Well looks like I'm the slow drinker of the bunch because I still have both y'alls beer. I'll do a side by side by side this weekend.

Thank you for the comments on mine.
I guess I'll have to step it up a notch the next time I brew it, cause y'all will be gunning for me.

[Inkleg]

Y'all planned it this way, didn't you, cause I'm feeling it. The results are in and in a blind taste test......my wife said mine was the least yucky . Of course you can't trust her, she's not an IPA fan.
Paul's a little darker, but all close in aroma. All three good beers and close in taste, Paul's just a slight more bitter bite, but not that bad. Very well brewed, both of you. Going to take a nap now.
Left to right, mine, Chris, Paul

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