Naked Brewery Pliny review

[Beer-lord]

I am at a total loss of words......the absolute best home brew I've tased to date.......so good I had to call Jeff after 2 sips to do a bromance. Damn this sucker was out of the park.
My pals had to drink my Maharaja to tell me I still have a shot but I need to visit you to get schooled.

The day is ruined and nothing I'm drinking now compares and that include Racer5 and 90 minute IPA.

Great mouthfeel, full bodied, and finished smooth. Chris, you and I better step up our game.

1 hour later and I'm still wanting more. Jeff, I love you man!

[BlackDuck]

No kidding....we really do need to step up our game. I'm not sure we'll be able to compete with it. I agree....the best home brewed beer I've ever had too.

[Gymrat]

And now the question we are all wanting to ask. How was he in the shower?

[Inkleg]

Thanks Paul, glad you and your friends enjoyed it. It was good to talk to you again.
I'm sure that yours and Chris will be just as good. I can see why this has won the Home Brewers favorite for the last 5 years. The combination of hops make this a great IIPA.
That said, sitting here with a glass, I'm going to have to agree. This is one of the best damn beers I've brewed.

Has anyone heard from Knightmare? I have a bottle for him. He was moving, I have the new address, but don't know if he is there yet.

Glad you liked it also Chris.
Ron, has yours arrived, it's a small box that could be overlooked.

[Kealia]

No, not here yet. But you will know for sure when it arrives. I do have this other bottle laying around with a green label on it....has a red circle in the middle........not sure what do with it.

[RedBEERd]

I am at a total loss of words......the absolute best home brew I've tased to date.......so good I had to call Jeff after 2 sips to do a bromance. Damn this sucker was out of the park.
My pals had to drink my Maharaja to tell me I still have a shot but I need to visit you to get schooled.

The day is ruined and nothing I'm drinking now compares and that include Racer5 and 90 minute IPA.

Great mouthfeel, full bodied, and finished smooth. Chris, you and I better step up our game.

1 hour later and I'm still wanting more. Jeff, I love you man!

I was one of the LUCKY ones who was able to share this beer.....and it is by far one of the FINEST home brews I've ever tasted. It has everything you want in a beer (at least what I want)........awesome aroma at the front, full bodied, just the right amount of bitterness with the floral hops taste. The color and clarity of the beer was as good as ANY retail beer I've had....and today we also had a Racer 5, Dogfish Head 90 minute and Paul's Maharaja (today was a tough day for us beer drinkers/saints fans ) and I can say without fear of contradiction is was as good as all of them, better than most!

I'm just starting out on 5 gallon all grain batches and I'm thinking maybe I should shoot for the moon and try this one. And if I fail, I can always ask to share this one.

Thanks for sharing this Jeff (and thanks to paul for sharing it with us).

[Kealia]

Beer has arrived safely on the West Coast, although the name on the shipping label threw me off. It must be your brewing alias!

It's in the fridge now and I will absolutely report back when it has been consumed.

Thanks!

[RedBEERd]

Beer has arrived safely on the West Coast, although the name on the shipping label threw me off. It must be your brewing alias!

It's in the fridge now and I will absolutely report back when it has been consumed.

Thanks!

I'll gladly pay you a liter next Tuesday for a liter of pliny today

[Kealia]

OK, this one has thrown me for a loop.

I keep my bottles in a fridge right around 40 degrees and here's what I experienced (am experiencing as I write this, actually).

Color: Very cool-looking orange hued. Slightly hazy, just like I remember Pliny to be from the massive dry hop additions. It's actually the same color as the Dead Guy that I brew and I love that color. Not a pale ale, not an amber, but somewhere in the taint

Aroma: Not as strong as I expected nor what I remember from Pliny. What I actually picked up on was a bit of sweetness and a definite malty presence.

First sip: Smooth for sure. Not bitter, but definitely a hop presence in both bittering and flavor. The finish was almost slick in it's mouthfeel. The finish was almost sweet and candy-like.

As I let it warm (I had to eat) it changed a bit. The aroma became less sweet and almost a bit alcoholic. Not harsh, just an awareness.
The taste became more balanced between the hops and the malt and the presence of the hops made themselves known through an almost resiny feel in the mouth. I've felt/tasted that before in some big hop beers and it's not a negative thing, just a statement of what I perceive. The finish became more and more dry with a lingering bitterness as it warmed a bit. I've had beers that were a bit different as they warmed, but this one was almost like 2 different beers. I liked it much better when it warmed up a bit.

I'm very curious to see what Jeff thinks when he has the original and this side by side. My perception right now is that Pliny is much more aggressive in the aroma and that Jeff's is a bit smoother in the finish. I'll be honest though, I like Enjoy By better and I've had that much more recently than a Pliny so my comparison is based off of a fading memory.

None of this should be taken as saying this isn't a good beer because it certainly is. I'm just doing what I can to try and compare it to what I remember about the original.

I'm really glad that I got to try one of these as it was one of the most interesting beers I've had in terms of it changing so dramatically as the temp came up. Did anybody else notice that? Grant you, my taste buds could be shot from the chow mein I had for dinner so I reserve the right to say that my review doesn't count for squat

Regardless of comparisons to the original, there is no doubt that this beer was brewed well.

Cheers!

[Beer-lord]

I shared Jeff's Pliny with 2 other folks so mine didn't last too long in the glass. But my recollection is still very clear in my memory and I loved it!
I do notice with almost every one of my IPA's that the tastes change as it warms and think it has more to do with the amounts of dry hopping that I do. The heavy dry hopped beers tastes smell more citrusy when cold and more bite then it tames a bit as it warms.
But, I had barely taken a few sips and ran to call Jeff to give him a long distance, virtual high five as I enjoyed it so much.

[Inkleg]

Ron, are you a BJCP? Your palate is WAY more refined than mine. Thank You for the write up gald you enjoyed it. I'm with you on the color, it is every bit as nice to look at as your Dead Guy was.

I think there is a limit to how much hop aroma home brewers can get in a beer. My best so far has been Belas with the dry hop in the keg.

[Kealia]

Um, hell no. My palate is far from what I would consider refined. A year ago I was only able to say "yes, I like it" or "no, I don't". Since then I've been working hard to really try to describe what I'm tasting and it helps to taste beers with somebody else I've found. I don't pick up on something and then a friend says, "Wait, you really can't taste the XXXX" and I try it again trying to pick it up. I think I've come a long way but you have to remember two things:
1) I'm a simple beer drinking guy
2) This is the internet and I can be just as full of s*** as the next guy

Honestly, I'm working through things like this as I go, doing my best to almost think out loud while I'm typing. What I taste may not be what you or anybody else tastes and honestly I wouldn't be surprised to find out that I am the only one to pick up on some these things. Not meaning that I am somehow "right", just that my taste buds are the outlier and not as good as everybody else's.

[Inkleg]

I whole hardily agree that taste buds are a personal thing and that different people can pick up on different things.

My wife chews gum and that was what caught me off guard with your Hefe. I was like "I know that smell". It was so strange that I had to go look it up.

I have a pen and paper. Right after I take the picture I walk into the sunroom for the first smell/tasting writing as I go. Checking what I write down against what is going on with my taste buds.