Russian River Pliny the Elder Imperial IPA

The uncertainty of what I will drink the rest of this week (business travel) forced me to call out the big guns for tonight... Russian River Brewing Co.'s famous Pliny the Elder.  Named after the Roman naturalist who first tried to catalog the world as it was known all that time (with some pretty humanitarian philosophies), Pliny the Elder is one of those beers that could only come from a micro brewery that loves what it's doing.

Pliny poured a slightly hazy amber into the glass with a ton of bubbles that shot straight to the head, leaving a pleasing, lacy foam coating the surface.  The scent was amazing and everything I want hops to be, with hints of tropical fruits and a solid fresh-squeezed grapefruit aroma.

On the tongue, Pliny the Elder is crisp and reminiscent of the best sparkling grapefruit mineral water you've never had, bright on the tongue but in a pleasant, non-intrusive way.  The malt backbone has that flavor I've heard described as umami, just a pleasant support structure for the flavor, and the beer has a lingering grapefruit rind.

Pliny the Elder is widely considered one of the best beers in the USA, and it's a hard label to argue.  Truly a beer experience unlike any other (and at a drinkable but heady 8%), this is one of the greatest I have had the pleasure of tasting, regardless of beer type.  It should be noted Russian River strongly suggest drinking the beer fresh (doubtless to retain the hop profile), and mine had a bottle date of 12/17/10.  If only Russian River made it more available...

ABV 8.0
IBU N/A
OG 1.071
TG N/A

Cervezeria La Constancia Pilsner 100 Centenario

Fate apparently doesn't have it in the cards for me to hit my big beers this week.  I was hoping to try something a little different after the couple days of mass produced beer of varying quality, but as soon as I smelled cilantro and green chiles when I walked in the door I knew tonight was going to be a "south of the border" beer tasting.  Again dipping into the Beers of the World 10-pack, I chose Pilsner 100 Centenario (yes, this is redundant to fellow Spanish speakers) from Cervezeria La Constancia in El Salvador to be the ideal potential match.

Even more-so than most pilsner/lagers from Mexico and Central/South America, Pilsner 100 poured completely clear with a weak yellow tint and a soda-like head that sprung out of nowhere and left just as quickly.  There was very little nose to the beer... maybe a weaker, slightly sweeter and maltier Corona?  The nondescript experience didn't end at the nose.

Pilsner 100 was crisp and bright on the tongue with a suspicious lime citrus taste, all of which faded too quickly to an almost non-existent yet still cloying malt finish (which, too, faded within a second or two).

This may (finger crossed) be the shortest review I write.  There's not much to describe or recommend.   Pilsner 100 is a beer you could drink all day long and never be offended, but never be satisfied with.  Pilsner 100 did go well with the spicy green chiles and cilantro, but is a beer best enjoyed in gulps, not sips... and what's the fun in that?

ABV 4.2
IBU N/A
OG N/A
TG N/A

Samuel Adams Brewing White Ale

I was tempted to jump to a tried-and-true favorite or another more exotic beer after the let down that was yesterday's beer, but have a handful of beers I'd refer to as "those I'm least excited to try" sitting in queue and decided to give one of those a chance to succeed where the 1664 failed. 

Only familiar with their flagship Boston Lager, I've never been impressed by Samuel Adams and felt they really stretch the definition of "microbrew" to the breaking point when considered the largest microbrewery in the US.  Putting my prejudices aside, I popped open a bottle of Samuel Adams White Ale to accompany some hot wings.

Sam Adams White Ale pours like a hazy green tea with little carbonation and a sticky white head.  The cloudiness, combined with the nose of wheat, coriander, and citrus immediately gave away that it was an unfiltered wheat beer (my philosophy of doing no research before a tasting certainly leads to surprises).

The White Ale drank clean and crisp up front with hints of dry stone fruit (peaches, in particular, stuck out) and faded to a light, slightly sweet finish with the wet wheat aftertaste of a hefeweizen.  Of all the beer varietals, the hefeweizen is one of the few beers I would consider passing over for a soda on a typical day, but this beer (considering the deck was so stacked against it with this taster) wasn't bad, especially accompanying hot wings.

It tasted similar to a beer I tried years ago from Blue Moon Brewing (AKA Coors), but whereas I hated the cloying sweetness and overly accented spices of the Blue Moon this managed to be subtle enough to enhance, not overpower.  The words that kept circling in my mind as I drank it though, were "generic" and "two dimensional".  Nothing offensive, but nothing special.  Concerned my prejudice against "big micro"
was influencing this, I asked a fellow beer drinker who swung by to give it a blind taste.  His response- "Not bad... not great; got any more of that Sierra Nevada Harvest?"