Feb. 2.
Groundhog’s Day. Beer
Adventure: Russian River’s Pliny the Younger. OK, so I had gone last year on
the first day and experienced the release in the best way. We were first in
line, had our pick of tables, and chatted with Vinnie, the owner and brewer.
This was much less glamorous, though in some ways more labor intensive. My
buddy Jordan and I arrived about 4:30 and proceeded to wait. The line was down
around the end of the block from the brewery and at first seemed to be moving.
However, this was just a trick. All in all we waited nearly five hours to get
in. Then we had to put our name in for a table. Still, it was a good experience
to see how the less fortunate live, having been one of the privileged. And the
beer was exceptional. This year’s release is more clearly a relative of Pliny
the Elder. The version last year was more citrus and this year’s more floral.
It felt more like a high powered version of the Elder. So, Jordan, Terrill,
Jeff, and I all persevered (though Terrill and Jeff arrived after nearly 3
hours of waiting for Jordan and me). Once in, we had to get to the bar, which
was packed in tight. We carved out a space for ourselves next to the stage, and
ignored the “don’t sit on the stage” signs. Fortunately the wait staff was too
busy to care about people violating the signs. After about 30 min. we got a
table and finished our second beers and had a pizza. The waitress informed us
that the Younger was out for the night. And there were still some people
outside. Suckers.
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