Receipe: RUSSIAN RIVER PLINY THE ELDER

RUSSIAN RIVER PLINY THE ELDER

Considered by many to be the standard for the double IPA style, Russian River Brewing Company’s Pliny the Elder is one of the first brews in the U.S. craft-brewing world to use dextrose powder in the brewing process (it lowers the malt intensity and allows the hops to be more forward). Pliny the Elder has won numerous awards over the years.

Brewing liquor:
Russian River uses Santa Rosa, California, city water with some gypsum added.

Malt bill:
Two-row malt 86%
Crystal malt 40 °L 4%
CaraPils malt 4%
Dextrose 6%

Mashing and lautering:
Employ an infusion mash at 152–153° F (66.7–67.2° C).

Kettle boil and hopping:
Total boil time is 90 minutes. Add the first hop addition, 40% CTZ, at the beginning of the boil. Use Simcoe, 9% of the hop bill, at 45 minutes, and 11% Centennial at 30 minutes. The final hop addition, 40% of the bill, is a blend of Cascade, Simcoe, Amarillo, and Centennial added at the end of the boil.

Fermentation and aging:
Ferment at 68° F (20° C) with California Ale yeast (WLP001 or WY1056). Dry hop at a rate of 0.5 oz./gal. (1 lb./bbl., 3.9 g/L) with equal proportions of CTZ, Centennial, and Simcoe pellets. Hold for 14 days. Note that Russian River uses a double-dry-hop method where they add about 25% of the first dry-hop rate in a second dry hop to enhance the hop character. They frequently adjust the timing and amounts of the hops used in the dry hops, depending on the hop quality, so I decided not to include any more specifics on this process.

Analytical targets:
OG: 17.25 °P (1.069 SG)
TG: 2.75 °P (1.011 SG)
ADF: 84%
IBU: 92
ABV: 8%