Pliny The Elder Recipe

[Malted Mick]

Did the search and found old posts related to PTE recipes, but was unable to reply due to insuficent privledges. Hence the new post. I have upgraded from my BIAB system to a Robobrew 35L and intend to try a PTE clone as a test run. l know it is an out there beer but my son in law is here at the moment and he is keen to see how a brew is put down and it was his suggestion to try a PTE. I have Beersmith and downloaded about 15 clone recipes from the cloud. Also the link below was a big help. I have never brewed a high ABV beer before, and the hop IBU of 150 to 200 plus is interesting to say the least. My questions are is it a overated beer or worth a go and does anyone have a tried and proven clone version I can try.

 

[MHB]

A mate of mine was besotted (ok couldn't find a better term) with Pliny, he used the recipe from BYO, with a few very minor personal tweaks. Go with UK Pale Ale if you can, Golden Promise would be another very good option.
One batch he used California Lager yeast and brewed it like you would a California Common, came out like paint thinners. Best was American Ale 2 or the North West Ale. Big pitch brew cool!
It was a bit raw young but matured very well, good for short sessions and early nights.
Mark

Edit
texted him, mate was still awake
Double normal yeast and a well aerated wort, if you haven't got O2, try triple the yeast.
M

 

[Malted Mick]

Thanks for the advice Mark. The grain bill will be Marris Otter, Gladfield Light Crystal & Gladiator. Medium body mash around 66 C. The BYO recipe is similar to the others I have reviewed. Chinook, Centenial, Columbus & Simcoe are the hops to use it appears. Going for SAF-05 yeast. It is interesting that PTE gets such a besotted almost cult like following. It has of course won numerous awards over the years to give it credibility. I suspect the high IBU and large amount of dry hops used would make it a love it/hate it situation with most drinkers.

 

[MHB]

I would probably not bother using Marris, its expensive and tastes great in UK Bitters and above, I just think it would be hidden (wasted) in a beer this hoppy. Save it for somewhere the malt really shines, unless you have heaps natch.
Mark

 

[fdsaasdf]

Pliny the elder (and younger) are remarkable beers, but a lot of their allure is due to their story and cult followings. I think they are fantastic, but in the years since I had them the number of 5 star IPAs available has increased a hundredfold. So while Pliny is a classic NW IIPA, like Heady Topper is the classic NEIPA, I wouldn't put them many classes above a fresh Hop Nation, Fixation or Black Hops II/IIIPA these days.

On to the recipe - I too used the BYO recipe, but with WLP090 and scored a medal at state champs with it. One of the best beers I made in my first year of AG. Personally I would avoid MO as it has a distinctive character and you do not want to detract from the enormity of the hops with that sweetness or breadiness. As MHB suggests you want a clean ferment so you will need healthy yeast - I no-chilled so plenty of oxygenation without adding O2.

 

[MHB]

Best beer I have had from the US would have to be Green Flashes Pallet Wrecker, I suspect a fair wack of Pliny in its ancestry, as you say Pliny is a great beer but there are plenty these days, but the pallet wrecker was an OMG beer for me.
Mark

 

[fdsaasdf]

Best beer I have had from the US would have to be Green Flashes Pallet Wrecker, I suspect a fair wack of Pliny in its ancestry, as you say Pliny is a great beer but there are plenty these days, but the pallet wrecker was an OMG beer for me.
Mark

Palate Wrecker is a great beer. Green Flash Hop Head Red was the first beer I bought in the US and the palate awakening I had was the start of a very slippery slope to find every GF beer on tap and in the fridge. I was lucky enough to go back to San Diego a few years later and discovered the great PW. Having not tried them side by side I think I preferred Pliny, just because it's still dangerously sessionable despite the intense hoppiness.

 

[mje1980]

Best beer I have had from the US would have to be Green Flashes Pallet Wrecker, I suspect a fair wack of Pliny in its ancestry, as you say Pliny is a great beer but there are plenty these days, but the pallet wrecker was an OMG beer for me.
Mark

I had a few Green flash beers a few years ago. Expensive as hell but bloody good. West coast IPA stripped my tongue but in the nicest way possible haha

 

[Nullnvoid]

Right or wrong, here is my Pliny Recipe. Going to be brewed soon! I believe it came from Brewing Classic Styles

70% efficiency
Batch Volume: 50 L (Kettle)
Fermenter Volume: 43 L
Boil Time: 90 min
Mash Water: 55.27 L
Sparge Water: 19.13 L / 65 L HLT water
Total Water: 120.27 L
Boil Volume: 57.5 L
Pre-Boil Gravity: 1.074
Vitals
Original Gravity: 1.085
Final Gravity (Fixed): 1.022
IBU (Tinseth): 204
Colour: 22.5 EBC


Mash

Temperature — 66 °C — 60 min
Mash Out — 78 °C — 10 min
Malts (18.62 kg)
18 kg (96.7%) — Joe White Maltings Pale Malt, Traditional Ale — Grain — 5.9 EBC
620 g (3.3%) — Simpsons Crystal Medium — Grain — 179 EBC
Hops (828.1 g)
234.7 g (149 IBU) — Columbus (Tomahawk) 14% — Boil — 90 min
49.6 g (27 IBU) — Columbus (Tomahawk) 14% — Boil — 45 min
66 g (28 IBU) — Simcoe 13% — Boil — 30 min
171.4 g — Simcoe 13% — Boil — 0 min
66.4 g — Centennial 10% — Boil — 0 min
80 g — Centennial 10% — Dry Hop — 5 days
80 g — Columbus (Tomahawk) 14% — Dry Hop — 5 days
80 g — Simcoe 13% — Dry Hop — 5 days
Yeast
3 pkg — Fermentis US-05 Safale American 81%

 

[fdsaasdf]

Right or wrong, here is my Pliny Recipe. Going to be brewed soon! I believe it came from Brewing Classic Styles
...
Vitals
Original Gravity: 1.085
Final Gravity (Fixed): 1.022
IBU (Tinseth): 204
Colour: 22.5 EBC
...
Malts (18.62 kg)
18 kg (96.7%) — Joe White Maltings Pale Malt, Traditional Ale — Grain — 5.9 EBC
620 g (3.3%) — Simpsons Crystal Medium — Grain — 179 EBC

Your hops look right but I think you're going to to have a much sweeter beer than Pliny with that malt bill and high FG. Dextrose and carapils would help dry it out.

 

[GeorgeKara]

I've been thinking of brewing this beer for a while. In fact it may be the next one I do. I've never tasted it but it has good reviews.
I just had a look at the Russian River Brewing site and it states :
Pliny The Elder is brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops.
The recipe on BYO and BF has warrior, chinook, columbus simcoe and Centennial.
No doubt both would be tasty beers but I am wondering how close to the original recipe the taste will be with such a different list of hops?

 

[Malted Mick]

I've been thinking of brewing this beer for a while. In fact it may be the next one I do. I've never tasted it but it has good reviews.
I just had a look at the Russian River Brewing site and it states :
Pliny The Elder is brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, and Simcoe hops.
The recipe on BYO and BF has warrior, chinook, columbus simcoe and Centennial.
No doubt both would be tasty beers but I am wondering how close to the original recipe the taste will be with such a different list of hops?

The link below gives details of the history of PTE recipes. The C hops feature, CTZ, Columbus & Centennial. Simcoe and Amarillo also get a mention.
https://shop.theelectricbrewery.com/pages/russian-river-pliny-the-elder-double-ipaRevised recipe for a 20 L batch after Marks advice is:
5 kg Pale Ale
.5 kg Gladiator
.5 kg lt Crystal
.5 kg Dex
Pellet Hops: Chinook, Centenial, Columbus & Simcoe at various stages including whirlpool and dry.
Additional 100gms of Cryo Amarillo just because it was on special at my LHBS.