Pliny Clone bubbling away

Since I am cursed with being on the east coast and away from all the great west coast breweries, I have not been able to find the elusive Pliny the Elder. So I went with the next best thing, brewing my own. Brewed the all-grain recipe from Brewing Classic Styles and hit all my marks right on and it is happily fermenting away. Can't wait to try it. According the recipe it finishes pretty quick and doesn't age very long.

Still debating what dry hopping technique i'm going to use.

Have you ever had the real deal or you just hoping to turn something out good? I would recommend going with Vinnie's hop suggestions in his clone recipe.

I have never had the real deal. The only thing I have found anywhere close to that hoppiness is Stone's ruination.

Just made the clone myself and it is fantastic, very close to the original, but mine came out slightly darker. Don't stress too much about the dry hopping, and I wouldn't waste my time with Vinnie's official schedule. I threw all of my dry hops in at the same time for 14 days, came out great.

I bottled mine eight days ago, and I'm dying waiting for it to be ready. I find the 1-2-3 schedule works well for me: 1 week primary, 2 weeks secondary, 3 weeks in the bottle. I also wouldn't stress about the dry hopping schedule. The AHS clone that I brewed calls for a ton of hops which I threw in for 14 days and bottled it. If you're on the West Coast I'd highly recommend seeking PtE out - best I've ever had.

Does anyone have an extract conversion of this recipe? I tried searching but was unable to find anything.

I'd like to make a big beer for my 3rd batch, but I'm not quite ready to go all grain yet.

mattlins said:

Does anyone have an extract conversion of this recipe? I tried searching but was unable to find anything.

I'd like to make a big beer for my 3rd batch, but I'm not quite ready to go all grain yet.

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Looks like Austin Homebrew has an Extract kit for Pliny: http://www.austinhomebrew.com/product_info.php?products_id=11675

I was playing around with this recipe last week.

The actual/'not calculated' BU's was 90. The calculator I used said my IBU's were over 200.

So I brewed a batch of Blonde Ale. Not nearly as sexy.

mattlins said:

Does anyone have an extract conversion of this recipe? I tried searching but was unable to find anything.

I'd like to make a big beer for my 3rd batch, but I'm not quite ready to go all grain yet.

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I went with the Pliny the Elder mini-mash from AHS. This was only my fourth batch of homebrew, and it went easily. I would recommend you go the mini-mash route rather than completely extract. I'll be popping my first bottle this weekend, and can't wait!!! :rockin:

Roudy said:

I went with the Pliny the Elder mini-mash from AHS. This was only my fourth batch of homebrew, and it went easily. I would recommend you go the mini-mash route rather than completely extract. I'll be popping my first bottle this weekend, and can't wait!!! :rockin:

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Yeah, I was hoping to buy from my LHBS with a recipe, but I've bought from AHS and was pretty happy. It just take so long to come. Plus I like to support the local guys.

PTE is kinda between Stone Ruination and Green Flash Imperial IPA. I think it's delicious, but I don't cream my pants like everybody else seems to do. In fact, I liked Russian River's Blind Pig IPA more.

I wouldn't base your opinion of the commercial beer off of the homebrewed example - I feel like I've heard Vinnie say on the BN something like, "Recently I tried a homebrewed PTE that was the closest anyone has ever brewed it," implying that it truly may not be homebrew-able. It wouldn't surprise me considered the usage of hop extracts.

Good luck though! I'm sure you'll at least produce a delicious beer!

Morebeer has the PTE actual extract recipe from Vinnie himself. You might want to check it out. The price is the only thing holding me back, but it is assured that you are getting the authentic recipe. http://morebeer.com/view_product/18436/102180/Vinnies_"Pliny_the_Elder"_Double_IPA_Extract

Roudy said:

I bottled mine eight days ago, and I'm dying waiting for it to be ready. I find the 1-2-3 schedule works well for me: 1 week primary, 2 weeks secondary, 3 weeks in the bottle. I also wouldn't stress about the dry hopping schedule. The AHS clone that I brewed calls for a ton of hops which I threw in for 14 days and bottled it. If you're on the West Coast I'd highly recommend seeking PtE out - best I've ever had.

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This was the longest three weeks of my life waiting for bottle conditioning. The initial and final gravities were a little low (1.065/1.010), but I REALLY wanted this one to succeed. Poured my first bottle last night into my new favorite glass (a Stone Brewing imperial pint). Color and clarity are nice. Odor is amazing. My best homebrew yet, and my "go-to" for the future. There are a few adjustments I'll make next time around, but I'm thrilled with the results.:rockin:

Yeah, you don't want to age/sit on these too long. I've had mine kegged for almost 2 months now and it's already loosing it's great aroma. This is a beer you should drink quickly once it's ready.

Zaban94 said:

Morebeer has the PTE actual extract recipe from Vinnie himself. You might want to check it out. The price is the only thing holding me back, but it is assured that you are getting the authentic recipe. http://morebeer.com/view_product/18436/102180/Vinnies_"Pliny_the_Elder"_Double_IPA_Extract

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I don't think the morebeer kit includes hop extract since morebeer doesn't carry hop extract (not the right kind) and the kit predates Vinnie's use of extract.

Norther Brewer does have a product (hopshot) that is substantially similar if not identical (I believe it comes from the same manufacturer) to what RR and Lagunitas use.

Well primary fermentation is complete and finished at my expected 1.013. With a OG of 1.088 that makes about 9.8% abv. Yikes. The taste was amazing. No hot alcohol flavor that i would expect from something this young and that big. I guess all those hops help mask it. It is now on a half pound of dry hops for a few days then a couple days of cold crash, then keg and carb. I can't wait!

My friends and I order the PTE clone from AHS.

As of Monday it has been in the for 3 weeks. We broke a couple open this weekend.

It is amazing. We brewed this because also being on the East Coast we cannot get the real thing.

But again this is amazing. May be the best beer I have every had. Excellent citrusy grapefruit hop flavor. 8.12% alcohol and you cannot taste the alcohol a bit.

Did I say it was amazing?

We did the mini-mash option. This was our first full volume boil as we have a only 24 quart pot and we use a second pot. We only boil close to 6 gallons. between boil off and trub loss to the dry hopping we ended up with only 30 precious bottles.

Next time we will boil much higher volume.

Zaban94 said:

Morebeer has the PTE actual extract recipe from Vinnie himself. You might want to check it out. The price is the only thing holding me back, but it is assured that you are getting the authentic recipe. http://morebeer.com/view_product/18436/102180/Vinnies_"Pliny_the_Elder"_Double_IPA_Extract

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He has given out the recipe many times at many different places. It is one of those constantly changing beers. Doubtful that what you get from MoreBeer is going to be the same as what you get from a recently brewed bottle. Either way it's a fine beer.

Had my first taste of my clone today. Oh my this is delicious. The nose on this thing is outrageous. Grapefruit and citrus like crazy. Just hops all in your face, with a kick.