Pliny Clone - how long will it be at it's prime?

[AnchorBock]

I brewed up a Pliny clone on September 1st - here's the recipe and specs (from the Zymurgy article but with my system):

OG 1.072
FG 1.009

6489 g Pale Malt (2 Row) US (2.0 SRM) Grain 6 87.0 %
298 g Cara-Pils/Dextrine (2.0 SRM) Grain 7 4.0 %
298 g Caramel/Crystal Malt - 45L (45.0 SRM) Grain 8 4.0 %
373 g Corn Sugar (Dextrose) (0.0 SRM) Sugar 9 5.0 %
100.08 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [13.90 %] - Boil 90. Hop 10 192.2 IBUs
21.45 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [13.90 %] - Boil 45. Hop 11 36.9 IBUs
28.59 g Simcoe [12.30 %] - Boil 30.0 min Hop 12 24.8 IBUs
0.50 Items Whirlfloc Tablet (Boil 5.0 mins) Fining 13 -
71.00 g Simcoe [12.30 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 14 0.0 IBUs
28.40 g Centennial [8.00 %] - Boil 0.0 min Hop 15 0.0 IBUs
1.0 pkg Repitched California Ale (White Labs #WLP001) [35. Yeast 16 -
28.40 g Centennial [9.10 %] - Dry Hop 13.0 Days Hop 17 0.0 IBUs
28.40 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [13.90 %] - Dry Hop Hop 18 0.0 IBUs
28.40 g Simcoe [12.30 %] - Dry Hop 13.0 Days Hop 19 0.0 IBUs
12.50 g Simcoe [12.30 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 20 0.0 IBUs
7.80 g Columbus (Tomahawk) [13.90 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 21 0.0 IBUs
7.10 g Centennial [9.10 %] - Dry Hop 5.0 Days Hop 22 0.0 IBUs

I pitched healthy yeast, oxygenated, fermented at the right temp, etc.

I added dose 1 of dry hops in secondary on 9/8 and added the second dose on 9/16. Cold crashed 9/18 and kegged 9/21. I started drinking it on 9/28 and it was good, but needed a bit more cold conditioning time. 10/6 it started tasting fantastic. Compared to a commercial bottle of Pliny (which was bottled in early Sept) and they are very close. Clearly the homebrew was fresher though.

I'm trying to figure out how quickly I need to consume this and if I'll need to give some away. I have it in a competition later in October and was thinking of sending it off to a couple more, but they wouldn't be judged until Mid November, would it even be worth the cost of entry/shipping when it's going to be 2.5 months old? I did have a smaller IIPA do very well in a large competition at 3 months old, but the hop load wasn't as big as this so I'm not sure how much of a factor that plays.

Thanks

 

[HomebrewMTB]

It clearly states on the label of the Russian River bottle to drink it right away.

"Pliney is for savoring, not for saving. Consume Pliney fresh or not at all!"

http://beerlabels.com/labels/labels.pl/4997/pliny-the-elder.html

 

[AnchorBock]

It clearly states on the label of the Russian River bottle to drink it right away.

"Pliney is for savoring, not for saving. Consume Pliney fresh or not at all!"

http://beerlabels.com/labels/labels.pl/4997/pliny-the-elder.html

Im aware if that and am looking for anyone with first hand experience of how fast the clone or similar IIPAs will deteriorate. I should add the keg is about 35F.

 

[bobbrews]

If you don't drink it all by hour 18 then you should toss it down the drain because it will be pointless.

On a more serious note, I wouldn't worry about this too much. Drink it within 3-4 weeks for best flavor/aroma. Though I would still drink a homebrewed IIPA like this at 2 months. Fresh Pliny starts to change drastically for the worse around 4 weeks. It's still tasty at 3 weeks though.

 

[JonW]

I brewed this a couple of times already and I usually stretch it out to about 2 months. It loses a lot of the hop aroma by then, but the flavor is still great.

 

[AnchorBock]

Good to know - thanks all.

 

[grathan]

I have some that is over 2 years in the bottle. Hops aren't quite the same, perhaps a little grassy, but I enjoy it even more now then then.

 

[barrooze]

A buddy brewed the Pliny clone and didn't drink it right away. I had a bottle 3-4 months after he brewed it and it was more like a Pliny Pale Ale instead of the usual DIPA. Still good but definitely nothing like a fresh batch.

 

[AnchorBock]

In case someone finds this thread through a search - I found the beer to be fantastic until about week 8 when the aroma started to fade. By week 9 the aroma was pretty stale.