Did You Get Younger?

Anytime I take a slight or in this case a lengthy hiatus from my beer blogging duties I feel like this part of the universe has passed me by. And so it has. To get up to speed I'll pick up from where I left off.

So did you get your Pliny?

Well if you live in and around Philly and didn't get your Pliny the Younger don't blame it on availability.  Seemed like every good beer establishment had it flowing at some point. Whether you had to stand in line, bought tickets, put money towards a charity, received a special tweet or happened to arrive at a place by dumb luck, the opportunity to imbibe the ultra brew was there. I stuck to two locations this go around and they couldn't have been more different experiences.


That glorious smudge is where Pliny the Younger was listed

A quick tweet (sorry can't remember from who, but a HUGE thanks) alerted me to the early evening tapping at Teresa's Next Door.  Since work is only minutes away and I had finished for the day the timing couldn't of been more dead on. The beauty of the situation was the unadvertised tapping meant that by the time I walked in the bar it was only a quarter full. Amazingly I had time for some conversation and a little food before ordering. At no point did I fear not getting my fair share. By the time I was ready to leave the room was active, but not crowded, I had two 10oz pours and the Pliny had just kicked. Perfect.

My second go around took on legendary event status. As always word went out in advance for Capone's big PtY day. Anyone who  is familiar with it knows the crowd grows every year. I swear each year will be my last but how could I put an end to a 5 plus year tradition? A wise man arrives early for this one. An hour and a half before the doors opened guaranteed a good spot in line (and a seat at the bar). A cool wet morning did nothing to deter the faithful. By the time the doors opened the line had worked its way to the rear of the building. Even with hype and humanity this is one of the better run Pliny events. Money was collected outside, each person received a ticket for a for a 5oz pour, and once inside pre-poured glasses of PtY awaited the masses. Instant crowd control. Matt Capone's organization and a damn impressive draft list kept most at peace and satisfied.





Both experiences were good and it's always interesting to see how establishments handle the chaos.  I use to think there was a perfect way to structure a day around the PtY release. Not the the case. The uniqueness of each location and the creative twists make it interesting. As long as Pliny the Younger is released only in small quantities once a year, people will continue to jump on the hype train and seek out a spot for their opportunity at tasting a sip or two of hop heaven.

More catching up to follow.......