Pliny The Elder — The World’s Most Sought After Double IPA — Is Now Available Through The Mail

Long before the haze craze or the advent of now-commonplace acronyms like NEIPA and DIPA, there was Pliny the Elder—the grandaddy of them all. Brainchild of brewmaster Vinnie Cilurzo, the 8% ABV hop-bomb debuted around the turn of the 21st Century. And it catapulted the standing of his nascent Northern Californian brewpub into a mecca for craft beer fans everywhere.

Now, for the first time, Russian River Brewing Company has announced a canned variation of the cult classic—available through the mail. The direct-to-consumer offer is exclusive to California residents. For $160 you’ll get two dozen 16oz. cans of the specially packaged ‘Pliny for President’ delivered directly to your door. The price is inclusive of all shipping, handling, and taxes.

“Pliny for President is a double dry-hopped version of our flagship Pliny the Elder double IPA, including one or two new hop varieties,” as described by the announcement on the RRBC website.

This isn’t the first politically-themed Pliny to hit the campaign trail. Since 2004, the brewery has unveiled four separate versions—each in presidential election years. But this is the first canned edition. And it’s the first time they’ve ever made any of their offerings available through the mail.

Of course, since the announcement was officially made on Facebook all of 2 hours ago, the brewery has already fully sold out of its first shipment. But don’t dismay. There is plenty more Pliny in the fermenters. “Based on this overwhelmingly positive response, we are turning next week’s Pliny For President brew into a double batch,” according to the brewery’s most recent social post.

In the meantime, cans will be available for curbside pickup at both their Santa Rosa and Windsor locations in Sonoma County—beginning on Tuesday, May 26th. Looks like the holiday weekend is getting a much-appreciated extension this year. Vote early. And often. And sip just the same: with any heavily-hopped ale, the closer it is the date of bottling, the better it will taste. As the original DIPA cheekily admonishes on its label, “Pliny the Elder is a historical figure, don’t make the beer inside this bottle one!”