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Pliny the Younger is the beer that made me obsessed with fresh hop character and double dry hopping before those techniques had mainstream names, Russian River releases it annually for only two weeks, and the lines stretching around the block tell you everything about what it represents as a brewing achievement. Cloning it at home is genuinely achievable, and the process of working out the hop schedule taught me more about lupulin and ester balance than any brewing book I’ve read. This recipe represents my closest approximation after four iterations.
Clone recipe: Pliny the Younger triple IPA at home, grain bill, hops, and fermentation guide
About Pliny the Younger: Pliny the Younger is Russian River Brewing Company’s annual release triple IPA, approximately 10.25% ABV, with a hop character that is simultaneously intense and refined. Unlike many high-gravity IPAs that become cloying or harsh with alcohol, Pliny the Younger is known for its drinkability despite the ABV, achieved through a very dry finish (low residual sweetness), aggressive but balanced bittering, and a specific combination of hop varieties that produce complementary rather than clashing aromas. The current recipe (as of the most recent public information from Russian River) uses Simcoe, Centennial, Chinook, and Columbus/Tomahawk hops. The grain bill is predominantly pale malt with a small percentage of Carapils/dextrin for head retention and body, and a small percentage of Crystal 40 for colour without excessive sweetness. Clone recipe (19 litre batch, adjusted for Indian sourcing): Target OG: 1.088. Target FG: 1.008–1.010. ABV: approximately 10.2%. IBU: 100+ (calculated). SRM: 6–8 (pale gold). Grain bill: Pale malt (2-row, Maris Otter, or Pilsner malt): 7.5kg. Carapils/Dextrin malt: 200g. Crystal 40L: 200g. Total grain: 7.9kg. Hops, bittering (60-minute additions): Columbus/CTZ: 28g at 60 minutes. Chinook: 14g at 60 minutes. Hops, flavour and aroma (late additions): Centennial: 14g at 20 minutes. Simcoe: 14g at 10 minutes. Centennial: 14g at 5 minutes. Simcoe: 14g at flameout (whirlpool, 10 minutes). Hops, dry hop (first addition, after primary fermentation, 3 days): Simcoe: 28g. Centennial: 21g. Hops, dry hop (second addition, 3 days before packaging): Simcoe: 21g. Columbus: 14g. Total hop load: approximately 196g. Yeast: White Labs WLP001 California Ale or Safale US-05 (clean, attenuating, minimal ester contribution). Water: sulfate-forward profile (sulfate 200–300mg/L, chloride 50–100mg/L) for hop character enhancement. Mash: single infusion at 64–65°C for 60 minutes (low mash temperature for maximum attenuation, essential for the dry finish that makes Pliny’s drinkability possible). Brew process notes: Mash temperature is critical: 64°C produces a very fermentable wort with low residual dextrins. A higher mash temperature (67°C) will produce a sweeter, thicker beer that is less authentic to the Pliny profile. Oxygen at pitching: high-gravity wort requires generous oxygenation, either pure O2 (preferred) or vigorous aeration for 2 minutes. Under-oxygenation in a 1.088 wort will produce fusel alcohol and stuck fermentation. Yeast nutrient: add Fermaid-O or Fermaid-K at pitching for the high-gravity fermentation, the nitrogen and zinc support healthy yeast metabolism at high sugar concentrations. Fermentation temperature: start at 18°C for the first 48 hours (to minimise esters while establishing fermentation), then raise to 20°C for the remainder. With US-05, keep at 18–19°C throughout for maximum cleanliness. Dry hop timing: add first dry hop addition when gravity reaches approximately 1.015 (3–5 days into fermentation). Add second dry hop addition 3 days later, after the first dry hop is complete. This double dry hopping with two different charge timing produces layered hop character. India-specific adaptation: Hop availability: Simcoe, Centennial, Columbus (CTZ), and Chinook are all imported hop varieties. Available from ArtisanBrew, BrewingMalt, and Indian homebrew importers, ₹200–₹400 per 100g. For a 196g total hop load: expect ₹4,000–₹8,000 in hop cost alone. This is the authentic approach. Indian hop substitutions (less authentic but more accessible): Cascade is widely available as a substitute for Centennial (lower alpha, different aroma profile, more floral/citrus). Galaxy (Australian, sometimes available through Indian importers) can substitute for Simcoe. The substitutions will produce a high-quality double IPA but will not replicate the specific Pliny character. Water chemistry in India: Indian municipal water generally needs sulfate addition for this beer. Add 3g gypsum (CaSO4) per 10L of mash and sparge water for a sulfate level of approximately 200mg/L. High-gravity brewing with Indian power: a 7.9kg grain bill requires a mash tun of at least 25L capacity. Plan for a 60–75 minute boil to ensure adequate evaporation (OG concentration). An electric BIAB setup (BIAB with a 30–40L pot and heating element) handles this grain bill adequately.
Common Questions
Why does my Pliny the Younger clone taste different from the original, and how do I get closer?
Tasting your clone side-by-side with the original is the most precise debugging tool available, but since Pliny the Younger is only available for two weeks in Santa Rosa, California, and only occasionally elsewhere, most homebrewers are comparing to memory or to distributed bottles (which have aged and lost fresh hop character). The most common deviations and their fixes: Too sweet or too heavy: the most common clone failure. Causes: mash temperature too high (above 66°C), insufficient attenuation, or using yeast that doesn’t attenuate fully. Pliny the Younger’s drinkability despite 10.2% ABV comes from its bone-dry finish. Fix: mash at 64°C (confirmed with calibrated thermometer), use a highly attenuating yeast (US-05 typically reaches 78–82% apparent attenuation), and ensure complete fermentation before dry hopping. Insufficient hop aroma: the most impactful variable for clone accuracy. Hop aroma fades exponentially after dry hopping, Pliny the Younger from Russian River is consumed within days of dry hopping. A homebrew clone is at peak aroma 3–7 days after the final dry hop addition, declining noticeably after 2–3 weeks. Fix: consume within 3 weeks of packaging for peak hop character. Package under CO2 (kegging preferred over bottling, oxygen at bottling degrades hop aroma compounds rapidly). Wrong hop varieties: Simcoe and Columbus together produce the resinous, piney, and dank base character of Pliny. Without these specific varieties, the clone will taste different regardless of technique. The Cascade substitution for Centennial produces a more floral, citrusy beer, not wrong, but not Pliny. Alcohol harshness: if the beer tastes “hot,” the cause is fusel alcohol from stressed fermentation. Fix: ensure adequate oxygenation at pitching (pure O2 for 60 seconds into the fermenter), pitch at a high cell count (consider a 2L stir plate starter), ferment at the lower end of the temperature range (18°C). The dry, bitter, clean American double IPA character of Pliny requires everything working together, water chemistry, mash temperature, yeast health, oxygen management, and fresh hops. One variable off-target shifts the balance significantly.
