- Slightly fruity; maybe even hot alcohol. Possibly high fermentation temp.
- Bitterness was too harsh. I'm not a huge fan of Columbus for bittering. Something smoother like Warrior or Magnum would be better.
- Not dry enough. Needed to do something to dry it out: more sugar, less crystal, lower mash temps.
- Carbonation was too high. Reduce it to 2.2-2.3.
- Too dark. Not really a problem, per se, but Pliny is very pale and mine was more dark bronze.
The recipe can be found here, if you search for "Pliny" on the page. Note that this recipe uses dry yeast, while I recommend the WLP001 liquid + starter. The recipe is also for 5 gallons. If you brew 6 gallons to account for a gallon of losses to trub and other stuff, you'll need to scale up.
This version definitely came out better, even if it still doesn't taste like Pliny. Even with my lowered mash temp, lowered Crystal amount and increased sugar, I still ended up with something pretty thick. My version is more like a typical Imperial IPA - more of a sipper. What makes Pliny different is that it is so dry and drinkable that you have chugged 2 pints of it and didn't even notice.
On the bright side, my newest brew has no off flavors or hot alcohols, and is very good regardless. It just isn't Pliny :P
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