Russian River growlers Flickr shot by --Mark--

Every year beer geeks go insane for Russian River’s Pliny the Younger Triple IPA. So much so that labyrinthine lines form around the blocks of the very few bars that are lucky enough to get a hold of the allotted five gallons of the beer.

Yes, Pliny the Younger is only available for purchase at a very few bars because as the brewery’s site says “it is extremely difficult, time and space consuming, and very expensive to make.” Even mothership Russian River brewpub in Santa Rosa doesn’t allow growlers or bottles, rather you are welcome to a 10-ounce glass of the 10.5% ABV beer. And as if its rarity isn’t enough to fuel the fervor, currently Pliny the Younger, not to be confused with Russian River’s more readily available Pliny the Elder Double IPA? Ranks No. 1 out of 100 on Beer Advocate’s list of top beers. Settle down, settle down.

So where can you, a SoCal beer lover, get a hold of this NorCal ambrosia? Russian River Brewery has announced that Pliny will be released this Friday, February 3; and local beer bars Beachwood BBQ (Seal Beach) and Library Alehouse (Santa Monica) will indeed carry it! However the bars will be controlling the chaos by selling $5 raffle tickets for a chance to win/purchase a pint. So you don’t have to stand in line for the beer or suffer Walmart-on-Black-Friday-type crowds, PLUS 100% of the proceeds from the raffle ticket sales will go to the Melanoma Research Foundation, in memory of Beachwood BBQ’s friend Tony Carbone who died of melanoma in 2008.

Beachwood BBQ, both Seal Beach and Long Beach locations, has been selling tickets, to raffle off its 130 pints, since January 17 and will continue to do so til February 18. While Santa Monica’s Library Alehouse will start selling its tickets for a chance at purchasing one of 50 glasses of Pliny for 25 cents, on February 3rd. There’s no limit to how many raffle tickets you can buy but it is cash only.

Winners will then be drawn on February 20 and contacted via email and then have 10 days to fetch their pints. Mmm, can you taste it already?

By the way, other bars that will be carrying Pliny the Younger: Lucky Baldwin’s, Verdugo Bar and The Surly Goat!

Beachwood BBQ
131 1/2 Main Street
Seal Beach, California 90470 (map)
(562) 493-4500

210 E. 3rd Street
Long Beach, California 90802 (map)
(562) 436-4020
Facebook: Beachwood BBQ; Twitter: @BeachwoodBBQ

Library Alehouse
2911 Main Street
Santa Monica, California 90405 (map)
(310) 314-4855
Facebook: Library Alehouse; Twitter: @LibraryAlehouse