Earlier this month (on Friday, February 7th to be exact), Russian River Brewing Company released their annual batch of Pliny the Younger. As always, lines of craft beer heads formed outside of every bar where the beer was being poured.
People take off work. People travel. They do whatever they can to get their hands on some Pliny. And when they do, they tweet, text, and post all over the interwebs about it. So in a matter of hours, sometimes minutes, the precious, triple IPA is gone.
But what about the people who can’t make it to the bar at noon to get their hands on a glass?
Well, one Portland bar, The Beer Mongers, found a way to look out for those people, and protect themselves from what many call “Pliny Mania.” The Beer Mongers had a sixth-barrel of the highly coveted brew, tapped it at 3pm, and displayed it on their draft board as “Miller High Life,” priced at $7 for a 12-ounce glass.
If you paid enough attention to the board, and wondered why the Champagne of Beers was so steeply priced, you were awarded a glass of Pliny, so long as you put your smartphone away. The bartenders made their Pliny Proclamation: In order to enjoy a glass of the good stuff, there was to be no “Yelping, Tweeting, selfie-ing, Facebooking, Instagramming, posting, and/or whatever else it is you kids do these days.”
The keg lasted until 5:50pm. Attentive regulars were rewarded with a glass after work - no lines, no crowds, no social media to spoil the secret.
How awesome is that? Kudos to The Beer Mongers. Not only did you service the people who deserve it the most, but you got your bar some serious press!
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