Toronado, San Francisco's gruffest beer bar, is traditionally hush-hush when it receives its yearly dose of Pliny the Younger, the elusive triple IPA belle of the SF Beer Week ball. In a bit of top-notch trolling, the bar's website has tempted Pliny seekers and eager line waiters for weeks with the promise of the beer from Russian River Brewing Co. "sometime during Beer Week." Claiming that the beer hadn't been released from the brewery yet, no further details were offered.
Well, a source tells SFist that Toronado had the stuff on tap on Tuesday, but ran out by 3 p.m., posting a handwritten note on the door reading "No Pliny Tonight" after that. And now, Toronado has just updated their site to let us know that we should all get in line immediately, because one keg will be offered tonight and a second tomorrow (Thursday). Tonight the suds flow at 5 p.m. and tomorrow they start at 7 p.m.
Pliny the Younger is the yearly creation of Russian River's Vinnie Cilurzo, a takeoff of the brewery's Pliny the Elder, and was first released in 2005. It typically drives crowds to Russian River's brewing HQ and everywhere else it appears.
If you miss out on Pliny but still crave a crowded bar atmosphere and intense, high-octane beer, Toronado's annual Barleywine fest takes place on Saturday starting at 10 a.m.
Toronado, 547 Haight Street between Steiner and Fillmore Streets