Pliny the philanthropic

Feb. 14, 2019 11:46 AM PT

Every February, IPA fans line up outside local bars, eager to pay big bucks for a small pour of Russian River’s rare Pliny the Younger.

Every February, Tom Nickel offers a philanthropic alternative — pay $25 for a 10-ounce sample, knowing that the entire fee will be donated to charity. This year, the cause is Julian’s Inner North Star PTSD Retreat Center, which assists veterans and first responders.

Tickets are on sale at O’Brien’s Pub, 4646 Convoy St. Plunk down your money, then return to O’Brien’s on Feb. 23, between 5 and 8 p.m., for a triple IPA that’s doubly special.

Peter Rowe

Peter is a freelance writer who writes about beer in his bimonthly column Brewery Rowe for the San Diego Union-Tribune. He worked as a reporter and columnist for the San Diego Union-Tribune from 1984 to 2020. A native Californian who grew up in Encinitas, Rowe is a graduate of UC Berkeley and Northwestern University. He is past president of the National Society of Newspaper Columnists and a former Fulbright scholar. He has won a few journalism awards, but would trade them all for a chance to avenge his 1994 “Jeopardy!” loss. Married to a terrific woman who has saved him from errors in writing and in life, he has three sons.