Pliny the Younger fans clamor for this year’s batch of renowned beer, the last to be brewed on Russian River Brewing Co.’s original equipment

The potential for rain didn’t dampen the spirits of this year’s Pliny the Younger fans who lined up Friday — some as early as 11 a.m. Thursday — to await the 20th annual release of Russian River Brewing Co.’s legendary triple India pale ale.

By 7:30 a.m., the line at the brewery’s downtown Santa Rosa location extended to Fourth and D streets, with fans patiently staking their place in line with folding chairs, dogs, the occasional board game and plenty of garb sporting brewery logos.

Lindsey Waddell, a longtime Younger fan from Santa Rosa, claimed the first place in line for the eighth year in a row. With a guitar in hand and 20th anniversary Pliny cap on his head, he smiled for cameras while chatting casually with the press.

As a homebrewer since the 1980s, Waddell said he is curious how this year’s batch of Pliny will taste.

“Vince (Cilurzo) is always on a journey, so I expect this release will taste a little different,” Waddell said of the brewery’s co-owner and brewmaster. “He’s always looking at how he can do things better.

“The flavor has really evolved.”

What is Pliny the Younger?

Introduced by Russian River Brewing Co. in 2005, Pliny the Younger is the first commercial triple IPA, with three times more hops and higher alcohol than its single or double IPA cousins.

Making Pliny the Younger is an expensive, time-intensive endeavor that involves copious amounts of malt, hops, tank space and labor. So despite the beer’s celebrity status, it’s produced in limited quantities and available for just two weeks per year.

For this year’s release, Russian River’s brewery team spent about three weeks mashing, fermenting and dry-hopping the 470 barrel batch, with each barrel containing 230 bottles or 397 10-ounce pours of the tasty triple.

While the beer’s base recipe stays the same each year, the hop profile varies depending on the prior year’s hop crop. This year, a whopping 7 pounds of hops were added to each barrel of beer, which was triple dry-hopped with Simcoe, Amarillo, Citra, Mosaic, Elixir, Warrior and Nectaron — a citrusy hop from New Zealand.

Clocking in at 10.25% alcohol, it’s a big — yet remarkably balanced — beer, with heady, hoppy aromatics that envelop the arrestingly fresh, bitter finish.

“The beer itself is loaded with citrus, orange, stone fruit, nectarine, mango and strong pine/resinous aromatics,” Vince Cilurzo said. “We added a bit more Nectaron this year, which is definitely noticeable with the orange/citrus/candied fruit. It’s also slightly more bitter than 2023, which contributes a harmonic balance between aroma, flavor and mouthful.”

Back in line

Just after 8 a.m. Friday, the Pliny line in Santa Rosa began to wrap around D Street. Many people tried to stay warm with hot beverages in hand.

Santa Rosa residents Claire Sylvia and Dajia Lindsey have made it a tradition to head downtown for Pliny the Younger’s release day.

“It’s the ‘OG’ one,” Lindsey said.

The pair looked forward to taking home three bottles of the Triple IPA this year rather than the typical two.

That also got Vancouver, Washington, resident Brian Russell and Fresno resident Kirk Miyake more excited for the doors of the brewery to open.

Miyake was in the area for work so he hopped in line Friday morning. But Russell, who works in Santa Clara, rented a car to make the drive up to the North Bay. He said he always looks forward to the annual release — and to meet new people waiting in line with him.

“I like shooting the breeze with beer nerds,” Russell said.

At 10:30 a.m., the brewery doors finally burst open. As Waddell and his friends entered the bar, the staff cheered and cameras flashed while contagious grins filled the room.

The room was filled to the brim in the blink of an eye. Beer fans mixed with babies, undercover dogs and saintly designated drivers.

Natalie Cilurzo, Russian River Brewing Co.’s co-owner, marveled at the crowd.

“It’s remarkable that people are still willing to stand in line for our beers after 20 years,” she said. “Everyone is just so happy to be here. It’s pretty special and something we don’t take lightly.”

‘End of an era’

In late April, Russian River Brewing Co. plans to replace the aging brewing equipment at their Santa Rosa location.

“This is the final batch of Pliny the Younger to be brewed on our original equipment,” Natalie Cilurzo said. “It’s the end of an era, but we’re excited to see how our Santa Rosa beers improve with our new 20-barrel brewhouse.”

Rachel Ingram, general manager of the brewery’s Santa Rosa location, said she’s excited to see the brewery grow and evolve, and is eager to share the breadth of what they offer.

“Pliny is a great excuse for people to see everything we produce” said Ingram. “But the end of the day, it may seem like you’re drinking beer, but there is so much more behind it that’s lifting people up in our community.

“That’s why I love working here.”

You can reach Staff Writer Sarah Doyle at 707-521-5478 or sarah.doyle@pressdemocrat.com. Follow Sarah on Instagram at @whiskymuse.