Russian River Brewing Co.’s Pliny the Younger beer release set for Friday after omicron delay

Beer fans from across the nation and beyond will be back in Sonoma County on Friday for the kickoff of the Pliny the Younger beer release from Russian River Brewing Co.

This time, following a one-year pandemic hiatus, they’ll be lining up under sunny spring skies after a decision by the brewery to postpone the release from February due to local public health orders.

The event over the past 18 years has attracted as many as 25,000 people annually over its two-week span to the Russian River Co. brewpubs in downtown Santa Rosa and Windsor. It was canceled in 2021 as a result of the pandemic, and the brewery had a limited online sale last year for customers.

This year it was delayed seven weeks because of the omicron surge.

“We always say there are two things we can’t control, the weather and the crowds that may show up,” said Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner of Russian River Brewing Co. along with her husband, Vinnie, who also serves as its brewmaster.

The new date is expected to attract even larger crowds in much milder weather to taste Pliny the Younger, a triple India pale ale (IPA) considered one of the best beers in the world. At a 10.25% alcohol content per serving, it packs a punch. One 10-ounce pour will cost $6.25.

Even without the Pliny event in February, local breweries reported large crowds drawn by sunny weekend weather and other nearby beer events associated with San Francisco Beer Week. Wineries also are reporting an uptick in visitors as well.

“The folks are coming back on the weekends. Our tasting room patio is full,” said John Balletto, founder and owner of Balletto Vineyards in Santa Rosa.

The Flamingo Resort has had 51 room nights that have been booked by visitors for Pliny the Younger, Michael Palmer, general leader for the downtown Santa Rosa hotel, said in an email.

“It is safe to say with the release of Pliny the Younger that both breweries in Santa Rosa and Windsor will be extremely busy over these dates,” Palmer added.

The event also provides a boost to the local economy. In 2020, Pliny customers brought in a record $5.1 million of economic activity into the area through purchases of hotel rooms and visits to other breweries and restaurants, according to the Sonoma County Economic Development Board. In 2019, the local tourism industry accounted for $2.2 billion in total visitor spending, according to one study by Dean Runyan Associates, a Portland, Oregon, research firm.

The only change from past years will be that customers will now have a two-and-a-half-hour limit on table service as opposed to the three hours in previous years, Cilurzo said.

“The reason is that we want to have a little more time to clean the table before the next guests get there. We also want to keep the line moving,” she said.

Typically, Vinnie Cilurzo tweaks the formula each year that brings out subtle nuances of Pliny the Younger while remaining true to the beer’s overall balanced hoppy mouthfeel. The 2022 edition is based on last year’s formula that includes a mix of various hops, among them a French one called Elixir, which added some berry notes to the beer. Customers also will be able to purchase up to two bottles of Pliny the Younger priced at $12 each.

“We didn’t have the release in person (last year) and the beer was so good, so we thought why mess with that,” she said of the recipe.

Total production for the in-person release is about 320 beer barrels, which equals 9,920 gallons, which will be split between draft and bottles for both brewpubs.

Per custom, the brewery will have other special beers on sale, including a hoppy strong golden ale, based on a recipe from the Pravda Brewery in Lviv, Ukraine, and a new version of Defenestration, an IPA fermented with a saison yeast. Both will be on sale April 1 at $8 a can and all proceeds will go to relief efforts in Ukraine.

The brewery is also releasing a four-pack of beers based on recipes from the late 1990s when Russian River was located out of Korbel Champagne Cellars in Guerneville. The package consists of a pale ale, a golden ale, an IPA and a porter and is priced at $17.

You can reach Staff Writer Bill Swindell at 707-521-5223 or bill.swindell@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @BillSwindell.