Pliny the Younger ends its two-week run at Russian River Brewing with 40,000 bottles sold

The two-week release of Russian River Brewing’s Pliny the Younger craft beer that officially ended Thursday night drew consumers from around the globe, some of whom waited in line for up to 10 hours to get into the Windsor or Santa Rosa taprooms.

It was the first year Russian River sold the coveted triple India pale ale in bottles, although beer fans were limited to buying two of them during each visit.

Natalie Cilurzo, co-owner of the brewery, said all 40,000 Pliny bottles available were sold for $10 apiece. That added $400,000 in extra revenue to the expected overall record sales of Pliny, which sold on tap for $6 a pour. Also, the super hoppy triple IPA draft beer was sold in other select taprooms in Sonoma County; the Bay Area; other parts of California; Bend, Oregon; Denver and Boulder, Colorado; and Philadelphia.

About 23,500 customers came to Russian River’s taprooms for Pliny during the 14-day special release. Many customers left with bottles of the potent beer, as well as various clothing and other collectibles made for the 16th annual event.

“The wait times were some that we haven’t seen as long. We had lines from eight to 10 hours in the first weekend,” Cilurzo said. “It was like Nordstrom’s during Christmas.”

Although the revenue total hasn’t yet been tallied, she said roughly 54% of the Pliny visitors came to Windsor, while the others went to the Santa Rosa taproom.

Eventually, the Sonoma County Economic Development Board will total what Pliny tourists spent on area lodging, meals and travel expenses. Last year, the development board said the beer release made a $4.2 million contribution to the local economy.

The large crowds of thirsty Pliny fans provided welcome relief to county tourism officials who fretted whether visitors would come in significant numbers this year after the Kincade fire in late October. However, it appears the triple IPA helped lift local hotel occupancy.

The first week of February Sonoma County’s hotel occupancy was up 10.2% and revenue up 9% from the same week in 2019. During the first full week of Pliny from Feb. 9 to Feb. 15, hotel occupancy here increased 5.3% and revenue advanced 7% compared with last year, said Claudia Vecchio, president of Sonoma County Tourism.

Vecchio called Russian River’s move to bottle the popular craft beer “brilliant marketing.”

Despite overwhelming success of bottle sales, Cilurzo said she and her husband, Vinnie, the brewmaster and co-owner, have not yet made a decision to bottle Pliny the Younger in 2021. But they are leaning toward doing it again.

The Cilurzos appreciated all the fans who waited in line to buy bottles, but were upset by the few who attempted to resell the beer for much higher prices on online forums. For example, on Craigslist on Friday, Pliny the Younger bottles were selling for up to $120 a bottle.

“It was heartbreaking to see a few people out there to make a buck,” she said.

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