Pliny the Younger will make his 14th Annual return to Russian River Brewing Company February 2nd through February 15th, 2018! It will be available on draft each day at our brewpub until we run out of that day’s allocation, which rarely happens. Younger is neither bottled nor available in growlers so more people will have the opportunity to enjoy it right from the source, or at a handful of select draft accounts. Following is some helpful information to make this year’s Younger Release fun and safe for everyone!
THE BEER:
Pliny the Younger is considered a "triple" IPA, simply meaning that it is higher in alcohol and has tons of hops. The alcohol should finish at about 10.25%, although it is remarkably dry for the amount of malt used in the recipe. It is loaded with hop flavors, bitterness, and aromatics. The hops used in this year’s recipe are of excellent quality: Simcoe, Warrior, Chinook, Centennial, Amarillo, CTZ, Comet and Azacca. We brewed Younger for the first time in 2005 as a winter seasonal, building upon the Pliny the Elder recipe while pushing the envelope with malt, hops, and alcohol just to see how far we could go! It is always brewed only once a year and released the first Friday in February, rain or shine.
THE MAN:
Pliny the Younger was the nephew and adopted son of Pliny the Elder. He was a lawyer and an author in Ancient Rome and witnessed the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD, which took the life of his uncle. Pliny the Younger lived from 61 AD to 112 AD He wrote many letters which survive today and have great historical value. We thought it appropriate to also pay tribute to Pliny the Elder’s nephew by naming this special beer after him!
WHAT TO EXPECT IF YOU COME TO OUR PUB:
We have made some positive changes which reduced wait times and kept the line moving, albeit slowly, but better than years past! There is now a 3 hour/3 Younger maximum to ensure that our guests will get in sooner. This new policy has cut wait times by up to 4 hours on the first weekend! But still plan on waiting especially if you are coming on a weekend, sometimes up to 8 hours. And if it rains, as it generally does in February, we will be forced to close our outdoor patio reducing our available seating. There are 2 things we simply cannot control: the weather, and how many people will show up to our pub in February. Our pub's capacity is 135 people (at least that's what the sign on the wall says!).
Younger is served in a 10oz. glass with a maximum of 3 per person. We are bound by law to promote the responsible consumption of alcohol and may NOT serve anyone who is obviously intoxicated. This beer is only available for on-premise consumption. In addition to Pliny the Younger, we will have about 20 other excellent beers on tap for your enjoyment, many of which ARE available in growlers or bottles to go!
THE LINE:
Every year the majority of our issues come from the very long line of people waiting to get in to our pub for 2 solid weeks. In an effort to remain neighborly and responsible business owners, we kindly ask you to respect one another and our neighbors by complying with the following courtesies and code of conduct:
- Open container laws are alive and well in Santa Rosa. There is no drinking in line, period.
- The City of Santa Rosa has a No Smoking Ordinance, stating there is no smoking ANYTHING within 20 feet of business entrances or where people gather. Therefore, NO SMOKING in line.
- Our neighboring businesses are often upset with the line blocking their entrances or the parking lot driveways. Please do not camp out in business doorways and be courteous when customers are trying to get by. Please remember our Downtown neighbors are putting up with an unrelenting line of people for 2 solid weeks! If you are asked to move because you are blocking an entrance, please just MOVE!
- Hey man, no cuts! Does that sound like something you heard in grade school? Same rule still applies. Show up with your whole party, then take turns getting coffee, food, haircuts, shopping, or whatever. We have many great businesses in Downtown Santa Rosa that would love your support and can help make the time waiting a little more enjoyable!
- Please leave your easy-ups, tents, and other structures at home. We have had many problems with these blowing around, crashing into windows, and blocking business entrances, and left behind. Chairs, umbrellas, rain gear, warm clothes, hot coffee, and a really good book (or 2) are strongly encouraged!
- Bottle sharing is not allowed in line or in our pub. Our brewpub has about 20 excellent beers on tap, most of which you can get nowhere else!
PARKING:
The City of Santa Rosa has implemented NEW parking rules effective January 1, 2018. Hours of operation for paid parking are now 10AM to 8PM. The price went up in our lot from $1 to $1.50/hour, with an ENFORCED maximum of 3 hours. The garage behind us went down in price with no time limit. Street parking as well as the lots are still FREE on Sundays. Your best bet is to park in the garage, or better yet, have someone else drive you.
There are plenty of taxis, Uber and Lyft drivers around town. If you want to learn more about the city’s new parking rules, visit their website at https://www.srcity.org/2591/Downtown-Parking. We don’t want your visit to our brewpub to be spoiled by an annoying parking ticket!
LODGING:
Local hotels are extending Special Younger Rates to our guests during the 2 weeks we have Pliny the Younger on tap!
The Flamingo Hotel in Santa Rosa
Superior King or Double/Double
Executive King
Pool View Suite
February 1-8 & 11-15
$129
$159
$199
February 9 & 10
$199
$229
$269
Please reference “Russian River Brewing Company – Pliny the Younger” when making reservations. To make reservations please click here to book online, call 800-848-8300, 707-545-8530, or email at: Groupres@flamingoresort.com
The Sandman, Santa Rosa
Please follow this link to make reservations. The access code to book online is G-Pliny2018. You can also call 707-293-2100 and ask for “Russian River Brewing Company” rate. These rates will be available up until 2/1.
The Hampton Inn in Windsor
Please follow this link to make reservations. You can also call 1-800-HAMPTON, or the hotel directly at 707-837-9355.
Courtyard by Mariott Santa Rosa
The Oxford Suites Sonoma County
The Oxford Suites Sonoma County Rohnert Park offers a selection of 163 well-appointed, non-smoking suites. Each space is intimately designed to capture the essence of Sonoma County. We offer an extensive amenity package that includes a full hot breakfast buffet, evening reception with two complimentary drinks and light appetizers, heated pool and Jacuzzi, fitness center with steam room and sauna, high speed Wi-fi, parking, and shuttle service to and from Sonoma County Airport and Graton Casino.
We are offering 15% off all room types. Reservations can be made by utilizing the promo code PLINY at www.oxfordsuitessonoma.com or by calling the hotel directly at 707-584-0333 and referencing Russian River Brewery to obtain the discount.
Calderwood Inn and Grape Leaf Inn
Calderwood Inn and Grape Leaf Inn offer a 13% discount off standard rates toward your stay.
Use the links below and input the code PLINY into the field marked “Optional Discount or Gift Code” when confirming your booking.
Calderwood Inn - https://v2.reservationkey.com/865/CWI/c
Grape Leaf Inn - https://v2.reservationkey.com/865/GLI/c
When booking your reservation at the Astro Motel for the dates below get a 10% discount for using the code: RRBPTY.
DISTRIBUTION:
We will begin distributing Pliny the Younger on draft the week of February 5th in and around Sonoma County and the Bay Area. Stone will likely pick up their shipment for Southern California that week. We will ship kegs to our distributors in San Jose, Sacramento, Oregon, Colorado, and Philadelphia sometime in early February. At this time, we do not know which accounts will receive kegs of Younger. But it will likely be available at many of the same accounts who received it last year since the production numbers should be very similar. It is our recommendation that our accounts tap it as soon as possible after receiving their delivery to preserve the freshness and integrity of the beer. This beer is not meant to age AT ALL! Pliny the Younger is very much like the fresh catch of the day and best enjoyed right away! If you are served old Pliny the Younger from one of our distributed accounts, please notify us so that we can educate them, too!
In my stubborn quest to retain total control over all media channels, including this blog, my posts have become even more infrequent. That is what happens when you try to run a business, build a brewery and remodel a house at the same time. I definitely do NOT recommend it! Fortunately, the house is done and we are all settled in to our new home. Now all we have to do is build a brewery!
2017 was the year of extremes. We were extremely excited to break ground and started building our dream brewery in Windsor. In September, we went to Germany to inspect our new brewhouse, which was successfully delivered and installed in December. You may have seen my Instagram and Facebook post on the day our “ship came in”. I camped out at the Marin Headlands for 3 hours waiting for the MSC Silvia, the container ship carrying our brewhouse, to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge for the perfect photo op. I had a blast taking pictures of tourists while watching the horizon for that ship we had been following (there is an app for that!) for 6 weeks. It was really dorky and extremely exciting!
On October 8th, we arrived home from GABF, taking an airport shuttle from SFO with some employees from Bear Republic. Little did any of us know that later that night the most devastating fire in California’s history would tear through Santa Rosa in a matter of hours, leaving countless friends, family, employees, and customers running for their lives and ultimately homeless. The following weeks were surreal, and the support and concern from our beer industry friends from all over the world was truly humbling. Within a few days, Vinnie and I partnered with a local non-profit, King Ridge Foundation, and started licensing our Sonoma Pride brand to breweries who wanted to help out. The effort was remarkable, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars within just a few weeks. RRBC raised over $114K with our Pliny the Younger line cutting raffle, and over $116K with our donation from sales of Sonoma Pride. As of today, we have raised $708K! Jacob Totz, our pub brewer, was so inspired that he helped coordinate a comedy show last week which may put us over the $800K mark! Thank you to everyone who donated and is participating in the Sonoma Pride beer part of the fundraiser. There are still several breweries who have yet to sell out of their beer, so the donations are still rolling in.
Finally, it’s that time of year again! Pliny the Younger is fermenting away so I don’t have much to report other than the recipe is quite similar to last year, which was awesome. If you are planning to come for this year’s 14th annual release, please visit our website for the full scoop including lots of deals on hotels. While you are here, feel free to visit many of our other local breweries and wineries. And take a drive by the new Windsor property at the corner of Conde and Mitchell! Thank you, and cheers to a fantastic 2018!
https://russianriverbrewing.com/pages/pliny-the-younger-release
Cheers-
Natalie
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