"Russian River Brewing...enough said!"
Year in and year out, this brewery always tops the best of lists. The beers are top notch, highly prized and nearly impossible to get at local distributors. Danny and I had our sites on this iconic brewery and were super excited to visit their tasting room and brew pub in Downtown Santa Rosa, California.
The Russian River Brewing Company was started by Korbel Champagne Cellars in 1997. They asked the head brewer at Blind Pig Brewing in Temecula, who had earned awards at the Great American Beer Festival, to become their brewmaster, his name, Vinnie Cilurzo. For the record, his critical acclaim came from the first commercially available Double I.P.A. (Blind Pig). While at Korbel, Vinnie began experimenting with barrels and created their flagship beer, Pliny the Elder.
Vinnie Cilurzo Brewmaster
In 2003, Korbel decided to get out of the beer business and sold the Russian River Brewing Company brand to Vinnie and his wife Natalie. A year later they moved to Downtown Santa Rosa where they began self-distributing to nearby clients.
Russian River beer served here!
Danny will always remember his first Russian River beer...look at that smile
Four years later, RRBC opened a production brewery 1 mile from the current location allowing them to triple their output. Currently, RRBC is distributed in 4 other states, but the demand is still greater than the supply. Vinnie prefers to grow the business organically while focusing on efficiencies and quality. For now, it is easier to make better beer than it is to make more beer.
We left the pub with a full load, including these beauties!
If you are ever in Santa Rosa, make sure you stop in and grab a few to go...please bring me one too!
Cheers to Vinnie and Natalie...your work is much appreciated!
