While Natalie Cilurzo was working full-time at a winery, Vinnie Cilurzo bought a 7-barrel system from Electric Dave, a guy who was in jail in Bisbee, Arizona, for selling marijuana mail-order. Electric Dave sold Vinnie an old soup vessel for a brewing kettle, a DIY mash tun, and plastic fermenters before the Cilurzos opened Blind Pig in Temecula in 1994. Vinnie was already a homebrewer and had helped form the local Temecula Valley Homebrew Club. Russian River Brewery was started in 1997 by Korbel Champagne Cellars, a Guerneville, California-based winery specializing in “California Champagne,” or sparkling wine of the méthode champenoise persuasion. Korbel’s winemaker was also a passionate homebrewer and talked his boss into opening a brewery. Vinnie Cilurzo, who had worked at Korbel for several years, was hired. Immediately before, Vinnie had been churning double IPAs at the Blind Pig. Those beers fell on deaf ears, but Pliny soon made its mark. In 2002, Korbel shut down the brewery, and after six years, Cilurzo lost his job. He negotiated the rights to the beer names, and the Cilurzos raised $1 million and reopened Russian River Brewing as its own separate entity in Santa Rosa, California, in 2004 and quickly became famous in the beer world. Today, Peaks & Pints presents a flight of Russian River beers called Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Russian River.
Peaks and Pints Beer Flight: Russian River
Russian River STS Pils
5.3% ABV
Modern brewing techniques, such as open-top fermentation and old-world traditions, create distinct qualities in STS Pils. It’s a classic German-style pilsner dry brewed with a distinct water profile and hopped with a small number of European hops. This hop-forward pilsner has a firm malt foundation, strong lager yeast characteristics, a dry, crisp minerality, and a bitter finish.
Russian River Blind Pig IPA
6.25% ABV
When Russian River’s Vinnie Cilurzo first brought wine-country Temecula his aggressively hopped beers in the late 90s, many believe his Blind Pig Brewing IPA to be the birth of the West Coast style of IPA. His doubled hopping rate combined with lower-than-usual ABVs resulted in a blistering bitterness tasted by few before he delivered to a small but fierce fan club at Hollingshead’s Delicatessen in Orange, California. This West Coast-style IPA is true to its style as it is very hop-forward with orange, grapefruit, pine resin, and floral notes, plus just enough malt character and alcohol to balance it out.
Russian River Happy Hops
6.5% ABV
In 1944, the Grace Brothers Brewery in Santa Rosa, California, brewed the original Happy Hops IPA. Their brewery went out of business in the 1960s. Still, Russian River Brewing wanted to resurrect “Happy” (the hop on the logo) and pay homage to the Grace Family and their beer pioneering history. Happy Hops is an incredibly hoppy IPA with an intense citrus flavor and aroma with pronounced grapefruit characteristics. It’s mildly bitter with aromas of blueberry, mango, and other tropical fruits.
Russian River Pliny the Elder
8% ABV
Pliny the Elder first appeared in 1999, and year by year, it gained a following. The beer’s mighty name has almost certainly helped create the sensation. Pliny the Elder was named after the great Roman naturalist who first described the wild European ancestor of hops, among many elements of the natural world, the plant so essential to beer making. Brewed with Amarillo, Centennial, CTZ, Cascade, Warrior, and Simcoe hops, the double IPA boasts balance and body, whereas some other double IPAs burn. In the glass, it glows a godly gold, smells notably of pine sap and needles, and carries a reassuring and delicious backbone of caramel.
Russian River DDH Pliny The Elder
8% ABV
In 2020, Russian River double dry-hopped Pliny by taking the original recipe and adding a two-step double dry-hop (DDH) process. This beer was a huge hit with enthusiasts and the entire RRBC crew. They brought back DDH Pliny The Elder in 2021. The original Pliny and DDH Pliny have the same hop bill, while the number of dry hops is roughly doubled in the DDH Pliny. The original Pliny is dry-hopped on day seven with about 2 pounds per barrel, and DDH Pliny is dry-hopped on day one and again on day six for a total of about 4 pounds per barrel. This double dry-hopping process adds even more flavor, complexity, hop aroma, and freshness to the beer.
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