Santa Rosa, California-based Russian River Brewing Company’s annual in-person Pliny the Younger release has been postponed, following a spike in COVID-19 cases.
Pliny the Younger is a limited edition triple IPA brewed once a year. Beer enthusiasts annually line up at Russian River’s Santa Rosa and Windsor taprooms in the first weeks of February to get a pint, or take home a bottle. The two-week event increases foot traffic at the breweries between 30% and 50%, Russian River co-owner Natalie Cilurzo told Brewbound.
“It’s like a reunion of like-minded beer enthusiasts coming together for this fun, positive experience,” Cilurzo said. “People really like coming together and meeting people from different parts of the country or maybe different parts of the world. The camaraderie and the vibe and the general kind of excitement is a lot of fun [and] it’s really positive.”
The brewery was looking forward to hosting the event again this year, after offering the release only direct-to-consumer within California in 2021. The event was scheduled for February 7-14, but due to health and safety concerns, it has been postponed to March 25 through April 7.
Since the week before Christmas, 22 Russian River employees have tested positive for COVID-19, with “several more out sick or in quarantine due to exposure,” according to Cilurzo. Due to staffing shortages from the outbreak, the brewery closed both its brewpubs for three days at the start of the new year. Since then, it’s had to limit its menu and reduce taproom hours.
Additionally, on January 12, Sonoma County, where the brewery is headquartered, issued an emergency health order prohibiting large gatherings “of 12 or more individuals of any age,” in effect until February 11.
“When the health order came down, it was really just icing on the cake,” Cilurzo said. “We’re trying to keep not only our employees safe, but our customers and the community safe.”
All Russian River staff are vaccinated against COVID-19, and Cilurzo estimates about half have received booster shots. The brewery requires all staff to wear N95 or surgical-grade masks whenever on the property, indoors or outdoors.
“We just took matters into our own hands,” Cilurzo said. “I got a hold of a ton of rapid tests and we’ve been administering them for employees who are coming back to work from having COVID or from being in quarantine. And then I’m personally driving around town and dropping them off at some employees’ homes.”
While Russian River already brewed some of Pliny the Younger earlier this month, the beer will not go to waste. All the beer brewed will be kegged and sent to the brewery’s accounts in California, Oregon, Colorado and Philadelphia, and will be available on draft at those locations beginning February 7. Bottles will not be available for distribution.
On average, the brewery produces around 400 barrels of Pliny the Younger each year, depending on projected demand. About 40% of the beer is sent for draft distribution, while 35% is packaged in the brewery’s signature 510ml bottles, and 25% is kegged for in-house draft sales. This is the third year the beer will be available in bottles, exclusively sold at its taprooms, with a limit of 2 bottles per person.
“Everything happens for a reason,” Cilurzo said. “I’m really looking forward to having a few more weeks to just take a breath, regroup and get the team back together, and get us all healthy and well, and then plan for a really, really great release.
“These last couple years of living in isolation and canceling events and not being able to be together just really made us feel like it was important to have Pliny the Younger this year, and do it in a safe manner,” she continued. “And I still feel optimistic about being able to provide a great release and a cool experience for our customers when they come in March.”