After a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic, Russian River Brewing Company is reviving its in-person Pliny the Younger celebration in February 2022.
“The entire RRBC team missed seeing our many repeat and first-time visitors from around the world this past year after cancelling the in-person release due to COVID,” the company wrote on its website. “We are so excited to go back to our pre-COVID program, releasing Pliny the Younger on the first Friday in February, rain or shine.”
Guests will be limited to two 510 mL bottles per person, per day. The brewery will also set a limit on the total number of bottles sold per day to ensure that inventory lasts from February 4-17 based on historical sales data. Pliny the Younger will also be sold on draft at Russian River’s taprooms in Windsor and Santa Rosa.
First brewed in 2005, Pliny the Younger triple IPA is a stepped-up version of Russian River’s flagship Pliny the Elder. Its annual release is a two-week event that draws consumers from around the world. In February 2020, just before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the closure of brewery taprooms, bars and restaurants, the Pliny the Younger release generated $5.1 million of economic impact in Sonoma County. That year, the release drew 23,525 people to Russian River’s breweries in Santa Rosa and Windsor. Visitors spent an average of $194 per group at the breweries, $445 on lodging and $580 on flights to Sonoma County Airport.
Russian River bottled Pliny the Younger for the first time ever in 2020 after more than a decade of draft-only releases. Last year, unable to host an in-person gathering, the brewery pivoted to direct-to-consumer shipping within California. But with vaccines widely available and nearly two years of pandemic protocol under their belts, Russian River co-founder Natalie Cilurzo told Brewbound the team felt comfortable returning to an in-person release.
“We have been operating our pubs in one way or another very safely during the pandemic and feel confident that we can continue with what has become ‘business as usual’ during our annual Younger release,” she said. “If there is a line outside, everyone naturally socially distances anyway. Once inside, we don’t allow standing room so it’s really not very crowded at all. Finally, our entire RRBC team is fully vaccinated.”
In addition to draft and bottle sales onsite, Russian River is distributing kegs of Pliny the Younger to its wholesaler partners in California, Oregon, Colorado and Philadelphia beginning February 7.
“February is Younger season, so we expect our accounts to tap their keg/kegs as soon as possible upon receiving their shipment,” Russian River wrote. “Like all hoppy beers, Younger does not age well at all.”
A coveted, sought-after beer, Pliny the Younger bottles can turn up for sale illegally online, which can jeopardize the beer’s quality, much to the brewer’s ire. This year, Russia River has stipulated that it reserves the right to refuse service to anyone it suspects is purchasing bottles for resale.
“I have always been frustrated with bootleggers capitalizing on other people’s hard work, regardless of the product — but especially when it comes to beer, and not just our beer,” Cilurzo said. “We are in a very highly regulated industry and work diligently toward protecting our brands, providing the highest quality products possible to customers.
“These aren’t tennis shoes,” she continued. “It pisses me off to see our beer for sale online illegally at ridiculous prices being shipped around the country or beyond in mostly undesirable conditions.”