Growler Archive: Russian River Brewing Company

Great menu!  Check out happy hour, wow!

My wife and I visited Russian River Brewing Company on our honeymoon.  We traveled Highway 1 from Sonoma to Manhattan Beach.  It was an epic journey filled with wonderful wine, great food, and unbelievable scenery.  Visiting Russian River was a must for us!  Being a craft beer fanatic, this felt like a pilgrimage to the home of Pliny the Elder & Pliny the Younger.  Pliny is so good that a co-worker and I have paid $35 in shipping to have a 12 pack sent to Chicago! 




Row 2 Hilll 56 (Simcoe Hops Pale Ale) & Saison Blonde (Farmhouse Ale)

 When arriving at the brewery, we could not believe how unpretentious it was.  Their location is right downtown Santa Rosa in Sonoma County amongst other businesses.  We walked in and even though it was packed, a bar seat in the middle of their extremely long bar was open.  When the guy next to us heard we were on our honeymoon, he got up and made me take his seat.  Beer fanatics are friendly, and his next Pliny was on us! 

The knowledgeable bartender walked us through their menu and offered us a few sample tastes.  My wife ordered the saison blonde and I chose the Row 2 Hill 56 Pale Ale.  My plans were to take a growler of Pliny the Elder to go, so I wanted to try a few others.  The simcoe hops in Row 2 Hill 56 (states the exact location of their hops) were amazing.  The saison had a nice balance of wit, fruit, and crisp.  She loved it. 

With my beautiful wife

My second beer was the Blind Pig IPA.  If Pliny is the Double IPA, I wanted to see how their regular one stood up.  Big citrus and pine flavor with caramel notes.  Extremely smooth.  I loved this brewery!  My wife and I also took samples of their wine collaborations: Temptation (Sour in Chardonnay barrels), Supplication (Brown Ale aged in Pinot Noir barrels), and Consecration (Belgium Style dark aged in Cabernet barrels).  We were in Sonoma after all!  What flavors!  Russian River took their great beers and added the region's wines for three of the most unique beers you can find.  

The Sampler!

Of all of the breweries I have visited, Russian River Brewing Company rates at or near the top.  Their hype did not disappoint.  Another thing that made this brewery remarkable was that their workers and patrons had no idea how renowned it was.  I mentioned their ratings on beeradvocate & ratebeer and they just said, "cool".  If you have the opportunity to visit this brewery, do not hesitate!  If you are planning a trip to Sonoma or Napa, add it to the agenda.  Santa Rosa is just north of Kenwood and south of Healdsburg.  A world class beer is a great compliment to the region's wines.  We can't wait to go back!


Growler of Pliny the Elder.  See the Swing Top?  Having fresh Pliny was incredible!  And, the growler is the most unique one that I have in my collection.

russianriverbrewing.com

Map:  https://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF-8&q=russian+river+brewery&fb=1&gl=us&hq=russian+river+brewery&cid=505373807435157151&ei=RYbdUvvmGuazyAGeoIDICw&ved=0CK4BEPwS

Ratebeer.com review of Pliny The Elder:  http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/russian-river-pliny-the-elder/8936/
Beeradvocate.com review of Russian River Brewing Company:  http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/863/
Beeradvocate.com Review of Pliny The Elder:  http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/863/7971/