Pliny the Younger 2025: Guided Tour & Tasting at Russian River Brewing

Sipping Pliny the Younger at Russian River Brewing felt like stepping into a global beer pilgrimage, right in the heart of Windsor, CA

During a previous visit to Russian River Brewing earlier in the month, I took a seat at the bar, enjoyed a mighty fine tasting selection of all of Russian River Brewing’s West Coast and Belgium style beers. Looking up at the menu, I noticed that a phrase that struck me deep: Pliny the Younger.

Pliny the Younger has long been one of my “white whales” – sitting at the top of my beer bucket list for decades. So this year, I finally decided to make the trip back to Santa Rosa for the 2025 release. However, not just to taste it – but to also bring a few bottles home with me to share with friends.

Yes – if you are at Russian River Brewing during Pliny the Younger release, you can buy bottles.

In the weeks leading up to the trip, a little voice in my head nudged me to check the Russian River Brewing website. That’s when I stumbled on a surprise: even during Pliny the Younger season, the brewery tour was still just $20. Plus, it included a pour of Pliny the Younger itself.

Hell. Yes.

Since I didn’t have time to sit around sipping pints before my flight, the tour made perfect sense. So, I booked it and immediately became excited for what was to come.

Guided Tour & Tasting

It was a typical beautiful Santa Rosa day –  mild, breezy, and full of sunshine –  when I arrived at Russian River Brewing around 10:30 am. Parking was easy thanks to the spacious lot.

As I got in line, I quickly made friends with fellow beer lovers. Some people smartly brought small chairs and crossbody bags. Some had braved last year’s release in pouring rain. Like me, they’d done the tour and recommended it.

I learned from the group in front of me,  that if you show up in the afternoon – you can often skip the line altogether and just buy your beer bottles and go.

Something I’ll keep in mind for next time.

The line started moving around 10:45 am. I waited to be stamped, which would signal that I’d waited in line, before heading inside to check in for my 11am tour.

Craig, the tour manager, greeted us all with a big smile and a warm hello. He shared that he used to work at Zipline Brewing in Omaha, Nebraska, while leading us to our first stop. I love learning about other breweries – more to visit and explore.

Our first tasting was STS PILS. Craig joked, “I poured too much – lucky you.”  Then, he set the glass down close to me and smiled.

I didn’t mind one bit.

As we made our way through the brewery, I was struck by how different the guided tour was from the self-guided one I’d done before. This one took us into the heart of the operation – from brewing to fermentation to bottling, with more depth and details.

One of the highlights was seeing the open-top fermentation tanks. It was fascinating listening to Craig explain how the yeast thrives with less pressure in that setup, and that Russian River Brewing reuses the yeast across 8 to 10 fermentation cycles.

Then came the moment I’d been waiting for: a taste of the 2025 PLINY THE YOUNGER. This year’s version was quadruple-hopped, and it did not disappoint.

As I tasted it, I was instantly reminded of my Van Winkle whiskey experience earlier this year. There’s a certain magic in a well crafted drink, done right. With every sip, it speaks to the sensual pleasures of life. Of time, patience and incredible focused skill of everything that it took to get to that moment, in my mouth.

Without question, it was worth every drop.

We wrapped up the tour in the Belgian-style aging room, where we sampled the SMALL BATCH: PEACH BEER. Delicate, fruity, and crisp – it was the perfect closing note to a long-awaited adventure.

After the Tour

After the tour, I glanced around for the group I’d waited in line with – but I could not find them. Time was ticking before my flight out of Santa Rosa, so I asked a nearby staff member for help. She pointed me toward another friendly guy handing out wristbands, who didn’t hesitate to assist. With a smile, he guided me inside so I could grab my 3 bottles of Pliny the Younger and head to the airport.

The staff at Russian River couldn’t have been kinder. They were warm, chill, and incredibly easy to talk to. I was led to the bar and within moments, a three-pack of Pliny the Younger appeared from the back, ready for purchase.

But, as I’d stepped up to the bar, a man sitting at the bar decided to run his mouth. Loud enough to make sure I heard, he said:

“Wait, why is she getting preferential treatment?”

Cue laughter from his equally corny ass friends at the bar.

To which I immediately shot back – directly at them: “It’s called knowing the rules of a system and working within them.”

What they weren’t ready for was a Black woman who knows beer, knows the process, who’s brewed at home, and who damn sure doesn’t need to explain herself to fragile male egos who think gatekeeping is a personality trait.

I felt their eyes following me as I paid and sincerely thanked the bartender. I even asked her if I could donate the three remaining pours from my wristband to someone else who might enjoy them. I looked around, hoping maybe to pass them along to another Black woman – but didn’t spot anyone. Sadly, she told me the wristband gets cut once you leave the bar.

So, with my bag in hand and still smiling, I stared those same men down as I made my way over to the gift shop.

Now – a few words for the firing squad, as one of my favorite songs by Run the Jewels would say –

I fully intend to keep irritating every low-effort, low-value, emotionally-stunted, limp-dicked, golf-obsessed crybaby of a man who can’t stand to see someone else happy – or receiving the same treatment they usually receive.

May I keep living a life that bothers the hell out of men like those clowns. May the memory of me – a Black woman, unapologetically collecting and paying for my three bottles of Pliny – while you mutter backhanded bullshit – haunt you.

May my smiling face haunt you the next time your partner offers you a pity fuck – just to get you to roll off and finally stop bothering them long enough for them to sleep in peace. And may their perfectly timed fake orgasm echo in your ears with the same hollow daggers you once tried to throw my way.

But of course, that’s what men like you have always done with your privilege – underestimate, interrupt, and try to block women like me.

Too bad – for you.

Even with the bitter interruption, the Pliny the Younger tour and tasting was everything I needed. A culmination of patience, intention, and joy. It wasn’t just a checkmark on my beer bucket list – it was a quiet declaration. That, even in spaces where people might question my place, I still belong.

The kindness of the staff, the beauty of the brewery, and the simple ritual of savoring my beer brought it all together. I walked away with bottles in my hands and a smile that no small-minded man could ever touch.

Because showering my people with gifts and living a life I love? That’s my privilege.

And I wield it well.

- -