Russian River Brewing Company & Tour

Russian River Brewing Company, with locations in Santa Rosa and Windsor, is renowned for its Pliny series and offers an immersive brewery tour

After a delightful morning at Twisted Street Café, I was excited for the main event: a relaxing lunch and brewery tour at Russian River Brewing Company’s Windsor location.

Previously, I’d visited the Santa Rosa location and found it to be cute – but prone to long lines.  Upon arrival, parking was a breeze, thanks to the spacious lot – and most importantly – there were no lines.

As I walked into the building, I was immediately struck by its stunning spacious beauty. After a brief exchange with the host, I was guided to the bar area to choose my seat.

Once settled, my gaze was drawn to the draft board—could it really be true? A full tasting flight of all the beers on the board?

In moments like this, there’s only one response: a resounding yes. VJ, the bartender, was ready to make my experience unforgettable.

I asked for the flight to be broken up into waves, with the first wave being the California Style beers.

VELVET GLOW  (4.75% – Helles-Style Lager)  – Easy drinking, light and refreshing

STS PILS (5.35% – Keller-Style Pilsner)  – Great for a hot day on the patio, grilling meats.

ROW2 HILL56 (5.40% – Simcoe Hop Pale Ale) – Very hop forward with a distinct bite. A little bolder than the previous two.

BLIND PIG IPA  (6.25% – West Coast IPA) – A beautiful lightly balanced choice. Incredibly easy drinking.

HAPPY HOPS IPA  (6.50% – India Pale Ale) – After the quiet boldness of the Blind Pig IPA, I was surprised by the slightly – pulled back refinement of this IPA. Slowly, I realized I was entering my preferred beer style. The bite – the hoppy happiness I love, was slowly coming into my mouth view.

My STEAK FRITES (12oz j brand New York strip, chimichurri compound butter, pea shoots, fresno chili garnish, parmesan fries) was perfection. The char on the meat was worth the price paid.

The amount of times that I fall in love with a perfect piece of meat is rare.

This, especially after steak frites at The Lion’s Share and Neighborhood the weekend before, was absolutely outstanding.

RnD IPA HOP 2 IT – NZH109 (7.00% – experimental New Zealand style, 100% NZH109 Hops) –  I – yet again – loved the bite of this. It was distinct and hoppy, without being overpowering.

RnD IPA HOP 2 IT – NECTARON (7.00% – 100% Waimea West Farms Nectaron) – Again, a beautiful Waimea West New Zealand hops. This was light – not unlike the feeling I got from the STS Pils.

MIND CIRCUS (7.00% – Hazy IPA) – This was good – but actually my least favorite.

PLINY THE ELDER (8.00% – Double IPA) – I mean – do I need to say anything at all?

When I asked the bartender why he thought the Pliny the Younger was so outstanding, his answer was swift and direct. And the 10% plus ABV, it’s an extremely balanced, doesn’t overcompensate with malt and achieves what few beers of that level has. It is, in short form, a brewing achievement.

However, I was not able to try it at that time, as was scheduled for a special brewhouse release later in the month.

The Elder, perhaps the one single beer that Russian River is the most famous for – was double IPA hopped perfection. In fact, it reminded me of how much I loved the Dogfish Head 90 Minute and 120 Minute IPAs from Deleware. There is something special about a well balanced, well layered beer. Drinking this also reminded me of the beer tasting I had at Delirium Café and Village in Brussels. It was a true welcome home to my palate of all of my favorite sensations.

Certain beers are classic for a reason. Drinking Pliny the Elder on tap at Russian River brewing is an example of just that.

O.V.L. STOUT (4.00% – Nitro Stout) – I usually don’t like super light stouts. But, I appreciated this. It was very dry and I definitely tasted the chocolate undertones and the roasted malts. The roasting process truly shines out in this beer.

RUSSIAN RIVER PORTER (5.75% – Robust Porter) – Again, this is just a simply well done beer. Well balanced and surprisingly light for a porter.

At this point, the next batch of my tasters were poured for me and I was introduced to the Belgian Inspired flight line up.

The atmosphere at Russian River Brewing was as intoxicating as the beers themselves, with a lively yet relaxed vibe that immediately kept me at east. As I was savoring each taster , the bartender – VJ – offered some excellent suggestions for the next leg of my beer journey, recommending Barley & Bine Beer Cafe and Wonderus Brewing.

ROBERT– (6.20% – Saison) – This was an effervescent beauty of a saison. What stood out for me the most was the dry tart nature of the beer.

DAMNATION – (7.50% – Strong Golden Ale) – This was – extremely fresh and delicious. This is – simply put – a damn good beer. I just – it’s just simply delicious. The fruit forward nature of this beer cannot be underestimated. The banana taste on the backend makes this a stand out selection.

PERDITION (6.25% – Biere de Sonoma) – I mean, there’s only so many ways I can say a beer is good.

REJECTION (6.10% – Black Ale) – It’s interesting how a beer can be dark and light at the same time. This was a solid beer – but didn’t stand out in a viable way on my palate.

MORTIFICATION (10.10% – Quadrupel) – Love at first sip. Literally, I let out an audible gasp before. Mortification is a beer that if I see it on a menu, I will order it.

SUPPLICATION – (7.00% – Sour Brown Ale) – This was one of the most delightful sours I’ve had. Right up there with the fun New Belgium Brewery in Ft. Collins, Colorado sours. Again, sours are a particular style of beer that you need to be a in the mood to enjoy. This was one that, again, has a certain distinctness that I appreciated.

CONSECRATION  (10.00% – Sour Dark Ale) Another outstanding sour. Like – It annoys me how delicious these beers are. The barrel aged sours hurt my feelings. Because I can never brew something so amazing. And, it will never taste as good as it does at Russian River Brewing.

PROPITIATION – (6.00% – Sour Porter) This was a solid choice to end on. With these sours, the intricate quality of the barrels they were aged in shine through.

Among my absolute favorites were: Mortification; Pliny the Elder; Supplication and Consecration. My choice of Consecration as one of my favorites was not surprising, as I’d loved it the previous weekend on tap at Neighborhood in San Diego as well. After which, I bought some beers and took myself on a self guided tour of the brewing facility.

Truly, my time at the Russian River Brewing Company restaurant and brewery was well spent. The food was delicious, the beers were top tier and it was the perfect stop to spend a few hours before heading into San Francisco.

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