.‘Pliny the Younger’ Release Almost Delayed by Storm

2) Fans of one of Sonoma County’s cultiest beers, a triple IPA called Pliny the Younger, also came out on the lucky end of the storm. After the power went out in Windsor on Sunday night, Russian River Brewing Company — the brewery that makes it — “narrowly missed significant draft distribution delays” for their big, 20th anniversary Pliny the Younger release, the North Bay Business Journal reports. Brewers say they had just finished kegging up their Younger right before the storm hit — so the beer won’t miss its big debut at local bars this week. “We managed to load Younger kegs on the trucks this morning for local distribution in Sonoma, Napa and Marin,” the brewery posted on Facebook yesterday. And they were able to hook up a giant generator later that day, to save some other popular brews still in production. “We’re most concerned with a quadruple batch of Velvet Clow Helles, a lager we brewed on Friday that’s fermenting in the open-top tanks,” the brewery’s president told the Business Journal. “We control the fermentation temperature with glycol and without that, the beer will warm up and either kill the yeast or develop off flavors. We came about a degree or two of having issues with that beer.” Russian River Brewing used to release Pliny the Younger each February at its own brewpubs in Windsor and Santa Rosa — a major event in which hundreds of beer people reportedly waited in line for hours, rain or shine. For the past few years, though, the company has been playing with a more staggered rollout. You’ll be able to get your Younger on tap at around 15 local spots starting this week — and then later, from March 22 through April 4, Russian River Brewing will hold the in-person release party at its own brewpubs. Here’s where you can get it til then, according to the Press Democrat: Korbel Winery in Guerneville; the Elephant in the Room pub in Healdsburg; the Cadet bar and Oxbow in Napa; both Gotts Roadside locations, in Napa and St. Helena; the Twin Oaks Roadhouse in Penngrove; McNear’s Saloon and Ernie’s Tin Bar in Petaluma; the John Ash & Co. and Stark’s restaurants in Santa Rosa, plus the Trail House bike shop; both Hopmonk Tavern locations, in Sebastopol and Sonoma; and Oliver’s Market in Windsor. (Source: Russian River Brewing Company via Facebook & Russian River Brewing Company & North Bay Business Journal & Press Democrat; paywall)