Russian River Brewing Company

ifitsnothoppyitscrap

4.68/5  rDev +5.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 5 | $$

Definitely a pilgrimage destination. The best tasting deal I've ever seen: 15 beers, 3-4 oz. each, for $15. Those 15 beers included 5 from BA's top 50. The beer is so good that the bartenders don't need to be nice, but they are anyway. Food? Yeah, they had it, but who has time for food? I was focused on Pliny and his friends. I don't know how they do it, but Russian River is simply amazing. They're tapping Pliny the Younger at the beginning of February, and I'll bet it will be nuts. If you're in northern California, it's worth the detour. Heck, if you're west of the Mississippi it's worth the detour.

01-25-2013 04:10:31 | More by ifitsnothoppyitscrap

jkane101

New Jersey

4.98/5  rDev +12.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.75 | $$$

Went on a family vacation to San Francisco last July with the main intent to visit RR Brewing. It did not disappoint in fact it was everything I imagined it would be. Highly recommend for any beer geek who even has the remote opportunity to visit.
Bring an extra suitcase to bring home you beer if you're flying in!

05-10-2013 00:40:17 | More by jkane101

ek_ek

California

4.83/5  rDev +8.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4.25 | $$

This place is a Mecca for craft beer. Amazing beer and outstanding service. Food is limited menu but good, some pizzas/calzones and other pub fare. Only thing I could ask for is some type of tour of a brewing facility and a little more teaching of the facts and history.

04-28-2013 06:33:31 | More by ek_ek

brodericksloth

Oregon

4.9/5  rDev +10.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $

Fun place to go. only went during happy hour so it was very busy. Longest wait was twenty minutes whe we arrived at 5:30 otherwise no wait if you go closer to 4. people come from all over to sample. Couple next to us were from Norway. You can sample all of the available beers (Sonoma or Belgiums) to see the many different styles. came away with some new favorites: blind pig, damnation, consecration and salvation. It's not all about Pliny, although I'm bringing home alot of Pliny for my beer buddies. Prices very reasonable. $3.25 for a pint of Pliny during happy hour and $4 for a bottle. Eight beers available in the bottle to take home. We took as much as we could carry.
Stayed in the Luther Burbank area. Centally located 15 miles to very good wineries one hour to the city. Rented a two bedroom house six blocks from RR. Same price as hotel for two in San Francisco, and you can keep your beer fresh in what turns out to be a beer fridge. Good idea to walk home after sampling, your designated driver will cave, its too good.
Highly recommended great place went there three times this week for happy hour.
Less pretentious than the wine tasting down here, but both have their place.

04-04-2013 14:54:55 | More by brodericksloth

IanSpindler

Alberta (Canada)

4.9/5  rDev +10.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $

Made a pilgrimage February 2013 to try Pliny the Younger!

Atmosphere: Got in line at 930am on a Friday morning (about 80 people already ahead of us) and there was around 300 people waiting by the time they opened at 11am. Going to this event was well worth the wait, this was like Christmas for beer nerds. The atmosphere was great and you could tell that everyone was excited as they walked into the brew pub. We were seated next to a friendly local couple and now I have a trading connection in Santa Rosa! Cheers Mike!

Quality: All the beers were excellent, and we tried them all several times haha

Service: Our server was excellent, even with the pub at full capacity we rarely waited more than a minute or two for a new round of beers. My glass was never empty!

Selection: The full sampler was great, we tried all the available beers and then ordered pints of our favorites. Also don't forget about the bottles for purchase at the pub, I brought a case back to Calgary and later wished that I bought two haha.

Food: The food paired well with the beer. But who cares really, these guys could serve only stale bread and this place would still be packed with the quality of their brews.

Value: Being from Canada I was stunned at how reasonable the prices were for the beers. Pliny the Younger for $4.50 a glass! Are you kidding me?, Calgarians think Happy Hour specials for $5 domestic beer is a good deal at a brew pub.

This was the best beer experience that I've ever had! Highly recommend a visit in early Feb or anytime to try these amazing beers!

03-21-2013 17:28:27 | More by IanSpindler

8bithops

Virginia

4.25/5  rDev -4.3%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Beer was amazing, food above average and staff super-friendly. Got a sweet tour of the back and shared a Dark Lord with the workers. Awesome and memorable. Only bummer was how rowdy and loud it gets. Reminds me more of a club than a brewpub. Will definitely be back, next time for PtY!

03-06-2013 14:41:25 | More by 8bithops

phingdong

New Hampshire

4.81/5  rDev +8.3%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 5 | food: 4 | $$

Had a chance to visit 3 times over the course of a week during the Pliny the Younger release in Feb '13. Never had to wait more than an hour to get in (heard horror stories of 6 hour waits on Sat). I love this place. The layout, the way the sun blasts through the windows, the service, and most importantly, the endless tap selection of world class beer.

Looking at the tap list, it's almost impossible to choose (especially when Younger is on the board). Draft Temptation, Sanctification, Row 2 Hill 56, Elder, Pig, all the 'tions, tap only stuff. Not a bad choice on the board. The sampler is legendary. The happy hour prices are outstanding.

Overall, most everything about this place is fantastic. I'd love to be a local! I hope to return at least once a year and soak up all the amazing.

03-05-2013 17:03:33 | More by phingdong

NWer

Washington

4.8/5  rDev +8.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 3 | $

Atmosphere: I've gone the last three years for Pliny the Younger release so this may be atypical but the energy, excitement, good vibes permeate the place. It's the place to be at least during the second week in February.
Quality: What's to question? Russian River world class specializing in IPA's & Belgian.
Service: In spite of the crowds descending on the place at this time of year the staff does an exemplary job of keeping their sanity. Professional, efficient, nice, helpful all the way.
Selection: Russian River beers exclusively but that's why we're there. If they did have a guest tap I wasn't interested in knowing about it.
Food: Had a pizza there once. Go for the beer not the food.
Value: Overwhelmed. World class beer at a reasonable price and tasters range from .50 - $1.
Doesn't get any better than that.

02-23-2013 14:21:00 | More by NWer

Chadhowie

California

4.48/5  rDev +0.9%
vibe: 4.75 | quality: 4.75 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $

Got to visit this place on day 8 of a 14 day Pliny Tapping. It was totally worth the 2 hour wait to get in. I haven't had that much fun waiting for two hours since high school at a Weezer concert. Pliny the Younger was absolutely worth the wait and still only $4.50 a glass. Food was great too, we had a pizza. Then bought a Pliny the Elder growler to go. Awesome times.

02-14-2013 05:30:28 | More by Chadhowie

terence

California

5/5  rDev +12.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | food: 5 | $$

We waited in line for over five hours on 2/10/2013 to try Pliny the Younger. Once we got in, the place was packed! We order the PtY and hunkered down in corner and was amazed by this wonderful brew. After 15 minutes we were brought to our tables. We order a sour samples (only $0.75 each) and some wings and a calzone. The bake their wings, so it took about 30 mins before we got them. The food was surprisingly good and wasn't very expensive.

The service was very friendly, from the guy checking ID's, the hostess, bartenders, and servers. The people inside were just as friendly and festive. Great atmosphere

We had a great experience and look forward to doing it again next year!

02-12-2013 00:27:05 | More by terence