Russian River Brewing Co. to release Pliny the Younger starting Friday

It’s finally here!

Starting Friday — through April 6 — Russian River Brewing Co. will release its highly coveted Pliny the Younger at its two Sonoma County brewpubs, in Santa Rosa and Windsor.

Doors open at 10:30 a.m.

Lines up to six hours long are known to form outside the Russian River Brewing Co. during the release, and as early as 5 a.m., so prepare to be patient. Each guest or party will have a maximum time limit of 2 ½ hours inside.

(Rumor has it that lines are shorter Monday to Thursday and during the evenings at the Windsor brewpub location.)

Historically, the beer has been released the first Friday in February, then poured for two weeks. But last year, COVID-19 forced the company to postpone the annual in-person release date to March 24.

With the first batches of the once-a-year beer ready to go, the brewery decided to move forward with wholesale distribution to bars and restaurants in February.

“Last year’s (in-person) postponement turned out to be a blessing in disguise,” said Natalie Cilurzo, the brewery’s co-owner and president. “We ended up having a better time, with nicer weather and longer days in March and April, thus creating a better experience for our 25,000 guests who often spend more time outside waiting in line than inside!”

Starting in early February, Russian River Brewing released the beer to bars and restaurants ahead of its official in-person release, the second time it’s done so.

The Santa Rosa brewpub is at 725 Fourth St., Santa Rosa. The Windsor brewpub is at 700 Mitchell Lane, Windsor.

For more information, visit russianriverbrewing.com/pliny-the-younger-release.