Refraction

One of these days, I want to ride along with wort as it is passed from one brewery to another to see what that journey is like. I assume Refraction went via land or rail and not air.

That wish aside, I hope a few bottles of this collaboration between Russian River and Brooklyn Brewery makes its way to SoCal bottle shoppes

PtY 2021

I usually don’t post about the Pliny the Younger madness that grips the souls of beer lovers each February. The beer doesn’t need me to talk about it to sell out. What got my attention this year, other than the bottling of it, which is huge in and of itself is that, (3) batches were brewed at the newer Windsor facility and (1) batch was brewed on the OG gear in Santa Rosa.

Now I do not know if this is the same as last year but if I were a betting man, I think there are people out there in beer snob world that will trade, barter or steal for both and will deem one inferior.

It is an excellent beer if you can gain access. The sale starts on January 28th and will make refresh buttons tremble.

Review – Pliny for President from Russian River Brewing

Part of my CCBA (California Craft Brewers Association) package, is the sought after Pliny for President. I am Riding With Biden & Harris. But Russian River would be my next choice.

Now, this is a damn fine beer and the fact that the dry hopping is done in a way that I think is pretty uncommon makes it a must try beer but I think I let my expectations get away from me. It was really dank to me and any other bitterness flavor notes got lost under it. I do like that for a higher ABV it straddles the line of letting you know that and being too harsh. Overall, it seemed a little too one note to me.

Russian to Mohawk Bend

Thanks to the new production facility in Windsor, Angelenos have been getting a nice, steady supply of beer from Russian River Brewing. And that means that we will probably see more tap takeovers, like the one coming up at Mohawk Bend on August 29th.

As that date gets closer, check the social media to see if any tap list emerges but I would recommend starting with STS Pils.

San Diego to Santa Rosa

Look for the highlights in this press release. I will explain at the end why I have highlighted them…

“California brewery icons Russian River Brewing Company and Karl Strauss Brewing Company proudly introduce their collaboration beer, New California IPA. This modern India Pale Ale is the first collaboration between these storied institutions of California craft beer.

This beer focuses on each critical stage of hop addition: bittering, flavor, aroma, and dry-hopping. The star of this India Pale Ale is a rather new cultivar: the Pahto hop. It is a high-alpha hop that lends a palatable bitterness throughout the beer, while an all-star lineup of Strata, Ekuanot, Amarillo, and Idaho 7 hops deliver wildly diverse layers of flavors, from bright citrus to tropical fruit to resinous pine. 

New California IPA will be available on draft and in 16oz can 4-packs beginning on August 1st (which is not-so-coincidentally IPA Day!)”

It is crazy to think that these two long-standing breweries hadn’t collaborated before. By this point it seems all breweries have collaborated with each other. Point two. Pahto hop? Where did that come from? Gonna have to look that up. Lastly, Russian River in cans, even if not done in Santa Rosa is a sign of change.

Ecliptic California Collabs

Ecliptic Brewing of Portland, Oregon is turning 5 years young and will be releasing 5 special beers throughout the year called the 2019 Cosmic Collaboration Series.

John Harris, Ecliptic Brewing’s Owner and Brewmaster has reached out to Brooklyn Brewery, Breakside, Bell’s and two California breweries too.

Here is the full line-up:

Ecliptic Brewing + Brooklyn Brewery: Tangerine Farmhouse Ale (February)
Ecliptic Brewing + Firestone Walker Brewing Co.: Galactica Hazy Double IPA with #692, Idaho 7 and Kasmir (April)
Ecliptic Brewing + Breakside Brewery: Nectarine Sour Ale (June)
Ecliptic Brewing + Bell’s Brewery: Juicy IPA (August)
Ecliptic Brewing + Russian River Brewing Company: Hoppy Belgian Strong Golden Ale (October)

Dribble

File this away for when Russian River really gets their new, bigger Windsor brewery humming and maybe more beer heads to us in SoCal.

Not only will you probably get a really good IPA, but you will be learning some agricultural history….