Russian River's Possible Second Brewery

Good:

• Guided tours by appointment and a "self-guided tour along an elevated walkway that follows the brewing process down the center of the brewery"
• Gift shop with its own entrance
• Seating for 175 guests as well as ample outdoor seating
• Customers would be able to walk through a hop yard and a kitchen garden.
• Pet-friendly area
• Free parking

Meh:

• "They want to keep distribution in the state and do not want to dramatically increase their output."

 

I'll just be happy with more stuff in SoCal.

 

Agreed. I understand this is a win for when you want to visit the brewpub, just wish we could find their stuff more readily available down here.

 

I don't know that it's really clear weather or not they're expanding or not expanding. I know they've said they're moving out of their downtown production facility. That system is brand new there, so I don't see them ditching it obviously, but I don't know that they'll add more? As far as I've read, I've not seen any comments one way or another.

 

Would be nice if this softens traffic at the main spot.

Local Buzz was that this was going in Petaluma. I guess Windsor really hooked them up. Def an "up and coming" area in some ways, itll do well for them.

This will be the main brewing facility but same volume as now.... so with more seats at the table, I can only imagine this means less going into bottles.

Look forward to checking it out.

 

"The new plant will be designed to house enough brewing capacity to allow the Cilurzos to eventually sell their production facility at Ferdinand Court in Santa Rosa. But the couple have said they want to keep distribution in the state and do not want to dramatically increase their output. Last year, Russian River produced about 16,000 barrels of beer, which puts it into the category of boutique brewery."

Seems like according to this quote, they aren't planning on expanding production but merely replacing their current facility with a more modern or customized set up.

 

So glad O'Brien's down here in SD usually has at least pliny on and blind pig on occasion. While not bottles to take home and enjoy while lounging I can at least enjoy pints pretty much whenever I want.

 

Your subjective interpretation of motive is not fact.

 

I'm not really interested in a debate about why RR does what they do so I can't believe I am taking the bait.... but, it should be pretty clear to any adult that they are a victim of their own success and are in a classic "damned if they do, damned if they don't" situation. (Yes I know BA and the internet in general is no place for adult logic...) Increase production and folks will complain that quality slips. Send more out into distro and people will complain they cant get bottles at the pub. Etc etc.

I am a public accountant and my industry focus is breweries and wineries. The firm I am with specializes in these industries and provides consulting, auditing and tax services. From a business standpoint, if N and V wanted to increase profits and market share there is zero question as to what the course of action is. Expand production. This is expensive and not always the course of action for any brewery but for them this would clearly be the business prudent move. I'm 100% certain they are aware of that and they have been very public up until this point in declaring they have no intention to. I see it as admirable that Vinnie in favor of running his business his way and producing the same high quality beer instead of spending his life managing a larger work force to be able to move units and stack paper. Is it possible that he has severe 'home brewer myopia' and would give up millions in order to have a reputation as "the dude making the rarest beer"? Seems unlikely. I doubt anyone who thinks like a teenager would be as successful as he is... but no one but Vinnie knows for sure.

One thing is for sure... people sure love to exaggerate about the trials of getting into the 4th st Pub (I'm there weekly and almost never wait in line to get in. If I do its never more than 15-20 minutes unless its beat or younger time) and this will theoretically bring relief by creating a higher seating capacity between the two combined locations. There is really not much to criticize about this decision but leave it to this place....

 

Look at the Alpine thread to see the exact reaction that the BA world would have if Russian River moved to a new, bigger facility and made their beer easy to get. There are a few people trying to chase the "Real Alpine" that is still made at the small facility and everyone else is just meh-ing. The exact same thing would happen to Russian River.

I'd like if RR did a slight ramp up that made it plausible for me to get PtE bottles more than once a year in SoCal, but I also realize if they doubled production people would start bitching and the Pliny Locusts who go to every store just trying to chase Pliny would just buy twice as much.

 

That's not really an accurate comparison. Alpine beer is being owned and brewed by a different brewery all together, Green Flash. If Russian River expanded it would still be Russian River brewing the beer.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Firestone brewing PtE for RR for a brief time while they upgraded some things?

 

Just kegs never bottles.

 

Some further info today in the SF Chronicle.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/food/art...0f82add1&cmpid=twitter-premium#photo-12172538



As the brewery team gears up for the 14th annual release of Younger — which will run from Feb. 3- Feb.16 — they’re getting ready to break ground on a brand new, 35,000-barrel brewhouse in Windsor, more than twice the brewery’s current size. The project has been in the works for years and will feature a tasting room, gift shop, second brewpub with outdoor seating and both guided and self-guided tours. The groundbreaking is expected in late March, with a goal of opening for business in 2018.

http://sf.eater.com/2017/1/11/14240...ing-co-s-new-brewery-will-be-state-of-the-art

• The brewery will incorporate open-top fermentation tanks from Gresser, a German company. According to co-owner Natalie Cilurzo, Russian River will be only the third American brewery to use Gresser’s tanks, alongside Sierra Nevada. It’s a technique that allows yeast to create different complex flavors and aroma in an unrestrained environment; Russian River will use them for ales and lagers like Blind Pig and STS Pilsner.
• Sour beers will get a boost from a new 12.5 square-foot “coolship,” a shallow fermentation vessel that allows wort to cool quickly, with exposure to yeast and bacteria in the air.
• Sustainability is also a strong consideration: A Cambrian EcoVolt wastewater converter will convert carbon dioxide and electricity into methane fuel.

 

More Pliny available in Cali is awesome, I'm always at the brewery dealing with the line another spot will help that out for sure.

 

Yeah...definitely FTFY

 

Hahaha for sure, Shame on me for leaving Blind Pig out. A lot of people look for that one more then Pliny. Cheers!

 

Looks like it's gonna happen sooner than later.

 

it's beautiful

If they ever bottled Hopfather, I would be a poor, pickled man