Russian River (2020)

Drive by SR first. If crazy keep on going to Windsor. Only 10-15 apart. Good luck.

 

Went to Santa Rosa on Friday around 415, got seated little bit before 7. No complaints. Was dangerously smooth this year.

Uncertain though if I'll ever do it again, maybe I'll just take a day off and go to SB BW. I'll contemplate this when I open one of my bottles, heh.

 

Get there before 9am is what I’ve read on here and you should be in the first wave if it’s a weekday. You can’t use chairs after 9am for the wait in SR so I’d recommend Windsor since it’s their property and they allow chairs in line. Might be a longer wait but at least you can sit down at Windsor.

 

Plenty of empty Younger bottles, box and wristbands to be had on Ebay.com. No need.

 

I wonder what people end up getting for those because it seems funny to pay $45 plus shipping for an empty bottle.

 

eBay policy is that you can’t sell alcohol but I’ve seen people sell “empty cans, bottles” but in reality there circumventing the policy in order to list and sell. However it could well be an empty bottle but generally what I’ve seen it’s the actual unopened can/bottle for sale. Who knows these days.

 

Right. That was more of a hipster take like 5 years ago. I think the last 12 months have changed some opinions. Low(er) ABV-clear-hop forward-beer fugs again.

 

Pliny > Pig!

There, I said it!

 

Opposite for me. Only because the Pig was so much harder to find here than the Elder. Back in the day. It was not available anywhere. I would have to go to the source and bring bottles back.

 

Dad is in line at Windsor, 2 hour wait as of 30 mins ago

 

Now that's a good pop.

 

R.I.Pliny...

 

Russian Imperial Pliny? You heard it here first!!!

 

Now that I'm back from my trip, wanted to give everyone thoughts on my experience. Got to Windsor around 9:30 AM on Thursday, Feb 13th and was about 140 in line. Thought we'd get in first wave since we were below the capacity threshold but I guess groups of 2s and 3s taking 4 person tables probably kept us from getting in close to 11:00. The two of us ended up being seated at the bar around 12:15. Perfect timing for lunch. Had a great bartender, I don't recall her name, but she was very attentive and great for conversation. Spent about 2 hours at the release, had our 3 pours as well as a pour of the new beatification batch (excellent). Younger met my expectations, a perfectly hopped, high abv ipa with a dryness that balances out the added malt and alcohol extremely well. Not a life changing beer, but a testament to excelling in a style. I found no flaws in it's presentation. I previously reserved the guided tour at 3 so we had time to buy some beer and swag in the gift shop in between. I thought the tour was well constructed and informative, also enjoyed the extra pour of younger. Was done with all the festivities around 4 PM, ready to relax at the hotel for a bit before dinner with the wives (they did massages and wine tours in lieu of standing in line for an IPA). I really enjoyed the experience and our schedule worked out just about perfect. And the to go bottles were a perfect added bonus. My first time to Northern CA, we did San Francisco, Sonoma county, and Yosemite, loved every place we went. I will definitely be back.

 

I noticed the underutilization as well. We were a party of two at a four person table and noticed others at the Windsor location. We wouldn't have minded sharing our table but were not asked. That was a shame considering the line outside. That is the only thing I would suggest though. Very well run IMO and I really enjoyed the sunshine. It had been a while since I had seen it.

 

I noticed this as well. We tried to be in and out as quick as possible knowing people were waiting and we just spent 6hrs in line so you feel their pain.

 

Table sharing would of helped a lot. No problem in sharing tables. Most good authentic Chinese restaurants table share. Maybe they need to think about this idea next years release? Or at least ask if they don’t mind sharing a table. I’m sure most couples wouldn’t mind. And open up the beer garden.

 

THIS!!!!

 

I asked about that. They said it was hard to keep track of people in the beer garden. Last year was a mess and they didn’t want to deal with it this year. The only way you could actually go into the beer garden was after you had paid and taken off your bracelet.