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Russian River Brewing Company to install a new 4 vessel 50-barrel brew house in 2015

Discussion in 'Beer News' started by Todd, Sep 27, 2014.

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  1. Todd

    Todd Founder (13,506) Aug 23, 1996 Finland
    STAFF Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    From: http://russianriverbrewing.com/blog/big-news-from-santa-rosa-and-paso-robles/

    Big news from Santa Rosa and Paso Robles

    Santa Rosa and Paso Robles, California - As you may well know, the folks at Russian River Brewing Company struggle everyday to supply an ever-increasing demand for their very popular Double IPA, Pliny the Elder. In 2008, Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo, Co-owners of the brewery, got a screaming deal on used brewing equipment from their friends at Dogfish Head Brewing in Delaware. With this used equipment they were able to afford to build a new production brewery and increase their output from 3,000 barrels (31 gallons per beer barrel) at their pub to now just over 14,000 barrels annually. After 6 hard years of cranking out as much beer as possible, the 50-barrel kettle and mash tun’s days are numbered. The writing was on the wall for the brewing couple and a brand new brew house purchase was inevitable. They have secured production of a new 4 vessel 50-barrel brew house from AAA Metal Fabrication in Oregon. Their shiny new brew house is expected to be delivered and installed in February 2015.

    Since this is an equipment swap, there will be no way to brew at their production brewery for about a month. This will not only affect beer sales at their pub, but wholesale distribution since all packaged beer is brewed at this facility (Pliny fans should be gasping right about now). Alas, have no fear! Vinnie and Natalie’s good friends at Firestone Walker Brewing Company have graciously offered to brew several batches of Pliny the Elder to keep the beer flowing during this downtime at Russian River! Firestone Walker will brew Pliny the Elder for draft distribution only, and bottled Pliny will continue to come from Russian River through existing inventory in their fermenters. Vinnie will be working closely with Brewmaster Matt Brynildson to dial in the Pliny recipe in an effort to maintain flavor consistency. If you are at all familiar with the Firestone beers, you know their brewing practices and quality are already first class!

    Vinnie and Natalie are grateful to their friends at Firestone Walker for helping them out during installation of the new brew house in February. It’s not exactly like borrowing a bag of malt! The ability to have an uninterrupted supply of draft Pliny the Elder for their wholesale partners and, especially, consumers is invaluable to them and the brewery. This is a true testament to the continued collaborative spirit and friendly nature of the Craft Beer Industry.

    *Please understand this is not an announcement that we are expanding capacity! As stated many times before, there is no possible room to make anymore beer at either brewery. Making better beer is always our number one priority. We are super excited about this joint endeavor with our friends at Firestone! We have such great respect for each other and completely trust they will take good care of our eldest baby!

    Cheers!

    Natalie

    http://russianriverbrewing.com

    ###
     
    #1 Todd, Sep 27, 2014
    Smidge, cjgiant, dianimal and 5 others like this.
  2. Brolo75

    Brolo75 Initiate (0) Aug 10, 2013 California

    I wish Pliny was more readily available, hopefully it will be. I'd love to hang out with Vinnie and Matt as they brew Pliny! Firestone and Russian River are two of my favorite breweries.
     
    #2 Brolo75, Sep 27, 2014
    Geuzedad and ToddThompson like this.
  3. PaulyB83

    PaulyB83 Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2013 Michigan

    If my math is somewhat correct, that's about 12,000 bottles of Pliny!
     
    #3 PaulyB83, Sep 27, 2014
    40ontarget, Brolo75 and beerded_drunk like this.
  4. Bubbawilly88

    Bubbawilly88 Initiate (0) Jul 18, 2014 California

    Hopefully this doesn't interupt the seasonal release of Pliny the Younger!
     
    #4 Bubbawilly88, Sep 27, 2014
  5. ColinStClaire

    ColinStClaire Initiate (0) Jul 31, 2012 Washington

    It's really cool to read about how these breweries support each other. Makes me love craft beer even more.
     
    #5 ColinStClaire, Sep 27, 2014
    Rob315, needMIbeer, Beer_Borg and 10 others like this.
  6. brywhite

    brywhite Initiate (0) Aug 27, 2009 California

    Here's a toast to hoping that just maybe this "friendship" means that Firestone can continue to brew Pliny even when the new RRBC brew house is complete. Wishful thinking?
     
    #6 brywhite, Sep 27, 2014
    Geuzedad and checktherhyme like this.
  7. PapaGoose03

    PapaGoose03 Grand Pooh-Bah (5,533) May 30, 2005 Michigan
    BA4LYFE Society Pooh-Bah

    Unfortunately that is not an increase in Pliny production by that much. Sadly, this new equipment is only a 50 barrel switch-out with a new 50 barrel system. :slight_frown:
     
    #7 PapaGoose03, Sep 27, 2014
    PaulyB83 likes this.
  8. Patches826

    Patches826 Pooh-Bah (2,377) Aug 28, 2013 Massachusetts
    Society Pooh-Bah

    Aww man, came in all excited they might be expanding. Just a renovation though :slight_frown:

    Props to FSW for being good friends nonetheless.
     
    #8 Patches826, Sep 27, 2014
    Geuzedad, Brolo75 and PaulyB83 like this.
  9. joeneugs

    joeneugs Devotee (342) Aug 28, 2008 California
    Trader

    So... essentially nothing changes except for a couple batches of contract brewed Pliny DONG's?
     
    #9 joeneugs, Sep 27, 2014
    BBThunderbolt likes this.
  10. mmulebarn

    mmulebarn Initiate (0) Sep 1, 2013 Minnesota

    Nice to see two of my favorite breweries playing nice.
     
    #10 mmulebarn, Sep 27, 2014
    Kaz_DemonKnight likes this.
  11. Hophazzard

    Hophazzard Pundit (945) Aug 16, 2014 California

    It'd be nice if they made Blind Pig more available too. I agree it's cool that Firestone is helping them out. Another reason to love craft, the beer comes first. They are two of my favorite California brewers also.
     
    #11 Hophazzard, Sep 27, 2014
    Geuzedad and Brolo75 like this.
  12. grover37

    grover37 Pooh-Bah (1,744) Nov 14, 2007 District of Columbia
    Pooh-Bah

    Can someone explain to me why we should care? Besides some obsessed traders wanting to try the FW brewed Pliny nothing changes whatsoever.
     
    #12 grover37, Sep 27, 2014
    GetMeAnIPA, otispdriftwood, Brolo75 and 2 others like this.
  13. SLOCruzin

    SLOCruzin Zealot (632) Sep 30, 2013 California
    Trader

    I wonder if SLO will get any kegs of Pliny? I live in the Bay Area and have easy access to Pliny, but I'm sure friends in my hometown would love to have some pliny on draft since it's being brewed so close.
     
    #13 SLOCruzin, Sep 27, 2014
  14. BarefootRock

    BarefootRock Initiate (0) Apr 24, 2013 California

    This is awesome. Can always go for a russian river.
     
    #14 BarefootRock, Sep 28, 2014
    KornWallace likes this.
  15. Nobolo

    Nobolo Initiate (0) Aug 28, 2010 New York

    Seems like a reach around........
     
    #15 Nobolo, Sep 29, 2014
  16. bubseymour

    bubseymour Grand Pooh-Bah (4,708) Oct 30, 2010 Maryland
    Pooh-Bah Trader

    So is FW not at full capacity and have vacancy to take in guests for a while? How about DFH selling off old equipment? Did they expand beyond the forecasted demand for their product and now selling off some of the equipment? Just wondering the back story of FW and DFH here. I think there is more to the story than just "helping out friends" in craft industry.
     
    #16 bubseymour, Sep 29, 2014
  17. drtth

    drtth Initiate (0) Nov 25, 2007 Pennsylvania
    In Memoriam

    Read it (the press release) again. The new equipment is being made in Oregon. RR bought the old DFH equipment back in 2008 (when DFH was expanding). Calagione and Cilurzo have been friends for years. DFH needed to get rid of the equipment as it was being replaced by new, bigger stuff. RR was willing to buy it and got a good price.
     
    #17 drtth, Sep 29, 2014
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2014
    cjgiant, DrinkAnchorSteam and otispdriftwood like this.
  18. otispdriftwood

    otispdriftwood Initiate (0) Dec 9, 2011 Colorado

    A new 4 vessel 50-barrel brew house to replace the old one. That's nice.
     
    #18 otispdriftwood, Sep 30, 2014
  19. hopfenunmaltz

    hopfenunmaltz Pooh-Bah (2,623) Jun 8, 2005 Michigan
    Pooh-Bah

    If they were to put in a bigger system it would need more space, larger fermenters, larger brite tanks, a bigger boiler, and so on. The Cilurzos have stated that they are happy with the size brewery they have, and seem to be debt adverse.

    FW had an expansion recently. Matt and Vinnie are friends, so I was not surprised to see FW offer to help.
     
    #19 hopfenunmaltz, Sep 30, 2014
    breadwinner likes this.
  20. DrinkAnchorSteam

    DrinkAnchorSteam Zealot (558) Jan 23, 2014 Pennsylvania

    As drtth replied to you above this happens when breweries expand to bigger and better stuff. Perhaps the old equipment RR is getting rid of will go to someone starting out who could use it.

    Fun fact: The bottling line at Yards Brewery in Philadelphia came from Dogfish Head and it still says "Welcome to Dogfish Head" on the led start up screen.
     
    #20 DrinkAnchorSteam, Sep 30, 2014
    cjgiant and drtth like this.
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