The year was 2010 and Russian River’s Pliny the Younger triple IPA was in its fifth iteration as a special release.
The 11% ABV beer – the first commercially brewed triple IPA – was born out of a combination of necessity and innovation and only poured at Russian River’s pub in Santa Rosa, California.
However, everything changed in 2010 when Russian River co-owner Vinnie Cilurzo pulled up at the pub at 10 a.m. to find a line of people waiting for Younger.
Cilurzo was confused, but the people explained that Pliny the Younger had been rated the best in the world by ratings sites such as RateBeer and Beer Advocate, and they wanted a taste themselves.
Russian River co-owner Natalie Cilurzo shared how that release 14 years ago was both a “game changer” and a “nightmare,” during the keynote speech of this year’s Brewbound Live business conference in Marina del Rey, California.
Cilurzo recalled how every seat was filled within 10 minutes of opening and the entire double-batch sold out in eight hours as everyone who walked in the door that day ordered one 10 oz. glass and four growlers. She explained how that experience shaped future Younger releases to improve the customer experience, which has grown to generate millions in economic impact and created fans who are willing to make repeated treks to Sonoma County for the beer.
Cilurzo also explained why Pliny the Younger will never be solely a bottle release.
“Bottle releases are purely transactional,” she said. “Guests leave without making any connection with us, our brewery or our team. The outcome is simply scoring two bottles of a highly sought after beer and that is not what Pliny the Younger is all about.”
Cilurzo also shares why this past year’s release – Pliny the Younger’s 20th anniversary – was the best yet, how the release has become the company’s biggest sales day of the year and teases plans for 2025.
And watch other talks and presentations from Brewbound Live here.