“We focus on making better beer, not more beer.” —Natalie Cilurzo
When Vinnie Cilurzo and his wife, Natalie, were offered the Russian River Brewing Company brand in 2003, it was an opportunity neither of them could refuse.With the help of friends and family, they raised enough money to buy the brand from its then-owner, Korbel Champagne Cellars. They opened their new pub under their ownership in downtown Santa Rosa in April 2004. “We both decided we wanted to do this together,” says Natalie, “There was a lot of risk, a lot of reward and a lot of stress, which made it challenging.”
The Cilurzos took this challenge head-on, and the next few years proved to be successful. Vinnie’s original beer recipes, especially his most popular, Pliny the Elder (a double IPA), had a very high consumer demand. Because of this, they were able to open up a production brewery in 2008 where they could brew, bottle and distribute more beer. They expanded to new markets, such as San Jose, Sacramento and parts of Southern California, with a small amount being distributed out of state. “Our focus is through the local market,” says Natalie, “Our uniqueness is the quality of our beer. We focus on making better beer, not more beer.” By staying local, the demand for Vinnie’s beer keeps growing. Between the pub downtown and the production facility, the brewery is now producing 15,000 barrels per year.
The brewpub does its best to keep up with customer’s needs by keeping up to to 23 of its beers on tap, including several sour and barrel-aged beers. It also offers a tasting of all the beers in its famous sampler. The sampler contains everything from blonde ales and sours to the double IPA. “It’s legendary,” says Natalie. “Apparently, the sampler set is the seventh-most popular Instagram picture in the world.” It’s easy to believe Natalie, especially seeing the response to the annual Pliny the Younger release (she refers to it as “Pliny the Elder on steroids”). It’s released every February for a few weeks and always creates a line of people out the door with a wait that could take hours.
The demand for Russian River Brewing Company’s beer remains to be a huge accomplishment for the Cilurzos. They were able to take their beer out of the states this past year and into Belgium, where they introduced a collaboration with Allagash Brewing Company and Cantillon Brewery called the Wild Friendship Blend. This coming May, the collaboration will be introduced in the states.
With the popularity of their beer, Natalie and Vinnie are looking to increase production and create new recipes. “As far as the future goes, building another brewery isn’t off the table. We’re in the talking phases but hope to make a decision this year,” says Natalie. Not only will the brewpub be celebrating its 11th anniversary this coming year, Natalie and Vinnie will also be celebrating their 20th wedding anniversary. “We have a lot to look forward to in 2015,” she says, “And we want to keep trying our hardest to make the best beer possible.”
