Russian River

A few miles south of Headlsberg is the city of Santa Rosa, home of the world famous Russian River Brewing Company. 

It was a little after 5pm when we rolled in.  The place was packed.  Yet, somehow we got a table right away.    It was also happy hour and Pliny the Elders were $3 a pint...  It was my first time trying Pliny and it didn't disappoint.  Drinking this citrusy smooth phenomenon on a warm summer afternoon was simply one of the greatest sensory experiences of my life.  

After the Pliny I ordered the Belgian beer sampler (pictured below).   It came in the craziest beer tray I've ever seen.  I can't remember all the flavors now, but do remember the Consecration stealing the show.  They also had a beer called Defenestration, which is the act of throwing someone from a window.  Brilliant.  I also tried the O.V.L. Stout which was outstanding.  Who knew?  

I've hunted down a number of their beers (with considerable effort) on the east coast, but nothing compares to being able to sample their entire lineup at once.  It was heaven in bar form.  We stayed late, had a blast and when we left we were immediately thinking of when we could get back again.

This place is an absolute must for any beer geek trip to San Fran.  

I would have posted more photos, but I lost my iphone when I returned from CA and all my photos with it.  I had to pull these off of twitter...  

I'll start posting better photos soon.  I promise.