The Great American Ale Trail - Christian DeBenedetti [39]
And they’re incredibly rich, complex, and drinkable. But his mad scientist approach—he adds volatile bacteria like Lactobacillus and Pediococcus to certain creations—has its risks. Brettanomyces, the wild yeast strain with a leathery, earthy-sour profile used in certain Russian River beers and some of Cilurzo’s Belgian inspirations, can run amok, altering fermenters, pumps, and hoses for good, and must be carefully quarantined. “It’s like playing with fire,” Cilurzo says. “You know how a dog can sniff out a person who’s afraid? With Brett, bugs, and critters, if you’re afraid of it, it’s going to bite.”
These days Cilurzo is busy overseeing the new Russian River brew house, a $2.5 million showpiece that tripled capacity, but one that, at a maximum capacity of 7,000 barrels a year, keeps Russian River firmly in rebel territory. “I don’t think we’ll ever be mainstream,” he says, “but I never say never.”
RUSSIAN RIVER BREWING CO.
725 4th St. • Santa Rosa, CA 95404 • (707) 545-2337 russianriverbrewing.com • Established: 1997
SCENE & STORY
The little brewpub in downtown Santa Rosa where Russian River sells its beers directly and a vast menu of Italian-American pub grub isn’t long on atmosphere, and you can’t tour the brewery (for now at least), but it is still a top stop for beer travelers in wine country. There are fifteen beers on tap, eight bottles to go, occasional live music performances and other beer-related events, and dependable crowds on weekend nights. Lunchtime and Sundays are quieter; order the $15 sampler immediately to taste everything.
PHILOSOPHY
Belgian beers and a laid-back West Coast attitude.
KEY BEER
Sour, fruit-enhanced Belgian-style beers run the gamut from offering a nice, mild, back-of-the-tongue zing to the sort of full-on, face-contorting shock human taste buds seem designed to avoid. Supplication (7% ABV) is complex, woody, tart, and fleetingly sweet, infused with the juice of whole sour cherries while aging in pinot noir barrels. It’s one of those beers referred to as a “life-changer.”
LAGUNITAS TAPROOM & BEER SANCTUARY
1280 N. McDowell Blvd. • Petaluma, CA 94954 (707) 769-4495 • lagunitas.com • Established: 1993
SCENE & STORY
Suddenly, Lagunitas is everywhere. In 2011, the makers of some of America’s cleanest-tasting and most distinctive Pilsner and IPA announced $9.5 million plans to quadruple capacity to around 600,000 bbl/yr, putting them in the league of Boston Beer Company (Sam Adams), Sierra Nevada, and Goose Island. In the meantime, for the last two years their headquarters on the outskirts of sleepy Petaluma has turned into a circus—literally.
For the “Beer Circus,” a series of raucous parties held in the spacious new beer garden outside the brewery, the fun-loving owners have gone more Burning Man than Bozo, with crazed looking stilt-walkers, burlesque, the “R-Rated Marching Band,” and a bondage demonstration for good measure (all fairly tame, actually, and the beer garden is understated and quite stylish). Should you miss the big top (the parties always sell out in advance), visit for a brewery tour and then beers on a warm night under the stars with live music (roots, rock, and reggae, of course, offered about five nights a week during the warmer months). And with the Bay Area, redwood forests, and the Point Reyes National Sea Shore within easy reach, Lagunitas makes a great place to cap off an idyllic Golden State adventure. Brewery walking tours are free Wednesday through Friday at 3 and 5 p.m.
PHILOSOPHY
Hippietarian with a great sense of humor. Amid the Great Recession of 2010 and 2011 their contribution to gross national happiness was a protest beer called Wilco Tango Foxtrot, or WTF for short, “a malty, robust, jobless recovery ale.” Back in 2005, founder Tony Magee (a sometime reggae band member) was hit with a potentially ruinous one-year license suspension for an employee caught smoking some of California’s largest cash