Russian River’s New Production Brewery & Restaurant Opens

The long-awaited new production brewery and restaurant taphouse for Russian River Brewery is now open just a few miles north of the original brewpub in downtown Santa Rosa. The town of Windsor was the choice of owners Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo after a lengthy search. The 10-acre site is beautiful and the newly constructed cluster of buildings contain some 85,000 square feet of space.

The 180-seat brewpub features a more expansive menu than the downtown pub with wonderfully flavorful burgers (ground chuck and short rib) and Kennebec fries (with aioli no less) that are a huge hit along with an open-faced pastrami sandwich, fish n’ chips, pork schnitzel sandwich, half-chicken, steak and a salmon dish. Natalie told me that people continue to ask for Pliny bites and pizza.

Just passed the tasting bar is yet another tasting bar that is dog-friendly and opens to an expansive pet friendly outdoor beer garden. There are separate rooms for the gift shop and growler filling along with packaged beer to go. Many cases of Pliny the Elder and other varieties can be seen exiting with happy beer lovers.

The awe-inspiring brewhouse is a forest of highly-polished stainless steel and is best viewed from the second floor observation gallery

Self-guided and staff guided tours of the brewery are or soon will be happening. Did I mention the two acres of FREE parking (a huge improvement from the downtown experience).

The awe-inspiring brewhouse is a forest of highly-polished stainless steel and is best viewed from the second floor observation gallery. The multi-vessel system even has a hopback and is scaled for a 75-barrel brew length by Ziemann, a German equipment manufacturer.

All the Russian River beers are available on tap or in growlers and bottles to go at the brewpub in Downtown Santa Rosa and at the new brewery in Windsor. They also have limited distribution in Northern and Southern California, Oregon, Colorado, and the Philadelphia area.

And come February, Pliny the Younger, the highly coveted Triple IPA, will be offered at both locations which should take some of the pressure off the downtown pub.

The new Windsor brewpub is a stunning achievement and most worthy of a special trip to experience the Cilurzo level of hospitality. It is located off Highway 101 north of Santa Rosa in Windsor. Take the Shilo exit heading north or the Windsor exit if you are coming south from Healdsburg. A great beer and food experience awaits.
 

Russian River Brewing Company

700 Mitchell Ln
Windsor, CA 95492
707-545-2337