A rite of passage for many beer drinkers is the first time they enjoy a Pliny the Younger, the triple IPA from Russian River Brewing Co. The beer is released annually on the first weekend of February and many beer fans have built vacations around the release, traveling to the northern California town of Santa Rosa that the brewery calls home.
The line for a taste starts early and it goes long. The beer is available for just two weeks. In the wake of the on-going Tubbs Fire that has decimated neighborhoods in the Napa Valley, Russian River is working to help those who have lost everything.
“Vinnie and I are raffling off 14 chances for line cutting privileges for our 2018 release of Pliny the Younger,” brewery co-owner Natalie Cilurzo wrote in a brewery Facebook post. “Each winner will be randomly assigned to attend on a specific day and allowed to bring one guest.”