Russian River Brewing Company (4th St)
The original downtown pub, 725 Fourth Street, open every day from 11 until 10. For two weeks each spring it pours Pliny the Younger and people start queueing at five in the morning.2
Why go
Two Russian River doors trade on the same phone number, and this is the Santa Rosa one.2 The brewing happens up in Windsor. What happens here is the pub: 11am to 10pm daily, kitchen down at 9, last call at 9.30.1 Then for two weeks in spring the whole thing changes shape. Sarah Doyle reported the 2026 Younger for the Press Democrat and put the numbers on the page: 20 March to 2 April, the 22nd annual release, thousands of people through both brewpubs, waits running past six hours.2 Part of the line sits under a tent and the rest of it sits in the sun, so people bring chairs.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: Pliny the Younger, if you are here between 20 March and 2 April. Three 10-ounce pours and three bottles per person, and the bottles are never sold online.2
- Avoid: this door during the release, if the other one will do. Doyle's own tip is that the Windsor line runs shorter Monday to Thursday and in the evening.2
What locals & experts say
- Sarah Doyle, The Press Democrat (10 March 2026), on the 2026 Younger: at 10.25% the beer
remains remarkably balanced and ultra-drinkable, a testament to head brewer Vinnie Cilurzo's talents.
2
Good to know
- Hours: daily 11am to 10pm. Kitchen closes at 9, last call 9.30.1
- During the release you get two and a half hours inside once you are through the door.2
- This is the Fourth Street door. The Windsor brewery, 700 Mitchell Lane, is the other one, and it runs the tours.2
Verdict
should-visit — This is the room where Russian River started pouring, 725 Fourth Street, open every day from 11 until 10 with the kitchen going to 9. For two weeks each spring it pours Pliny the Younger, and Sarah Doyle of the Press Democrat puts the 2026 beer at 10.25% and calls it remarkably balanced and ultra-drinkable. The rung stops here rather than higher because the record describes the queue in detail and the cooking not at all, and because Doyle's own tip sends a reader with a choice to Windsor.