Extra Credit: Russian River Brewing Company

Extra Credit: Russian River Brewing Company

    From humble beginnings to becoming one of the biggest brewing companies in California, Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo founded the Russian River Brewing Company and are celebrating their 20 years at the Santa Rosa Brewery. Vinnie Cilurzo was passionate about brewing beers at a young age and created his first company brewery in 1994, known as Blind Pig Brewing Company. As Vinnie was moving to Sonoma Country, Corbell Champagne sellers were opening a brewery and hired Vinnie to propel the brewery. Corbell helped Vinnie grow and develop his career in the brewery and hone in on a style of beer, India pale ale. Since then, Russian River Brewing Company has won many awards, allowing Vinnie and Natalie to take over and grow the company. With the help of their investors, they created a modern brewhouse to execute their dream of making good beer. Even with financial struggles and burned-down buildings, Vinnie and Natalie could navigate and believe in their entrepreneurial idea being followed through. Nowadays, Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger are the most famous beers that people all over the world come and search for. 

    Vinnie and Natalie’s journey are truly inspiring, as they came from humble beginnings of working paycheck to paycheck to owning their own successful brewery. Vinnie’s relentless drive in pursuing his passion for brewing quality beer is remarkable, but I also admire Natalie’s supportive nature for Vinnie and his dream. Despite their financial struggles and relying on Vinnie’s parents for dinner on Sundays, they never lost sight of their goal, which paid off in the end. Even when their brewery burned down, they still focused on rebuilding their business and helping their community as a result.

    Although I am not a big fan of beer, I do enjoy fruity draft beers. My favorite draft beer is a grapefruit-flavored draft beer I tried in Solvang, and I still think about it often. There’s also a lychee-flavored beer I had once, but I cannot remember where I found it, and I am still looking for it to this day. In regards to the Russian River Brewing Company, I never had Pliny the Elder, but after watching the documentary, it is definitely on my list of beers to try.