Ask any brewer about other brewers who have inspired him/her, and odds are Russian River Brewing Company Co-owner Vinnie Cilurzo will be on that very short list. In this very magazine, brewers have been quoted asking themselves the question, “What Would Vinnie Do?” in regard to their own brewing. That question spurred another one for us—“What Would Vinnie Drink?” His list is surprisingly devoid of the hoppy beers one might expect…
It’s sort of ironic that there’s not an IPA on my list,” said Vinnie Cilurzo, the brewing mastermind behind Pliny the Elder and Pliny the Younger. Those beers need little introduction—the former sells out almost instantly upon hitting store shelves in the four states where it’s sold, and the latter inspires beer fans to wait in long lines every February for the once-a-year beer. Cilurzo’s recipes and techniques have inspired legions of homebrewers and professional brewers alike—many of the IPAs and imperial IPAs we drink have, in some way, been impacted by the dry-hop timing and techniques that Cilurzo developed for his signature beers.
But the beers that Cilurzo drinks while “off the clock” reflect the diversity of his brewing interests.