Rain? It would have to snow and sleet to keep beer lovers away from Pliny the Younger.
Seekers of the rare brew came to Santa Rosa on Friday from Wisconsin and from Texas, waiting outside in the wet for a chance to sip one of the country's most-famous beers.
The popular ale is Russian River Brewing Co.'s most-prized product, with its annual limited release Friday, according to the Santa Rosa Press Democrat.
Just how prized is this precious hoppy nectar? The first lucky drinkers to pass through the doors at 10:30 a.m. Friday lined up at 12:30 a.m. that morning, the newspaper reported.
Some 350 people lined up for a chance to drink the rarer relative of the brewery's flagship Pliny the Elder, with some going through tougher ordeals than others.
“Eight hours of driving and 11 hours of waiting in line,” Sebastian Hernandez of Rancho Cucamonga told the newspaper of what he endured to get a sip.
Co-owner Natalie Cilurzo said that this year's crowd yearning for the triple India Pale Ale was the biggest-ever, yet still "mellow."
The beer is going to be on tap at the Fourth Street brewup for two weeks, the newspaper reported, with visitors limited to a strict few pours, and no growlers to go.
Here's a video from the Santa Rosa Press Democrat of people lining up for the release.
