Is there Russian River beer in Fresno? YES! Where can I find Pliny The Elder in Fresno? I’ll tell ya in a sec. But right now I just gotta yell something: “Fresno is finally a Russian River Brewing town!”
Only Russian River approved businesses and distributors (thank you Delta Pacific Beverage for being worthy) are allowed to carry Russian River beer. The major requirement being that the beer must always be refrigerated and cared for properly.
Here is where to find Pliny The Elder in the Fresno area:
- Goldstein’s – 1279 N. Wishon Ave
- Maroa Shell – 902 E. Shields Ave
- Hop PK – 820 Van Ness Ave
- Spokeasy Public House – 1472 N. Van Ness
- Gazebo Gardens – 3204 N Van Ness
- Kunisama – 6825 N. Willow Ave
- Whole Foods – 650 W. Shaw
- Tap & Cellar – 317 W. Bedford
- The Market – 7088 N. West
- BC’s Pizza & Beer – 1315 Shaw Ave (Clovis)
- MGA Liquor – 342 N. Clovis (Clovis)
- Michaelangelo’s Pizzeria – 619 Woodworth Ave (Clovis)
My recommendation on the best place in Fresno to pick up Pliny The Elder in Fresno is The Market at Herndon & West. It is also, usually, the best place to pick up all the other distributed Russian River beers. The Market usually has the widest variety of RR beers and you can get a case of Pliny if you ask.
Let me say it again because it’s damn awesome: Russian River Brewing Company beer is now available in Fresno.
We were the last major region in California to get it, but that is okay. It’s here now. The past is past, we are now a Russian River town and it is incredibly awesome.
If you’re wondering, “What the hell is the big damn deal about this “Pliny” guy and why is Russian River beer such a thing?” that is okay. You’re not a beer geek. Cool.
Santa Rosa’s Russian River Brewing is probably the greatest Beer Geek brewery of all time. Their IPA, Pliny The Elder, ushered in a whole style of beer called “West Coast IPA”. I consider the beer the Godfather of the modern IPA.
For a while there (if it isn’t still) Pliny was the number one most traded beer in the beer geek world. If a beer is heavily traded (shipped illegally to regions where a person can’t get the beer), that means it’s highly sought after – aka damn good.
Not only do we get the core Russian River beers now, we even get cool colab beers like the one Russian River and Karl Strauss did recently:
So rejoice, beer lovers, Fresno is now cool. Still waiting on somebody to open up that remote taproom though.
Oh, and by the way, if you’re wondering if Fresno gets Russian River Brewing’s famous Triple IPA, Pliny The Younger, the answer is yes! This is where I found Pliny The Younger in Fresno, last year. Keep on the look out for it in late March.
