The Abridged version:
- Section 111 in Golden 1 Center has a stand pouring Russian River beer from four taps.
- The taps normally include STS Pils pilsner, Happy Hops IPA, Blind Pig IPA and the famous Pliny the Elder double IPA.
- The stand gets an annual keg of Pliny the Younger, a beer so popular that people camp out for its release.
Going to see a Kings game can break the bank, so Abridged recently reported on where you can find Golden 1 Center’s cheapest beer. But as a craft beer lover, I would honestly rather drink the sweat from Slamson’s costume after a halftime rollerblading performance than let a Corona Premier touch my lips.
That’s why I’m going to clue you in to where the craft beer nerds moisten their beards: the Russian River booth at Section 111. You’ll find four tap handles devoted to the Santa Rosa-based brewery, customarily flowing with STS Pils (a dry-hopped German pilsner), Happy Hops (a hoppy IPA with mild bitterness), Blind Pig (a piney IPA that’s more bitter) and the famous Pliny the Elder (a well-balanced double IPA that scores quite high on the bitterness scale).
Russian River owner and brewer Vinnie Cilurzo is credited with inventing the double IPA, also known as the imperial IPA, a style that took the staid British ale and ramped it up with higher alcohol levels and more intense hop flavors. It’s won gold at both the World Beer Cup and Great America Beer Festival (twice) and remains the brewery’s top-selling beer. Blind Pig has also medaled at the GABF and won gold at the World Beer Cup.
Pliny the Younger enters the game
Cilurzo also created the first triple IPA, Pliny the Younger, which is brewed in very limited quantities each February. In years past, its release has led to near-hysteria and folks camping out overnight at the brewery to procure a small glass.
The most poorly kept secret among beer-loving Kings fans is that the booth outside Section 111 gets a keg of Younger annually. This fact was muttered in conspiratorial tones by customer after customer at the kiosk. So prized is this beer that, despite being sold in seven-ounce pours rather than the customary 16, the keg often blows by halftime or even before tipoff if its presence has been announced on Kings social media.
“They have Pliny the Younger. I start asking them about it around February. They play coy and they say, ‘check back next game,'” season ticket holder Ismael Contreras said. “It’s usually at the end of February when they have it.”
The “they” Contreras is referencing are longtime Russian River booth staff La Tanya Norse and Julio Perez. When asked how they got such a prime gig, Norse replied, “The luck of the draw.”
“I love it. People walk by and they see it. They stop in their tracks. They say, ‘Oh my God, you guys got Russian River!'” Norse said.
Pliny also appeared at Sutter health park
Another section of the arena (103) has a single Pliny the Elder tap, and the double IPA is also sold in Sutter Health Park’s beer garden during Athletics or River Cats games. But you’ll scarcely find four Russian River taps at any craft beer bar, let alone a sports venue.
As tipoff approached, a steady stream of customers ordered brews. Pliny was the most popular. Perez said that they go through about a keg and a half per game.
Pressed for any secrets of working in this coveted spot, Perez said he’s landed in a blessed section, with 111 being a meaningful “angel number” in numerology signifying new beginnings.
Don’t forget The Randall
A more tangible secret: there’s an off-menu drink called The Randall, a mixture of Blind Pig and Pliny the Elder named after famed Sacramento chef Randall Selland. While one fan referred to it as “sacrilege,” Selland Family Restaurants CEO Josh Nelson confirmed his dad makes that drink at his restaurants (The Kitchen, Ella Dining Room & Bar, OBO’ Italian Table & Bar and Selland’s Neighborhood Café & Bar) as well.
“He is a chef and likes to create!” Nelson said. “Additional fun fact: He likes to add a pinch of salt when he can, too.”
‘This is like our church’
Many season ticket holders shared that Perez and Norse know their regular orders and start filling it as they walk up, with one declaring them “the real MVPs.” Another fan said that when his 5-year-old son named his stuffed animal Pliny, “my wife and I looked at each other and thought we must be saying that word quite a bit in the house.” He later went on to name his dog Pliny.
Lifelong season ticket holder Kevin Ventura was there with his dad, cousin and other family members, clustered near the Russian River booth.
“My mom is waiting in her seat for her beer. She loves Pliny. This is like our church,” Ventura said.
Then before returning to the rest of a 33-point defeat, he quipped, “It’s nice to have something good to drink while you’re watching your team lose.”
Becky Grunewald is a freelance journalist in the Sacramento region.