85: Russian River Brewing’s Vinnie Cilurzo: Sweating the Small Stuff When Brewing Hoppy Beers

May 31, 2019

Vinnie Cilurzo, cofounder of Russian River Brewing Company, dives deep into the art of brewing hoppy beers. He shares his journey in innovating techniques and defining styles like Double IPA. Vinnie discusses the evolution of hop varieties, the critical role of total packaged oxygen for freshness, and adapting recipes to meet changing tastes. He also sheds light on the challenges of hop harvesting and the importance of quality ingredients. Listeners will appreciate insights on cutting-edge brewing technology and thoughtful methods for creating standout flavors.

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ANECDOTE

Early IPA Homebrewing

Vinnie Cilurzo started homebrewing American IPAs in 1989, using experimental hops like CFJ90 (later Centennial).
When he began commercial brewing, hops like Centennial and CTZ were not widely available.

INSIGHT

Hops for Flavor

Early IPAs were primarily bittered with hops, not for flavor.
Cilurzo innovated by using hops for flavor and exploring new brewing techniques.

ANECDOTE

Blind Pig Evolution

Cilurzo's Blind Pig IPA recipe evolved due to ingredient availability and changing consumer preferences.
He emphasizes adapting recipes while maintaining the beer's core identity.

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Vinnie Cilurzo is a brewer who needs no introduction. The cofounder of Russian River Brewing Company has been pushing the limits of hoppy beers for the better part of three decades, developing innovative techniques along the way while defining styles like “Double IPA” with ubiquitous beers like Pliny the Elder. In this conversation, he discusses the early days of C-hops, the origins and design approach to Blind Pig IPA and Pliny the Elder DIPA, adjusting recipes for iconic brands as tastes shift and ingredients vary, tracking polyphenol levels batch by batch, accurately measuring total packaged oxygen, the impact of brewhouse equipment on beer recipes, how they’reeliminating whirlpool hopping in favor of hopping with a hop back, the impact of hops creep while dry hopping, getting faster extraction by mixing tanks while dry hopping, the variance in hops picking windows and the effect of picking time on hops flavors, and more.

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