December 10, 2006
Pizza was pretty damn tasty...bar service good. Parking sucks. Do I need to talk about the beers at all????

October 13, 2006
The locals are nice and so are the staff. Relaxed environment. Live music sometimes. The place gets packed in the evenings, but it’s decent during the day--except having to pay parking meters. :o Parking is pretty reasonable though. I had chicken wings and they were decent. I also had some pizza crust bites and those were tasty. Decent variety in beer and it’s good. It’s small, but there’s outside seating.

June 16, 2007
Neat, laid-back place with a cool bar. Enticing views of oaken barrels behind the bar, just the sort of thing a guy like me loves to see. Really nice selection of beers; something for just about everyone...multiple IPAs for the hopheads, blond ales for the less adventurous, and more importantly great Belgian beers for old world types. The pizza isn’t that great but it’s ok if you don’t feel like leaving (the more you drink, the less you want to leave). Good enough service but most of the staff didn’t really appear to be beer geeks (surprising, given the notoriety of Vinnie’s brews). One of the few brewpubs in the country that I could be very satisfied drinking at any day, any time (Perdition, Redemption, Damnation, etc.).

May 16, 2007
I made a pilgrimage to Russian River from Southern California in March. The food consisted of the standard selections, and I tried the pizza, which was good. The walls are covered with burlap hops sacks and old advertisements for really bad lagers - an amusing irony given the exceptionally high quality of their beer. The beer selection of Russian River offerings was great, but I was disappointed that the selection of guest brews was limited to two ciders. The service was great. I will definately visit again.

April 27, 2007
I remember IrishBoy being a fan of this brewery, so I had to come. Down the little street full of boutique shops. Cool murial painting on the side of building, next to some Redwoods. A few tables outside on the front sidewalk. lots of windows make up the facade. Brewing apparatus visible through the glass windows. The bar is very very long and welcoming. Serface is made from an old bowling alley lane, it looks like. Barrels stacked high up in a windowfrom the bar, BARREL AGED! Chalkboard lists the ales available on tap. Decor consists of burlap bags with the different breeds of hops. Saaz, Chinook, Cascade, Centennial, Simcoe, Golding, etc. Lots of metals and Wolrd Beer Cup awards posted on the wall behind the bar. The beer sampler in the shizel. Ate the New Yorker Pizza, awesome. Met lots of locals, very good beer community here in Santa Rosa!

April 8, 2007 [ Updated April 9, 2009 ]
Was there on Friday evening and found the atmosphere just perfect for a Brewpub. Had two great beers (Pliny the Elder, and Russian River IPA). Good service, and good food. I had the meatball sandwich. Took home one bottle each of the four they had bottled. Will have to go back. There were so many great brews I did not get a chance to try.

April 5, 2007
Recommended by Walt--and I’m grateful for it. Half the fun was getting there; top down in a rental 350z, driving Trinity Road from Napa to Santa Rosa in the early evening. Nice place, totally unpretentious, with a relaxed atmosphere. Went on a week-night, so it wasn’t too packed either. I had never had their beers, so this was really an experience to be savored. Had a great time, and would fly out to California just to relive those same few hours all over again. I’m kicking myself for not buying some bottles to go, or at least a t-shirt. Our waiter and I both have the same last name. Small world.

March 24, 2007 [ Updated August 26, 2007 ]
Two visits. It’s a nice place, but isn’t unique in any way. They had about 9-10 house beers the days I visited all were good; some were outstanding. The service was good despite the fact that it was fairly busy. The food is limited (including salads, pizza, wings, and some other appetizers). The pizza was pretty good.

February 20, 2007
A very very good place. It was pretty packed when i went there on a saturday night (get a reservation) but found a spot at the bar. The pizza was above bar fair and service was good conisdering how busy it was. Had a sampler of thier beers. Highly recommend. Only ciders for guest beers when I was there.

September 29, 2006
The place was packed on a Wednesday with a mostly young crowd. Big-ass hop bags hanging from the ceiling like Stanley Cup banners, and behind the bar was a large window showing off all the oak barrels. “New Albion brewery” the sign said. Breweriana seemed focused on old regional breweries. A small stage was set up, and a duo was playing out some tunes. Our waitress was pretty busy covering most the restaurant section but still managed to serve us well regardless. I ordered a pint of the Bière de Sonoma and a few samplers, pretty cheap for this level of quality. What I especially liked was the variety of styles offered, it was a hard choice to make. Everything was fantastic. I was able to walk out of there with a pair of bombers, a shirt and a glass (finally a pub that doesn’t only have shaker pints!). Overall a great experience, the only downer was that I couldn’t spend more time there! And extra kudos to whoever had the brilliant idea of giving a list of hotels nearby on the website. Those “gone to pee” coasters are a pretty smart way to save your seat, too.