Russian River's Pliny line-cutting raffle sells out, helps raise $244K for Sonoma County fire relief

Customers line up for blocks during the unveiling of the Pliny The Younger beer at the Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, Calif. on Friday, Feb. 5, 2016 Customers line up for blocks during the unveiling of the Pliny The Younger beer at the Russian River Brewing Company in Santa Rosa, Calif. on Friday, Feb. 5, 2016 Photo: Chris Preovolos/SFGate Photo: Chris Preovolos/SFGate Image 1 of / 9 Caption Close Russian River's Pliny line-cutting raffle sells out, helps raise $244K for Sonoma County fire relief 1 / 9 Back to Gallery

Russian River Brewing Company's efforts to raise significant funds for Sonoma County fire relief have been so successful, staffers have had to cap the sales of raffle tickets benefitting residents.

The tickets offered a chance at a coveted, once-in-a-lifetime prize for beer aficionados: the option to cut the line at the annual February 2018 Pliny the Younger triple IPA release at the Santa Rosa brewery. All proceeds from raffle sales are being donated to the King Ridge Foundation, a nonprofit also based in Santa Rosa, and the program, called Sonoma Pride, is still accepting separate donations.

"Thanks to the overwhelming support, sales of the Pliny the Younger line-cutting privileges raffle tickets has exceeded King Ridge Foundation's expectations," a post on the official Sonoma Pride website reads. "The raffle is now currently closed to further sales. We want to thank you for your incredible support."

Tickets were priced at $25 apiece, and according to Russian River co-owner Natalie Cilurzo, raffle sales and other donations given through their Sonoma Pride fund raised $60,000-$70,000 in the first 24 hours from when it launched on Thursday, Oct.12. By Nov. 1, the fund had raised almost a quarter of a million dollars through donors and raffle entries.

"We had an overwhelmingly positive response to the Pliny the Younger Line Cutting Raffle ticket sales," Cilurzo writes to SFGATE in en email Wednesday. "We ended up raising over $114K just from raffle ticket sales, which definitely far exceeded our expectations!"

Initially, the brewery intended to select winners for the Pliny raffle in mid-November. But due to its quick success, the King Ridge Foundation is drawing 14 winners — one for each day of the annual two-week release — on Nov. 1.

"Vinnie (Cilurzo) and I always said we would never, ever do (line-cutting privileges) because we get hit up all the time from nonprofits," Cilurzo said a week after the fund was launched. "If there's anytime that's appropriate for this, now is the time, because we need to make a lot of money to help our community get back on its feet. It's also a great way to remind people we're here and come back to Sonoma County and Santa Rosa."

In addition to the Pliny raffle, Russian River has enlisted 49 other breweries in the U.S. and the U.K. to create a beer under their Sonoma Pride label and donate sale proceeds to King Ridge. Russian River was among the first to release their contribution, on Tuesday night; other breweries, including Sonoma Springs, Alvarado Street, Moonlight Brewing Co., Lagunitas, Deschutes, Pizza Port, and others, will be releasing theirs in the coming weeks.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.

