Rocco Renzetti doesn’t claim to be the first to have come up with the name, but it’s no surprise that he thought that Russian River should call their Philly Beer Week release ‘Registration Ale.’ After all, he was bartending at Resurrection Ale House (2425 Grays Ferry Avenue) in March when the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board raided it along with two other Philadelphia beer bars in search of unregistered beers, specifically Russian River’s celebrated seasonal, Pliny the Younger. “There were probably twenty-five other guys that had the same idea at the same time,” Renzetti modestly claims. Regardless, when he told his boss, Brendan “Spanky” Hartranft, of his stroke of brilliance, Hartranft quickly passed on the clever moniker to Vinnie Cilurzo, owner and brewmaster at Russian River.

 The raids turned out to be more or less a misunderstanding ??" the annual state registration for the Younger had lapsed, and the three bars owned by Hartranft and his wife, Leigh Maida, happened to be carrying the supremely hoppy double IPA at the time. Months later, neither Renzetti nor Hartranft harbor bear any ill will toward the State troopers who conducted them. “They have to do their jobs, just like anyone else,” adds Renzetti, “and I’m just happy to see something that started out so bad result in something good.”

Referring to the newly released Registration Ale, this is quite the understatement. A variation on Russian River’s two Pliny double IPAs (Younger and the slightly more ubiquitous Elder), Registration infuses an extra dimension of flavor through dry hopping. Taking a whiff of this hop-bomb is sort of like digging your fingers into the rind of a fresh grapefruit and getting a healthy citrus mist spray in the nose. Bitter, resinous, and full of pine, Registration’s flavor balances complexity with refreshing drinkability, resulting in an intensely dry beverage perfectly suited to June in Philadelphia.

Registration Ale makes no promises on continued availability, so if you can track it down, drink it with reckless abandon. You may be able to find it on tap at your better beer venues, such as Local 44 (44^th and Spruce), who featured an assortment of Russian River’s brews on the last Sunday of Philly Beer Week. Don’t bother going too far from the greater Philadelphia area in search of it, since this is the only place Russian River distributes outside of the West Coast.

One more fun fact about Registration Ale: Its 7.5% abv is one more subtle reference to the PLCB; the annual registration fee is $75.

About Beer Geek Steve:
Steve spends as much time as his wife will let him tracking down rare beers and trying to analyze the intersection between quality beer, hype, and viral marketing. When he's not reviewing beer for Drink Philly, he writes about his adventures in chasing bottles and taps at his blog, Beer Geek Steve. You can also follow him on Twitter, where he tweets about happenings in the craft beer industry and often locates some of the best barrels in southeast PA.