Vinnie Cilurzo Brews Blind Pig Inaugural Ale

On June 23, 1994, Vinnie Cilurzo brewed Inaugural Ale as the first beer made at Blind Pig Brewery in Temecula, California. Cilurzo later described the beer as his first Double IPA, made by taking the recipe for Blind Pig IPA, doubling the hops, and increasing the malt bill. Inaugural Ale is widely regarded as one of the first commercially brewed Double IPAs in the United States. The beer connected American IPA with a new, stronger, more aggressively hopped interpretation that would become increasingly important in American craft brewing. The event also links directly to the later history of Russian River Brewing Company. Cilurzo's work at Blind Pig helped establish the brewing path that eventually led to Pliny the Elder, one of the benchmark beers of the Double IPA style.