CO2 Independence in Every Pour, How Russian River Brewing Recovered Their CO2 with DALUM Technology

At Dalum, we believe that the best beer is brewed with a vision for the future. Few breweries embody this better than the legendary Russian River Brewing Company.

Renowned globally for their award-winning craft beers—including cult-classic Pliny the Elder —owners Vinnie and Natalie Cilurzo have built a reputation on uncompromising quality. But in recent years, a new challenge emerged that threatened the stability of even the most established breweries: the volatile CO2 market in California pushing breweries to consider CO2 recovery.

The Challenge: Supply Crises and Rising Costs

California breweries have faced CO2 sourcing issues. Between supply chain disruptions and price increases, relying on third-party CO2 became disruptive. For a brewery focused on sustainability and precision, being at the mercy of an unstable market is not ideal.

Russian River decided to take a bold step toward total independence. They meticulously tracked their usage, identified leaks, and carefully timed the end of their existing CO2 contracts to make way for a circular production model.

The Solution: DALUM Craft Scale CO2 Recovery Technology

In the fall of 2025, Russian River commissioned three Dalum Senior Plants at their Windsor, CA facility. Each plant can process ~30kg per hour of incoming CO2. The installation was a comprehensive overhaul of their gas management, including:

• Stainless steel Piping: Installed to collect raw CO2 directly from the fermenters.
• Infrastructure Upgrades: The brewery replaced their leased equipment with a self-owned 50-ton Chart tank and new vaporizer.
• Rapid Integration: All three Dalum plants were successfully commissioned in just one week. The commissioning team including: Kim Dalum, Chet Kiedrowki and Ashley Hanes.

The Results: Sustainability That Pays For Itself

The transition to Dalum technology has transformed Russian River’s operations from Day 1. The brewery is now 100% self-sufficient, covering their annual need of 450,000 lbs of CO2 plus excess.

The impact is visible in the numbers:

• Massive Savings: The brewery is seeing $182,000 in net savings per year (based on a CO2 cost of $0.28/lb).
• Rapid ROI: The entire project, including piping and tanks, is on track for a 3.8-year Return on Investment.
• Efficiency Gains: Beyond recovery, the system has provided operational efficiencies, such as requiring 5% less headspace in tanks.
• High Recovery Rate: They are recovering an average of 13 lbs of CO2 per beer barrel—more than enough to supply both their breweries and brewpubs, leaving them with substantial excess.

In Their Own Words

“We’re recovering tons of very pure CO2 every week. It’s incredibly rewarding to see the savings add up, and we now have complete control over the quality and source, which is invaluable.” — Vinnie & Natalie Cilurzo, Co-Owners

By capturing the CO2 naturally produced during fermentation, Russian River Brewing isn’t just saving money—they are closing the loop on their production process and ensuring that the only thing in their bottles is the pure, award-winning flavor their customers expect.