Lagunitas Brewing Company

WineCountryBEER

 
 

Lagunitas simply makes beers with an attitude. You can count on them being edgy and interesting. This is not to say their beers are too extreme to be popular. On the contrary, the Lagunitas IPA has been the best selling craft IPA in California for some time.

Irreverent and fun, their beer labels and commentary are often inspired. For example, the state alcohol beverage regulators suspend their license for a couple of weeks and Lagunitas commemorates it with a beer: Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale. Their Frank Zappa commemorative series of the past couple of years was also special. What will they come up with next?

To get a full dose of the Lagunitas fun, check out their popular free brewery tour and tasting on weekday afternoons. Also the new Brewery Taproom and Beer Sanctuary is open to the public Wednesday to Sunday afternoons through early evenings. See the brewery web site for details. It has live music most days too.

Some beers to look for

Imperial Stout -- the taste sensation that is causing people to shout LAH-GOO-KNEE-TUSS from coast to coast. Most say it better after one of these. Big, bold and bodacious. A sipper. ABV 8.2%

I.P.A. -- The India Pale Ale is the real workhorse of the line up. It is the real deal and deserving of it popular status. It features the signature Lagunitas hop flavor that so many find appealing. Spruce aromas with a malt backbone that grabs you.

Censored Rich Copper Ale -- very drinkable with a rich layered malt taste. Initial touch of sweetness, dry finish.

Hop Stoopid Ale -- They call it "so hoppy that it threatens to remove the enamel from one's teeth." While that may be marketing jive, the beer truly is loaded and sure to please the hop heads among you.


Inside the old taproom at Lagunitas, a real treat for the eyes. It’s decorated sort of like an old hippie pad. Hopefully it will be part of the brewery tour. If it is, take time to look at the memorabilia and do-dads. You will get a real chuckle out of it.





Lagunitas augments its regular product line with specialties and seasonal beers such as Lucky 13 Ale (pictured at left) which was released for summer 2009. It is a brownish red ale that is big on hops and dark malt.

The lineup of outdoor fermenters is truly impressive.

 

Momentous stupendous Lagunitas

Location

You can find them east just of Hwy 101 in Petaluma, not far from the Old Redwood Highway exit. When traveling down N. McDowell Blvd. watch closely for the Lagunitas sign pictured above. It is easy to miss. For parking, turn into the driveway/lane on the north side of the sign and proceed to the back of the lot behind the buildings.

Tours are conducted most weekdays at 3:00 p.m. See the brewery; have a beer. Call ahead to schedule. Lagunitas is a true production brewery and you will see all phases of the production on the tour. A preview of what you’ll see is shown in the photos below.

Address: 1280 North McDowell Boulevard, Petaluma, CA 94954

Phone: 707-769-4495

Go to: Lagunitas Brewing Company Web Site


During the free brewery tour you will see fresh beer being bottled. Just after filling the bottles and applying the labels, the Lagunitas IPA is headed for packing into six-packs and cases.


A nice touch is finding a Bavarian flag next to a brew kettle. Lagunitas has invested a lot of dollars in equipment so its beer can be made available to beer lovers in more states around the country.


Notice the Lagunitas logo on the hatch window.


The aromas of mashing grain, brewing wort and fermenting beer are a perfume that permeates the entire brewery complex.

 

The Lagunitas Brewing complex is pictured above as the tree surrounded, brown-red roofed buildings and the "L" shaped building behind. The Lagunitas parking lot is the area in the middle of the building complex. Enter using the driveway at the northwest edge of the complex just opposite Scott Street.


This Lagunitas hop cannon is used to inject a burst of fresh hops into the beer while it rests in conditioning tanks. This dry-hopping technique produces the zonked-out citrus, floral and pine aromas that people love in their IPAs these days. Think Hop Stoopid.


The brewery complex includes some warehouse space where pallets of product are stored temporarily before being shipped off to market.


The final step at a production brewery is sending the beer to market. Here a pallet of IPA is loaded onto a waiting truck.