Lagunitas Brewing Co., one of the fastest-growing craft brewers in the country is undergoing a brewery expansion to bring on a 600,000 capacity brewery in record time. Their plan is to increase production and go national with distribution to cover most of the U.S. market by the end of the year.
National distribution and that new capacity will put Lagunitas on a track to join the biggest national craft breweries.

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A brand new 250bbl brewhouse being shipped to Lagunitas Brewing Co. as part of their major expansion project, hit a storm on the way into the eastern Caribbean. According to a Lagunitas Twitter stream, as the ship rolled back and forth by more than 40 degrees a crane came loose from its chains and crushed the brewhouse, sitting peacefully on deck. The 30′ diameter lauter tun caught the blunt of the attack, and appears to be a total loss.

Meanwhile two 40′ tall 750bbl fermenters just moored in Stockton CA port last night. Because they are too big to travel via truck, some components of the brewhouse will be barged as far as possible up the Petaluma River and then air freighted (that’s right — flown) via a “heavy lift” chopper.

Looking forward to seeing photos of a brewery flying over the city of Petaluma

What do you do with a pile of adobe soil? Tony Magee, founder and owner of Lagunitas Brewing Co., had an idea…

“The dirt needed to go somewhere,” he said. “All of a sudden it became apparent to me. It was exactly the right amount of material to create an amphitheater. In my mind, a stage appeared. There were no architectural plans at first; it was very impromptu.”

An estimated 300 people filled the venue as Tony Magee took the stage as the opening act for  Texas-based singer-songwriter James McMurtry.

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Just two years after a major production increase, Lagunitas Brewing Co. is again expanding their production capacity. With a new 250-barrel brewhouse (the company’s sixth) now in the works, Lagunitas will be able to produce up to 600,000 barrels annually. Demand for Lagunitas craft beers has been surging since their last plant expansion.

“We thought it would last six to eight years, and instead we grew through it in two. By summer, we’re expecting to be running the plant flat out to keep with  orders.” says company founder Tony Magee.

At 600,000 barrels annually, Lagunitas will be moving into the realm of the largest craft brewers, keeping company with Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

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