A Look at Lagunitas’ Chicago Brewery Space

Lagunitas Brewing Founder Tony Magee apparently has a serious affinity for sharing news via Twitter, especially at night.

Last night Magee was at it again, tweeting a series of photos of what the new Chicago brewery space looks like. One of those photos was the same one he tweeted back in February with the question “ÔǪwhat would YOU do with a space like thisÔǪ?”

Magee’s recent tweets have certainly generated some buzz in the twittersphere. Yesterday, Lagunitas trended in the Chicago area and Magee has added nearly 1,000 followers since he first broke news of the expansion on Monday.

But if you’re one of those folks that still likes to see an official company press release before you’ll believe a major news announcement, we’ve got it below.

Photos courtesy of Lagunitas Brewing Founder, Tony Magee, via twitter (@LagunitasT)

PETALUMA, CA – The Lagunitas Brewing Company of Petaluma CA is moving forward with the construction of a second brewing facility in the crossroads of the US; Chicago Illinois. Carl Sandburg’s ‘City of Big Shoulders’ will be home to a new ROLEC-built 250 barrel kettle and 200,000 barrels of initial capacity. The brewery will be operating by the 4th quarter of 2013, and will occupy 150,420 square feet on the grounds of the CineSpace Movie Soundstage complex at 15th Street and Rockwell in Chicago’s Douglas Park neighborhood.

According to Lagunitas founder and CEO, Tony Magee, the idea got very real in the last 2 months. A few days spent with a calculator and a couple more visiting sites around the city crystalized the plan. “I was born and raised in Chicago so the siting questions were easy to figure out. But the real driver behind it all was two-fold; first, I realized that there was about 4 ounces of diesel in every 22oz bottle of our beer when enjoyed in Chicago, even more if you’re in NYC. Secondly, the future of Craft Beer is, we believe, local and we sure want to be a part of the future so the decision was easy. One of the best things about craft brewing is being close to the people who are digging it.”

Lagunitas is just finishing up a major expansion of its Petaluma home where it built a new brewhouse that will eventually enable it to brew more than four times what it brewed in 2011. The Petaluma brewery only has fermentation capacity to meet its needs through 2013. By building a second brewery in Chicago, Lagunitas will be adding that needed future capacity closer to where it will be enjoyed.

According to Magee, “By the time Lagunitas Chicago is ready to mash in we will move about 140,000 barrels of production there. All the left coast and western states beer will still be brewed in Petaluma and life at the Petaluma brewery will be pretty calm, for a change, for a whileÔǪ!”.

About Lagunitas Brewing Company:

Lagunitas was founded in 1993 and shipped 161,420 barrels in 2011, up 61% from 2010. 2012 is expected to grow by another 55% to approximately 250,000 barrels. Lagunitas is working closely with Sterling Bank of Spokane Washington for project financing.