Lagunitas Brewing Company

climax

Kansas

3.85/5  rDev -6.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 3 | $$

Lagunitas is a must stop in wine country for the beer connoisseur, especially the hophead. It's located on the edge of a pretty laid back rural town and that's what makes it something special. We drove from Sac, and it's a gorgeous trek if you get off the interstate early.

Try to make it on a nice day (not too tough to come by in this region), because the courtyard is where it's at. There's live music nearly every day, it started when we arrived at around 3pm on a Sunday. This place seemed busy when we showed up.... that was nothing. It only got busier, a popular spot for sure!

The beers are served in mason jars, which is different. It shoves aside proper beer presentation, which I thought was a statement of how confident they are with their brews. The offerings are typically geared to the lupalin freak, which is awesome. My fiancee likes the lighter sweeter stuff, but she fared alright (she came because I wanted to anyways). They had four IPAs on tap.... yea, four (4)! God bless Lagunitas. Pints were five bucks. Tasters (four 4oz glasses) were seven bucks, not bad.

The food is pretty limited, but don't come here for the food. A half dozen appetizers and panini sandwiches round out the solid diet items. I got a good sized panini for $10, it was decent.

The service is a tough one to rate. Service is going to be slow if you don't venture to the bar yourself (even that is typically packed), that's just the way it is, this is a busy place. But when there's several tables laid out potluck style and no real rhyme or reason to what's going on, you gotta cut 'em some slack. After all, even though the food and beer don't come quickly, the musician on stage isn't taking a break, so enjoy yourself. Everyone is friendly, including the dogs which are welcome, so watch your step.

04-07-2011 02:34:01 | More by climax

williamjbauer

West Virginia

3.98/5  rDev -2.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

So I went here at the end of a mini beer tour with my wife. We went to Sierra Nevada, Bear Republic, Russian River, Northern Coast Breweries.

So I love outdoor seating and having a big enough venue to support the crowds. This minimizes wait times and usually creates a nice atmosphere. Live music is often available. The brewery tour is one of my favorites so far, hilarious guide and great stores were shared. Lagunitas has a colorful history for sure.

Our service was crappy at first, we seated ourselves but waited 10 min and nobody noticed us outside. We moved into the bar area and got drinks within the first 5 minutes. They were super busy on a Saturday evening so I won't dock them too much.

The atmosphere was better than average, they had a band finishing up just as we came in, but overall I was happy. Their swag shop was pretty rad.

Food was pretty decent, I don't have much to comment on.

Only other comment, I would rather have 2oz than 4 oz (a little too big for me)samples for beer so I can try more beers and then just buy a pint or two after I get to taste them all.

05-10-2013 11:43:54 | More by williamjbauer

ek_ek

California

4.84/5  rDev +18%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

This place was a lot of fun. I visited with a couple of buddies and I really enjoyed the fact that they gave a tour of the brewery. The tour guide was great. He gave you a lot of the story and facts about the company's history. Very entertaining, would recommend this to anyone.

04-28-2013 06:42:06 | More by ek_ek

hayesjw

California

4.31/5  rDev +5.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 4.25 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

The brewery consistantly has in-house ale and lager offerings you can only dream become available at your saloon or beer hall.

The recent renovations to outdoor seating include built in heat lamps and attractive sun shades to welcome guest to enjoy all seasons. The lively and attentive staff indoors and outside are friendly and greet all whether attending the music venue, brewery tour, gift shop with offsale beer, or pet and children friendly patio.

Peanuts and water are provided liberaly. However, I encourage you to dine on site. Rotating menu selectons include local Sonoma County sourced ingredients.

The beer remains the reason to return and enjoy this community geared, responsible company generous with its donations to local events.

04-27-2013 02:58:58 | More by hayesjw

SpdKilz

Illinois

4.14/5  rDev +1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.25 | service: 3.75 | selection: 4.25 | $$

Stopped by here quickly on my way from SF to Santa Rosa for the PtY release this past February.

Stopped in on a Thursday at around 3:00pm. Wow, it was crowded already. The atmosphere was great - everyone was having a good time, everyone was relaxed, everyone was drinking.

The service was a bit sub-par. It took me a while to get my beer/samplers, but overall it was fine.

The selection was good - I hate when breweries don't have anything special of theirs on tap at their own tap room. Here, they had a few special BA beers, and I actually tried the BA Gnarly which was fantastic. The price was reasonable as well.

I would have liked to have stayed here a bit longer, and hopefully will in the future.

04-19-2013 18:07:42 | More by SpdKilz

MilwaukeeCrusher

Wisconsin

3.33/5  rDev -18.8%
vibe: 1.5 | quality: 5 | service: 1.5 | selection: 4 | $$

Wow was this placed packed. As I was told happens weekly during the warm time of year, the brewery was playing host to some bands. While generally this is a good thing, there were logistical issues about; with overcrowding, and difficulty in getting a beer at the forefront.

I was told this night they couldn't so samplers which I had hoped to do. With so many options, it would be a very slippery slope had I been made to try a glass of everything that looked interesting and it would have defeated the purpose of tasting it: any objectivity would be gone.

After two glasses I left. Sorry Lagunitas... you are one of my favorite breweries in the country, probably top 5. But if you want to do things like this you need a bigger place. I wouldn't mind giving it another try but I don't know when I will be in Petaluma again. Maybe I'll check out the pub in Chicago when it opens.

As for now, much too much.

03-15-2013 23:10:29 | More by MilwaukeeCrusher

PORTerCITY

California

4.55/5  rDev +11%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.75 | selection: 4.25 | food: 4.5 | $

I really enjoyed visiting this brewery. The atmosphere was great, friendly and the Lagunitas staff was not only professional but very knowledgeable. Service was great, seated and served almost instantly. I had just came from Russian River for the Pliny The Younger release (seemed less than 15 miles away), so after waiting 5 1/2 hours in line for Younger, the serving and seating was excellent. I had a few of there bottled beers, the cappuccino stout is okay, wasn't the biggest fan of there bottled beers, but have to say there on tap selection is underrated! The gnarly wine, as well as the barrel aged imperial stout is great!!! It's too bad the don't put either in growlers for you. Overall i enjoyed the experience there and will not hesitate to go there again, if in the area. Truthfully the only reason i would be in that area of California is to go to Russian River, but will pass by Lagunitas again if in that area.!!!

02-14-2013 01:57:22 | More by PORTerCITY

Salena

4.28/5  rDev +4.4%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $

Had a great time at this place, went on a tour with my bf and we laughed the entire time. These people really know how to have a good time, we were shown all around and enjoyed some story time in the upstairs lounge, which had so much memorabilia to keep the eye entertained. Tastings that were never ending and the band played on and on! Can't wait to go back to see what's new and take another walk through this growing brewery. I have to say that for such a small brewery they have so much to choose from. Impressed.

09-04-2012 23:34:50 | More by Salena

elNopalero

Texas

4.7/5  rDev +14.6%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $

I’ve had the joy of seeing Lagunitas grow over the course of the past decade, visiting periodically every year or so, and they’re certainly deserving of all the success they’ve had to date.

They call this place a beer sanctuary and boy does it live up to its name… It’s like an oasis from the city, and even from the industrial park where Lagunitas is headquartered. Outdoor picnic tables, some barstools inside, and a 300-person concert grounds adjoining it make for pure nirvana.

On my last visit I sat down to wait for the tour and they brought out water, peanuts and pretzels almost immediately. Absolutely love, love, love it here.

Music every day. Outdoor concert garden. Sunny weather. And fantastic folks. Everyone is laid back, friendly, and maybe just a tad bit eccentric. But in a good way.

They keep their regulars on tap year round and release seasonal and one-offs on occasion. Every Thursday (at 4:20, natch) is a cask selection. I can’t comment on the quality of the food but they have plenty of options (in sandwich form). Come here for the beers, for the music, for the good vibes. I know I’ll be back.

08-06-2012 07:19:13 | More by elNopalero

WeedKing4

Ontario (Canada)

4.33/5  rDev +5.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$

Stopped here while in the San Francisco area. Great selection of their beers on tap. I focused on the specialty beers and tried their Gueuze and BA Gnarly Wine. THe Gueuze was amazing! Great service, and the food was also very tasty. Was supplied with pretzels as soon as I was seated. Loved their pork sliders! There was a tour available as well, but I was just there to drink the beer. Bought some clothing with me too. Great place overall and glad I was able to stop by and see it. Places like this make me hate Canada a lot, for beer.

05-12-2012 02:36:02 | More by WeedKing4