Lagunitas Brewing Company

ek_ek

California

4.84/5  rDev +17.8%
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

elNopalero

Texas

4.7/5  rDev +14.4%
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

WestValleyIPA

California

4.58/5  rDev +11.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $

Went for the Lagunitas tour on my honeymoon this past week. Before the actual tour starts, we were given 7 4oz taster pours. The tour was pretty short but fun all the same. At the beer garden, there was an OK live band, and lots of special brews. A new Firkin every Thursday. Great service, and I say this even though they lost our food order. Our food was comped even though I told the waitress it wasn't necessary. Employees were around chatting everyone up, and it was a great vibe all around. Beers were about 5 bucks a piece. Great brewery.

10-19-2010 18:27:39 | More by WestValleyIPA

Beerandraiderfan

Nevada

4.56/5  rDev +10.9%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $

Totally awesome vibe here. You walk into a really large beer garden, tons of long row tables, they can really entertain a good amount of people. Just as cool as that, there was a band that did about 2 hours of Hank Williams tunes. Lots of Hawaiain shirt guys around, all of them were really cool.

Quality of the beers here are awesome, really enjoyed the wet hop ipa, they do it about as good as anyone. The habanero ipa was crazy, would go up to the edge of too spicy, and then relent just barely. Barrel aged hairy eyeball was pretty good too.

Never had to wait for a beer, they bring you pretzels and peanuts, really was as close to perfect as possible. Prices were just great. Dogs totally welcome, just a really cool unpretentious, friendly place. Stayed about 1-2 hours longer than planned because it was so happening on a warm November Saturday.

Oh yeah, inside there's a wooden bar that makes a square. Only went there to use the restroom.

11-25-2010 03:50:31 | More by Beerandraiderfan

PORTerCITY

California

4.55/5  rDev +10.7%
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

ritter57

Pennsylvania

4.53/5  rDev +10.2%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I visited this place one evening recently after a stopping at an overrated brewery about 10 miles north. I absolutely love Lagunitas. I have admired the beer for many years and the brewery/pub did not disappoint. I have been to a lot of brewpubs and the atmosphere at Lagunitas was one of the best. The staff was a little laid back but very friendly and knowledgable.

The beer selection was great and fresh Lagunitas beer is unbelievable. The food selection is not extensive but everything I had was fresh and delicious.

This place is just plain "cool" - with a nice outdoor courtyard/beer-garden adjacent to a cozy bar/pub. I didn't get to take the brewery tour but I'll bet it was nice. They seem to really focus on the customer experience which I love. I will go out of my way to go back to this place again.

10-02-2010 02:17:31 | More by ritter57

bradybeer

California

4.5/5  rDev +9.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Located in Petaluma, this new beer garden/beer bar opened in the Lagunitas complex. Walking in on a Saturday there was a live band playing laid back tunes. The beer bar is located adjacent to the brewery's offices. On tap they had about 8 beers, including the Pils, Hop Stupid, IPA, Correction Ale, and a beer bar only Bourbon Barrel aged Cappuccino Stout which was fantastic. They also had a number of bombers available including a number of Zappa tribute beers. Limited seating is available inside-we chose to sit in the spacious beer garden. They had light snacks and later brought in some grilled hot dogs, etc. Prices were reasonable and service was fantastic. Spoke to one of the co-owners and he allowed my wife and me to rummage through boxes, upon boxes, of old labels and take what we wanted! Nice... only wish I lived nearer.

08-08-2009 19:30:09 | More by bradybeer

dgilks

Australia

4.44/5  rDev +8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Lagunitas is a whole lot of fun. When I visited there was a local band playing a set, the place was packed and, importantly, the beer was great.

Sitting at the bar, service was good with the bartenders and one of the brewers being happy to chat despite the crowd and being happy to point out their favourite beers.

The wood laden, semi-industrial setting is nice and suits the place well and I'm sure it is a little more comfortable when there isn't live music.

The selection was also good. Along with the standard range, there was also a great selection of limited releases including their Gueuze and a BA Stout.

Overall, I really liked the joint and I'd be here all the time if I lived in Petaluma.

11-22-2011 01:34:45 | More by dgilks

KimenTshom

California

4.43/5  rDev +7.8%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

My main reason for going to Lagunitas was the brewery tour, but my wife and I also decided to have a late lunch at the pub. The food was quite good and reasonably priced, and there are a wide array of special release and limited beers available that are almost impossible to find outside the brewery. We each ordered the beer sampler, which is priced based on which four beers you want to try. We chose eight different beers, mostly focusing on the special releases like the bourbon-aged stout and the Fusion series. It was a great way to sample a wide selection of Lagunitas brews.

After the meal we headed into the brewey for the free tour. Unfortunately so did a huge crowd of other people, many of whom were quite drunk and clearly only there for the free beer that precedes the tour. I'm pretty sure a good number of them didn't even actually tour the brewey... Anyway, if you make the trip to the brewery, make sure to go on the early tour. They pump you full of beer before taking you through. And I mean FULL of beer. I lost count of how many samples they gave the crowd, but I think it was five or six cups per person. And they came fast too. The guide jokingly said that it was because the brewery was so small and boring that they had to get us drunk before taking us on the tour.

The tour itself is fast, and the guide definitely has a set monologue that he was running through. He did make some time to answer questions though. It is an impressive brewery for a "craft brewer" and the guide pointed out that they were just getting ready to almost double their capacity. Signs of the astronomical leap in their popularity I guess. And deservedly so, as the beer, the food and the tour all were great!

01-08-2012 00:34:54 | More by KimenTshom

avaldivia

California

4.4/5  rDev +7.1%
vibe: 5 | quality: 5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

Lagunitas is where I most often go because, I love this place for the atmosphere. This is a must for anyone who lives near or anyone visiting the Bay Area.

In the Tap Room you'll find all the standard brews like their IPA, Little Sumpin' Sumpin' and so forth but you will also see a few beers that they have some fun with and release specifically for the brewery. I always recommend getting the tasters for $5 so you can try any four and go with ones you can't get elsewhere. Some of their best stuff, unfortunately, you will not find outside of here.

I recommend sitting at the bar where the service is really good, but if you sit outside, be prepared to wait. At times they can be very busy and understaffed so service can slow down. The food is okay, but nothing special. There is music everyday to enjoy; either outside in the summer or inside when it's cold. You should take the tour which is fun and you get a considerable amount of free beer which is always nice.

Overall a really nice laid back place to spend some time. Come here ready to relax.

06-28-2011 07:12:55 | More by avaldivia