Lagunitas Brewing Company

djeucalyptus

Oregon

4/5  rDev -2.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Other recent reviews (like massshortage's) capture the gist of it, but I'll add my $0.02 as well.

The addition of the new beer garden is welcome, as you can lounge out back without the hustle & bustle of the bar, often featuring live music, as on this last visit. On a busy saturday afternoon, inside is jam packed and the beer garden out back is busy but not overwhelming.

Service seemed fair to a touch above average. everyone was friendly and we were greeted a few times (better than many places), service was relatively prompt, and everyone was happy. what more can we ask for?

Selection was good this time (seems to vary a bit). I like the day-to-day printed menu of taps. Basic sampler is good for unfamiliar friends, and I love the pick any 4 to sample for $5. makes perfect sense to me. and I got to try a few limited draft-only brews like the habanero IPA and port aged hairy eyeball (amazing!). What more could I want?

Haven't sampled from the relatively standard food menu, as I'm quite satisfied with the complementary peanuts and pretzels, but everyone eating seemed fairly satisfied.

All in all, the more I go to the Lagunitas tap room, the more I like Lagunitas. Definitely a must-stop of you're passing through the general area.

11-11-2010 06:57:57 | More by djeucalyptus

massshortage

California

4.22/5  rDev +2.7%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 3 | $

Their taproom is a true beer garden. The atmosphere is great. You enter through a gate into an enclosed yard with a variety of long tables, and more secluded seating circles. All of it is nicely shaded. They have indoor and outdoor stages, and they are in use daily.

The beer is fantastic. They have their standards and seasonals (which are all some of the better examples of the respective styles), and go above and beyond with their specialty brews. The best part about this place is you're never quite sure what to expect. Some wildly experimental beers (with varying degrees of success) keep you on your toes and coming back to have new experiences.

Service is fantastic. The staff seems kind of no-nonsense, but if you take the time to be social, they are very laid back and you can tell they love their work. Example: They don't typically tour their brewery on Sundays, but when we mentioned that I'd never been inside and that it was my birthday, our waitress took the time to take our party on a personal tour that was above and beyond a typical brewery tour.

Unfortunately I've never had food here, but the menu is very limited and not particularly exciting. I just eat up the complimentary peanuts and pretzels. Perfect for an afternoon of drinking great IPA in the sun.

10-20-2010 22:25:05 | More by massshortage

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

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

bigdummy

California

3.73/5  rDev -9.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | $$

I was on my way back to so. cal. and stopped by this brewery after a round of golf. What is awsome is there is a motel6 about 300 yards from the taproom which makes for a great night of live music and beer swillin. I will admit at first its hard to get the attention of the beertenders but once you get to know them thru the night they are really cool. Beers were good on average and they had some bluegrass band playin. It was a blast! Check the website for hours as they are closed mon and tues. overall a fun joint.

09-24-2010 02:32:54 | More by bigdummy

ThreeWiseMen

California

2.88/5  rDev -29.9%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 1.5 | selection: 3 | $$

I finally visited the Lagunitas Brewery yesterday. It had been on my to-do list ever since moving up to San Francisco a few months ago. I joined JustinA1 and some of his friends in the new beer garden.

Justin and company had just finished taking the brewery tour when I arrived. I wish I could've joined 'em, but the traffic on northbound 101 was awful, and it ended up taking me two whole hours to get from San Francisco to Petaluma (should have taken just over an hour). As a result, I was in a pretty crummy mood when I joined them. I was determined not to let that affect my experience though, and sitting outside in the warm sunshine among good company quickly raised my spirits. A four-piece folk band was playing popular covers just twenty yards away, and that helped too.

The crew had already finished one round of drinks and was ready for another. While we waited for the server, they gave me a quick run-down of which beers I should and shouldn't order. Unfortunately, it sounded like most of the beers (and the list was long) were flops. They had already tasted sixteen different Lagunitas beers (four 4-glass samplers), yet only one - Ryan's Folly - was called "good" by all four members. Everything else ranged from mediocre to undrinkable. I decided to order three beers from the list that nobody had tried yet, along with a Ryan's Folly (as a 4-glass sampler).

After forty minutes of waiting, I finally went inside to get my beer from the bar. I stood there for another ten minutes before being helped. It wasn't a busy day (or didn't seem to be); the bartenders were just lackadaisical. Regardless, I got my beer and walked back outside.

Of the four beers I sampled, only the Ryan's Folly was decent, and it was far from exciting; a typical Lagunitas ale: a sweet, hoppy brown/amber. The highly anticipated, cask-conditioned Tropical Stoopid tasted like a stale version of regular Hop Stoopid; the Ginger IPA was different, but completely undrinkable (I left half of my 6oz. sample behind); and the Fusion II, which was listed as a black IPA, tasted like an imperial red ale (not bad overall though).

We all left Lagunitas disappointed. Most of their specialty beers were unpalatable, and the service was pitifully slow. I won't be back.

08-15-2010 19:29:20 | More by ThreeWiseMen

womencantsail

California

3.23/5  rDev -21.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4 | $$

I stopped in here on the way back to the peninsula after being up in the North Bay.

The location itself is really quite nice. A huge outdoor seating area that features a bunch of long picnic tables and sort of a communal vibe. Lots of families and typical looking brewery patrons as well. The one knock is that the outside area just smells like wet dog.

Inside is pretty nice, but the bar area is quite cramped. Off to the right of the bar is a little seating area and to the left of the bar are some tables as well, but they're so close to the bar that it makes it almost uncomfortable.

The service was spotty at best. At one point I was considering just leaving because it was taking so long to even have a bartender acknowledge me (and I wasn't the only one who had a similar problem). Many other patrons walked up long after I had sat down and were served right away while I was sitting there waiting to place my order.

Once I was helped, it was sort of as though I was an inconvenience. I realize that it is busy on a Friday night, but there were three people behind the bar and at any one time, only one was really doing anything.

I finally got my beers and they ranged from amazing (Farmhouse Gueuze) to not very enjoyable at all (Ginger IPA, Habanero IPA). The selection was quite good though, lots of pub only offerings that you don't find anywhere else.

I didn't order any food, but it looked quite good. I was given some peanuts and pretzels though, which was nice.

Overall, this place was alright, but the service really diminished my experience here. I'm not expecting to be waited on hand and foot, but at least the look of "I see you there and I'll help you in just a minute" would be nice.

08-02-2010 21:27:46 | More by womencantsail

KNORDSTROM

Washington

3.8/5  rDev -7.5%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

We stopped by on a Sunday afternoon around 1:00. It was a block away from our Hotel in an industrial district. So I was thinking a warehouse tasting room atmosphere. I was way wrong. They own several large buildings in this complex. But plenty of signs to let u know where to go. (Golden Arches) Hint. You first walk through an wooden fence opening into an outside beer garden with as stage in the corner. service is available , but we chose to go into the bar area. seems like it can hold around 30 people or so inside. Tap list was pretty cool. They actually seperate the beers by the ABV rating. Which they had plenty of the big boys this day. Wife started with a LITTLE SUMPIN and I went for the IMP Stout. Both were tasty!

One thing I really thought was pretty cool . Was there 32oz Mason jar (Growler) and packeged in a brown paper bag. Hold the bottom because that bag wiil break!!

Fun place !! nice locals!! cool atmoshere!! just ok service.
will go back

07-08-2010 16:41:01 | More by KNORDSTROM

olympuszymurgus

Minnesota

4.34/5  rDev +5.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | $$

A hard winter we have had. The cold, the rain, the desolate grey makes us desire the warmer climes. A Van is procured, a destination laid out. We drive.

Pretty Petaluma, a town of sexy humans ready to be dragonWhaled. The sun is out, bluegrass playing on the stage, a oak aged Ruben and the Jets in my glass. The waitress, oh the wonderful waitress brings me water in a mason jar and takes my heart. Three weeks of brewpubs and this is where my dream lives.

We did not eat, but the food looked good. The locals were kind, inquisitive, down to earth California folk. I will be back, i will join the locals in the revelry of life that Lagunitas! From one Lagunaut to another, make the journey on a sunny day in early spring and listen to music made for watching to girls go by.

04-01-2010 01:09:54 | More by olympuszymurgus

JTahoe

California

4.36/5  rDev +6.1%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | $$

Visited back in October 2009. I totally dig this place! Wondering in from the office park parking into the "beer sanctuary" you realize that you have found a gem in the rough. Perfect! The outdoor beer garden area is filled with picnic tables and looks like a super fun place to hang out... it was a bit early in the day and the sun was on the bright side so most people were inside. The interior had a great feel as well, not too polished and not self-consious in any way. We sat at the big central bar ringed with stools and enjoyed a sampler and a couple pints. The service was good, very friendly. A large selection of Lagunitas's range was on tap along with some special offerings on cask. Overall this place is just what I think a brewery bar should be like... I wish I lived closer!

01-29-2010 04:45:51 | More by JTahoe