The Lagunitas Brewing Company, founded in 1993 in

Lagunitas, California Lagunitas (''Laguna'', Spanish for "Little lagoons") is an unincorporated community in Marin County, California. It is located southwest of Novato, at an elevation of 217 feet (66 m). For census purposes, Lagunitas is aggregated with Forest Kn ...

, is a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

Heineken International Heineken N.V. () is a Dutch multinational brewing company, founded in 1864 by Gerard Adriaan Heineken in Amsterdam. , Heineken owns over 165 breweries in more than 70 countries. It produces 348 international, regional, local and speciality be ...

. Before Heineken bought a 50% share of the company in 2015, the company met the definition of a

craft brewery Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...

. Two years prior it ranked fifth top-selling craft brewery in the US. Heineken purchased the remainder of the company in 2017.

History

The brewery was founded in 1993 by Tony Magee in

, and moved a year later to nearby

Petaluma, California Petaluma (Miwok languages, Miwok: ''Péta Lúuma'') is a city in Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, California, located in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. Its population was 59,776 a ...

, after they quickly outgrew their original rural West Marin location. Before being taken over by Heineken, Lagunitas was one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the United States. Production increased from in 2004Digitale, Robert
Lagunitas Brewing undertakes big expansion
''The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa)''. March 20, 2011. Retrieved 2011-3-21. to in 2010.Quackenbush, Jeff
Lagunitas plans $9.5 million expansion
''The Press Democrat'' (Santa Rosa). March 15, 2011. Retrieved 2011-5-18. In March 2011, the company had 92 employees with distribution in 32 states. The brewery announced a $9.5 million expansion slated to begin early 2012 which increased its brewing capacity to . On April 9, 2012, Lagunitas announced plans for a new

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

-based brewery equipped with a 250 barrel brew house which will also have a capacity. In May 2012 it was announced that the company had signed a lease for a location in the city's Douglas Park neighborhood in

North Lawndale North Lawndale is one of the 77 community areas of the city of Chicago, Illinois, located on its West Side. The area contains the K-Town Historic District, the Foundation for Homan Square, the Homan Square interrogation facility, and the great ...

, "that will put tin a space owned by film studio

Cinespace Cospective Pty Ltd, formerly Rising Sun Research, is an Australian software firm located in Adelaide, South Australia. It is the Australian arm of the international ftrack organisation. The company originated as a technology spin-off from the ...

...for at least 20 years." The Chicago brewery started producing beer on April 18, 2014, and opened an on-premises taproom a few months thereafter. A third brewery was planned to be built in

Azusa, California Azusa (Tongva language, Tongva: ''Asuksa-nga'') is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, at the foot of the San Gabriel Mountains in Los Angeles County, California, United States, located 20 miles east of Downtown Los Angeles, downtown Los Angeles. ...

, however the brewery has not become operational as the result of a slowdown in growth. In December 2014 Lagunitas filed a lawsuit against

Sierra Nevada Brewing Company Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. was established in 1979 by homebrewers Ken Grossman and Paul Camusi in Chico, California, United States. The brewery produced in 2010, and as of 2016, Sierra Nevada Brewing is the seventh-largest brewing company in t ...

over the use and style of the letters IPA on their label. The lawsuit was dropped a month later after public outcry. On September 8, 2015,

acquired a 50% stake in the company to help it expand its operations globally. As a result of the deal, Lagunitas was no longer considered a craft brewery under the

Brewers Association The Brewers Association (BA) is an American trade group of over 5,400 brewers, breweries in planning, suppliers, distributors, craft beer retailers, and individuals particularly concerned with the promotion of craft beer and homebrewing. Two of ...

definition of "craft", since Heineken's stake was greater than 25%. Less than two years later, on May 4, 2017, Heineken purchased the remaining portion of Lagunitas, making it the sole owner of the brewery. Founder Tony Magee continued as CEO of Lagunitas, with the intention of expanding production and distribution of Lagunitas beers worldwide.

Cannabis associations

The brewery has long-standing associations with

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

, which have at times caused legal problems. Some beers have had names associated with the plant, in one case resulting in a name being banned, and using the number

420 420 may refer to: * 420 (number) * 420 (cannabis culture), informal reference to cannabis use and celebrations on April 20 **California Senate Bill 420 or the Medical Marijuana Program Act *AD 420, a year in the 5th century of the Julian calendar * ...

in internal materials and external advertising. On

Saint Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

in 2005, the

California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control The California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) is a government agency of the state of California that regulates the manufacture, distribution, and sale of alcoholic beverages. Background Upon the repeal of prohibition in 1933 and ...

raided a weekly tasting party at the brewery to investigate alleged

dealing by employees. Officers had staked out the brewery for two months to observe people consuming cannabis on the premises. No charges were filed. Magee admits "no one was willing to sell it to them, but everyone was willing to give it to them for free." Lagunitas was found in violation of Section 24200 of California's Business and Professions Code, better known as its "disorderly house" law. Lagunitas was eventually served a twenty-day suspension of operations and the ordeal was commemorated with a beer named Undercover Investigation Shut-down Ale. Lagunitas dropped '420' from its labels in 2013 after a trademark claim by Sweetwater Brewing Company. In 2018, Lagunitas released a IPA-inspired sparkling water infused with THC and CBD. The beverage is called "Hi-Fi Hops" and is a collaboration with AbsoluteXtracts, a cannabis grower. It is currently only available in California.

Notes

References

External links

Official Site
{{Authority control Beer brewing companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area Companies based in Sonoma County, California Heineken brands

History

Cannabis associations

See also

Notes

References

External links