#lagunitas Archives – PorchDrinking.com
Lagunitas Reopens its Chicago Taproom
April 11, 2023 | Rachel Morrison
This week, Lagunitas reopens its Chicago taproom in Douglass Park. Before you keep reading, open Spotify, search “Pure Imagination” and press play. Ready? OK. The Lagunitas Taproom reopens to the public on Thursday, April 13. You’re immediately transported back in time when you open the doors of the 30,000-square-foot brewing facility. Right away, guests are greeted with the nostalgic tune from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Both Lagunitas and the filmare set in a vast and imaginative space. The same 32 taps line the bar in the upstairs taproom, and the kitchen is serving bar bites, sandwiches, mussels and more.
PorchDrinking’s Weekly Denver Beer Beat | January 8, 2020
January 8, 2020 | Jeremiah Cornelius
The Denver Beer Beat is a weekly roundup of brewery openings, special tappings, firkins and one-off batches, bottle releases, dinners, pairings, and more happening in the Front Range and beyond. Be sure to check in each Wednesday to discover anything and everything happening around Colorado’s beer scene. Now let’s get to this week’s can’t miss beer events. Read More
A Classic, Now Unfiltered: The Inspiration for Lagunitas’ Little Sumpin’ Hazy
July 18, 2019 | Taylor Laabs
Their IPA might be their most well-known and widely-distributed, but my favorite Lagunitas Brewing Company offering is a beer that blurs the lines of the drinking experience. A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ is a classic that can be enjoyed rain or shine, sun or snow. Its hearty ABV, unique wheat body, and complex flavor profile have made it a fan favorite for years. It’s also an employee favorite, says Lagunitas Brewmaster Jeremy Marshall. While the original has its perks, Lagunitas employees and brewers have had access to a version of A Little Sumpin’ Sumpin’ that has never graced retail shelves before now: an unfiltered-version designed to taste like you’re drinking it straight from the tank. That was the inspiration for their newest offering and Sumpin’ Sumpin’ sibling, Little Sumpin’ Hazy.
Craft Brewers See Opportunity in Adding Hard Seltzer to Their Growing Portfolio
June 27, 2019 | Taylor Laabs 1
What does it mean to be a craft brewer in 2019? For many, sticking with the status quo is no longer business as usual. Brewers today understand their consumers on a deep level and have more data than ever on their preferences. One of the newer preferences that continues to make waves outside of the typical craft beer market is hard or “spiked” seltzer.
Chicago Quick Sips | April 15 Chicago Beer News & Events
April 15, 2019 | Eric Oliver
Quick Sips is our way of highlighting beer events, tap takeovers and other notable beer news around the city of Chicago. If you’d like to submit something to be included in the next Quick Sips, please email us at [email protected].
Four New Session IPAs Perfect for the Long Hours of March Madness
March 20, 2019 | Taylor Laabs
The calendar year is full of great sports events, but there is arguably no better multi-day sports period than the opening weekend of March Madness. From early Thursday to late Sunday, college basketball fans, avid gamblers, and college alumni alike will gather around computer screens, flat-screen TVs and in stadiums across the nation to cheer on their favorite team. It’s an experience that frays the nerves, especially if you have a team you’re rooting for or money on the line. It’s also one that is ideal for your favorite beverage of choice—several of them in fact. Whether you’re on your couch or on a bar-stool, the non-stop basketball action for the opening weekend deserves a light yet flavorful beer that’s high on hops but low on alcohol. Here are four new Session IPAs that should make it into your starting lineup this weekend.
How Craft Brewers Use Their Influence to Help Out Man’s Best Friend
November 30, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
Tis the season for Christmas cheer, hearty beer and giving back to those in need. Craft brewers connect to their local communities—and beyond—not only through their beer but also their charitable acts and community outreach. Look no farther than the 1,000+ breweries who have teamed up with Sierra Nevada to brew beer to aid in the Campfire recovery. Brewing beer for good or for a purpose gives craft brewers the ability to create actual change in their communities and for causes that they care about, which extends far past just human-to-human outreach.
Interweaving the love of their four-legged friends into business activity has become a standard practice for breweries across the U.S. While many breweries employ cats to help in pest control, even more advocate for man’s best friend through unique beers, adoption programs and charitable initiatives that come from breweries who have a particular passion for the dogs in their lives. Here’s a look at how several craft brewers embrace and spread the love of their favorite furry friends.
Enter the Darkness | Six Dark Beers Perfect for November
November 5, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
The twilight of fall is the best time of the year for beer people. Yes, I love my sweet fruited ales and lightly sour goses, but there’s something hearty about a viscous, dark brown porter or stout that warms your heart…and your stomach on a cold day. Now that November has officially arrived and the sight of Halloween and pumpkin ales are behind us, I wanted to highlight six crucial beers that effortlessly bridge the gap between the sweet malts of September and the boozy heat of December. I below that the below six beers fit that mold and can be reasonably located throughout the country – some more than others.
Lagunitas Partners with Short’s Brewing Co. on New Session Ale
August 14, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
Last July, Lagunitas purchased 20% of Michigan-based Short’s Brewing Co. When it was announced, Short’s spokeswoman Emily Sullivan noted that the agreement was strategic and helped them grow their business through easier access to materials and packaging that a brewing behemoth like Lagunitas can offer. Now, we’re seeing the first real activation of the partnership, as brewers from both operations joined together for a Midwest meets West Coast collaboration: Passion Grass Session Ale made with passion fruit and lemongrass. The new creation is the first consumer-facing example of their partnership and is sure to appeal to beer geeks nationwide. Here are the details.
Niche or Necessity? Why 19.2 oz Cans Continue to Gain Momentum
July 19, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
Look in the hand of any avid craft beer fan and you’ll most likely find a can of glistening beer. Right now, the shift towards aluminum primarily revolves around the traditional 12oz and tallboy formats, but that trend is evolving as consumers continue to voice their beer opinions through their wallets. The next frontier for cans is one that has been on-shelves for some time. Unsurprisingly pioneered by Oskar Blues back in 2012, the 19.2oz can, often called a stovepipe, is a behemoth of beer, giving drinkers over 1.5 standard servings of beer. It’s not a format for everyday use, but several brewers across the nation are finding interesting niches for the big can format.
We asked them about the growing trend and if they think the can is here to stay.
Fast Facts on Lagunitas’ New THC-Infused Sparkling Beverage, Hi-Fi Hops
June 27, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
It’s not any sort of industry secret that Lagunitas Brewing Co. has been known to have an affinity for dankness. The Petaluma, CA-based brewery has had a storied history combining hops and cannabis into beer, which makes their recent announcement that much more exciting. Lagunitas has decided to take their groovy talents to the booming sparkling water market, with the introduction of their Hi-Fi Hops sparkling beverage. The new carbonated water drink is IPA-inspired and blends together hops with both THC and CBD, two chemical compounds found in cannabis.
Beer Cocktail Recipe | Chaucer’s Braggot Cocktail IPA Challenge
May 29, 2018 | Scott Johnson
Everyone has a favorite cocktail. Not just from the base recipe or primary ingredient, but it isn’t your cocktail unless it’s made with your favorite brand. So when you jump from the 10 major brands of whiskey to the hundreds of available pale ales in your state, the search becomes a massive task. That’s where I’ve taken the steps to help narrow down the best Braggot Cocktail that will get you started on the road to personal perfection.
A braggot is technically defined as a beer mixed with mead; however, the beverage can exist through traditionally brewed recipes. The Beer Judge Certification Program would list it as an Alternative Sugar Beer (31B) where honey is used as the primary ingredient. They can vary wildly in terms of flavor, weight and sweetness. You would think this style would appear more often in our age of experimentation, but finding a commercially available braggot has been very difficult lately.
Lagunitas is Making Moves Both in Azusa and Abroad
May 15, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
In most areas of business, expansion is almost always a good thing. But that notion has not always been the case in the craft beer industry. Look no further than … Read More
As Craft Beer Goes Mainstream, Lagunitas Stays Weird
February 1, 2018 | Taylor Laabs
Tony Magee started his brewery dream back in 1993 in Lagunitas, California. The goal was to create bombastic beers that teemed with the plentiful hops found on the West Coast, and to have a lot of fun doing it. Originally an Illinois native, Tony has grown into somewhat of a national celebrity when it comes to craft beer due to his unique brewing practices that led to creations like Undercover Shut Down Ale, his outspoken personality, and the great beers his brewery(s) have produced since his early days.
Now, Lagunitas Brewing Company is an international power, its IPA is the current #1 best seller in packaged formats and they produced around one million barrels of beer last year. In many ways, Magee’s creation is the perfect example of craft beer’s explosive growth over the past two decades. But then again, Lagunitas is an outlier in the current craft beer environment. They’re not like your standard brewpub or trendy hazy IPA factory. If you’ve visited their massive 300,000 sq. foot Chicago brewery facility, decorated with secondhand furniture and mind-melting dog murals, you’d recognize that. As craft beer infiltrates every last avenue of American consumerism, Lagunitas has found a way to stay weird. I asked Karen Hamilton, Lagunitas’ Communications Director and Tony’s sister, how they’ve been able to stay true to their brand for 25 years.
Ultimate 6er | Government Shutdown
January 20, 2018 | Mike Zoller
Now that the government has shutdown for the first time since October 2013, we’ll have to wait and see if this one lasts longer than 17 days. Until then, there’s really not a lot we can do but crack open some beer. Here are six beers you can drink during the latest government shutdown.
Event Preview | LowDown Barrel-Aged Beer Fest 2018 with Pour List
January 12, 2018 | Brady Akers
If you have attended the Barrel-Aged Beer Festival at LowDown Brewery in the past, you remember the laid back, line-free day of great rare beers. This year’s third annual event will be better than ever with more barrel aged beers, more breweries, and more time to drink them. LowDown will again host the event this weekend, January 13 and 14 with beers from 15 other breweries, including Black Project, River North, Funkwerks, Station 26, Lagunitas, Dry Dock, Odell, Ratio, Elevation, Left Hand, Platt Park, Banded Oak, Spangalang, Little Machine and Declaration.
Event Preview: SideDoor/Lawry’s & Lagunitas: A Five-Course Beer Dinner
March 21, 2017 | Mathew Powers
SideDoor, the popular gastropub adjacent to Lawry’s The Prime Rib, is joining forces with Lagunitas Brewing Company on Thursday, March 23 at 7 p.m. Located in a building steeped in history, Executive Chef Leonard Delgado will provide guests with a five-course menu that will pair with Lagunitas beer or beer-based cocktail ($75/person). It’s a night for foodies and beer geeks.
What We’re Drinking | February 10, 2017
February 10, 2017 | Danele Bova
This week was full of ups and downs. Super Bowl 51 saw a huge upset by the Patriots who achieved a comeback over the Falcons (some celebrated, many did not.) Lady Gaga put on a kickass halftime show, but left her political side at home (or did she?) Beyonce broke the internet with her pregnancy announcement (the queen is having twins!) And the American public continues to flail about as the political atmosphere remains heavy and foreboding.
Event Preview | LowDown Barrel-Aged Beer Festival
January 18, 2017 | Brady Akers
If you have attended LowDown Brewery’s Barrel-Aged Beer Festival in the past, you remember the laid back, line-free day of great rare beers. This year’s event is bound to be twice as good; mainly because it’s twice as long with more than double the barrel aged beers. LowDown will again host the event at their brewery this weekend, January 21 and 22.
Event Recap | Chicago’s 6th Annual Beer Hoptacular
November 8, 2016 | Mathew Powers
In a setting normally reserved for bringing screenplays to life, the entertainment value of Chicago’s Beer Hoptacular at Cinespace Chicago was worthy of an Oscar. Within the expansive production studio, a sea of breweries lined both walls and were accompanied by music, food, an airbrush tattoo van, and even an insult booth. Of course, a beer fest is only as good as its beer, and with more than 150 craft beers on hand, the beer selection did not disappoint.
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