[Update] Lagunitas Addresses Questions on Azusa,CA Expansion

(Petaluma,CA) – One day after news broke of Lagunitas Brewing Company’s plans of a third brewery slated for Azusa,CA in 2017, they make things more official by answering some frequently asked questions.  Read on for these answers and follow the link to the official site to see blueprints and related pictures. Cheers.

Lagunitas Brewery # 3 A few questions answered from the Warlord himself Tony Magee

Why LA?

First, Petaluma can not be expanded further beyond the approx 750k bbls it is currently built out at. At current growth rates it will be at about 85% of that in roughly 18 months or so. Chicago still has plenty of run room but we don’t want to ship to the West from Chicago. Secondly, we are doing well with beer lovers in the Southland and the Southwest in general and we want to be closer and more involved with them all in that landscape. Lastly… Mexico is nearby and the future will not be like the past, right?…

What about the drought in CA?

Lagunitas has been focused on water efficiency in our Petaluma brewery for years. We currently have a 4:1 water usage ratio (4 gallons of water to 1 gallon of finished beer) and are in the middle of implementing a revolutionary new water recycling system designed by Cambrian Innovation. When the system comes online at the end of this year, we will be treating our wastewater to the point where we can re-use it for everything but the beer itself, such as boilers and cleaning cycles. Our beer in Petaluma will still be made with 100% pure Russian River water, but we will not have to use as much fresh water for cleaning and other processes. With the new water system in Petaluma we will be able to reduce our water usage ratio to 2.5:1 (a 40% reduction in water usage). This will make our Petaluma brewery one of the most water efficient breweries in the world. We hope to leverage innovations such as these to build a state of the art brewery in LA that uses as little water as possible.

What is our water source?

The water at the new brewery will be mountain stream water from the San Gabriel Mountains. Azusa is blessed to be located right at the mouth of this excellent water source. As such they are much less reliant on imported water from Northern California and the Colorado River. The Azusa water supply also matches up nicely with our other water supplies in Petaluma and Chicago enabling us to brew our beers without having to significantly adjust the water.

Will we install an EcoVolt system there as well?

Yes, we could potentially design a brewery with a water use ratio of 2:1 which would be the most water efficient brewery in the world that I know of. Going that route would hedge our water risks.

Will this facility be larger than the other two you already have?

This brewery will be similar in scale to our Chicago brewery, which is a little larger than Petaluma.

Is it being built to produce kegs and bottles exclusively for SoCal or for wider Southwest distribution?

This Brewery will serve LA and the whole Southland, of course, but it is a nice place from which to get fresher beer to the whole Southwest and even the Gulf Coast. I believe there are also about 120 million thirsty folks just across the border to the south of you too…! Someday….we can dream..!!

Will there be a Taproom?

Yes!! Absolutely, yes…that’s the most fun part of the whole thing for me, making new friends, hosting non-profit groups, bringing music, sharing the whole thing with other humans, what could be better?

What is the brewery’s address?

Awkward, but I don’t know the precise address, however it is a new commercial development site immediately west of the San Gabriel River and just north of the Irwindale Miller Brewery.

Are you still planning for more?

The future is promised to no one, but we all can dream…

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ORIGINAL POST WITH BLUEPRINTS, ETC