I didn’t know what to expect when I got off the bus filled with City of Azusa government officials and a few beer media folk at the 3rd location of Lagunitas Brewing.
I have been to location 1 in Petaluma but not location 2 in Chicago. What I saw in Azusa is probably closer to 2 than 1.
It is ‘uge as Bernie Sanders would say. You wouldn’t be faulted for wanting a golf cart to get around. There are three massive airplane hangar sized buildings. Currently they are empty of brewing equipment and bottling equipment and taprooms so it was hard for me to envision the final “look” of the campus. But to give you perspective, the first building that you see upon taking a left into the parking area is where they held their first bash held a bunch of people, three pouring stations, a bunch of couches (of course) and still have room to rope off a circle for some roller derby action. All without feeling elbow to elbow with people.
All I could think of was that you could probably fit 20 or so L.A. breweries into the space that Lagunitas will be using. It is set-up to accommodate delivery trucks with roll up doors on one side. Tanks will be stationed like sentinels outside. And you can just make out (on a clear day) the iconic Miller sign in next door Irwindale. There will be a beer garden and an amphitheater for musical acts and as things ramp up some cellaring action as well as a merchandise store.
We all will need to wait basically for a year from now before visiting. The expected opening time is spring 2017. In the meantime, there will be the Lagunitas Circus in September