The news has been all over beer socials today, crowding out the coverage of the cicada-infused Malört:
Lagunitas Brewing today announced it be moving its brewing operations out of their Chicago brewhouse, and consolidating production at their hometown of Petaluma, California. A news release from Lagunitas explained that the Chicago TapRoom in the brewery will also close. The building with continue as a warehouse space.

“The changes will impact 86 employees, some of whom will retain remote roles or relocate to Petaluma, California, while others will receive retention incentives to work through the transition as well as departure packages including support services and job-placement assistance,” the release noted.
Update: A few hours after the news went out, Lagunitas posted that their Chicago TapRoom has already closed down. Beer will continue to roll out to stores and tap accounts while supplies last.
Construction began on the North Lawndale facility in 2012. The location, a former Ryerson Steel warehouse complex, had been converted to the Cinespace Film Studio. The south building of the complex turned out to be too close to the noise of the BNSF railroad tracks. Beer production began in 2014, and its kitchen and dining space opened a few months later. The brewery hosted some off-center events, like their Beer Circus in 2015.

As Heineken took increasingly larger share of the brewer, Lagunitas seemed to settle to more “normal” business activities. They also became the North American brewer for other Heineken-owned brands, like Newcastle Brown Ale.
Lagunitas was forced to close down its public areas in the COVID pandemic. When stores and restaurants were allowed to reopen, they could not open their TapRoom for another year, since it was “hung” from the rafters directly over the brewing area.
For the most part, this development seems to be another symptom of contraction in the brewing industry.
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