Welcome to Ballard, Lagunitas...

Wow. Curious to see the reaction from locals with this news.

 

Wow. Huge news...i am sure it will be popular with the general beer public in Seattle but curious to see whether it will be popular with the zealots and fanatics who frequent this forum

 

It's a trap!

 

No thank very much.

 

is it lagunitas goal to essentially become a rock bottom franchise?

 

Wow. I've been very openly anti laggy, but I live so close...

 

It will be very interesting to see how it plays with the local dynamic for sure, especially if there are actually producing beers unique to this location it might bring some real competition. The purchasing power they have for hops in particular is massive - I couldn't believe Waldo was ~$10 a six pack.

Still, kinda sad to see it go this way and not to a local start up operation.

 

Very sad, but I imagine they will be very successful.

 

Hi...Lagunitas here.... Sad is such a downer word...it'll be cool, but it'll take time to see that. We might even accidentally encourage others to be adventurous and add even more start-up heat to the scene that's already there. Doing stuff makes more stuff happen... Cheers BA'rs.....

 

This certainly tends to be true, but not all stuff, or even just "more stuff," is automatically good. Virtuous circles are always better than vicious ones, and sometimes some stuff is better left undone.

So, do the right stuff with this venture, and I, for one, will welcome you, as I, with an historical fondness for you, am apt to do anyway. I suspect much of the rest of the community will, too. Good-hearted and open-minded folks up here, but we're a bit slow to warm to anything from outside, and you've really got to earn it.

 

we hear you, but our feelings will probably be all over the place. elysian's sell out is still fresh on our minds, so maybe not-so-fast on correcting how we should feel about it. it won't take time for us to see the new project is cool, it will take time for you to get your shit together, respond to the local community, and put out good beer. i get it, positive vibes and whatnot. pots legal here, so there's really no need to echo all those sentiments. thanks for picking our city, looking forward to watching the project progress.

 

Small batches of Lagunitas IPAs sounds pretty damn good.

 

Half-owned by Heineken isn't quite the same as the Elysian sale, which broke my little heart. Assuming they're pouring what they brew in-house, I am definitely looking forward to checking this out.

 

That's a whole lotta commas.

 

well, i didn't say they were. parallels exist. both breweries have made a name for themselves as being independent and anti-corporate. now they are either owned or partially owned by the big guys. both are brands that are now backed by massive amounts of capital. neither brewery has to worry much about making folks happy, which is not to say that they won't make folks happy.

where they are clearly different is the target markets for each brand. lagunitas can resume business in the US as normal (while targeting international expansion), where elysian is now in ABI's craft beer portfolio (and will compete nationwide against smaller breweries).

for what it's worth, lagunitas-petaluma is one of my favorite brewery experiences. i hear the new chicago spot is great, too.

 

I see it sort of the same way, but to be honest I still wouldn't feel great about spending my money there. I respect Mr Magee, and really admire the commitment to quality while sticking to some really low pricing Lagunitas has had over the years (I fondly remember buying bombers of big ABV Lagunitas stuff for like $2.79, when during the same time other breweries were charging at least a buck more), but ...

When craft breweries sell to macros that's pretty much it for me. Yes, having Lagunitas right smack in the middle of what used to be a five minute drive away for me would be tempting, I'd feel guilty knowing that I'm denying dollars I could be spending at truly local places right around the corner, who have contributed so much to the local scene ... places that aren't part of some gargantuan brewery.

Reuben's, Maritime, Fremont, Stoup, Holy Mountain, Lucky Envelope, Hale's. Just a handful of what's right around the corner. Some sexier than others, but all truly local and independent. I'd rather my money went to them. Just my take, and I expect to be in the minority.