07/09/17 - Day 97 - Chicago, IL - Lagunitas Brewery

Quick update - took a bike ride towards Douglas Park to visit the Lagunitas Brewery in Chicago. 


Originally founded in California, the company opened up the Chicago facility in 2012 both to expand capacity and cut down on transportation costs to the east coast markets.  This was one of the cooler breweries I've visited.  You quickly get feel for the vibe of the place just walking down the hallway past the reception desk as the theme from "Willy Wonka" plays.

The tap house is built above the factory floor, and the tour follows a catwalk that loops around the floor which provides a more complete view of the operation than all of the ground level tours I've taken thus far.






The space itself used to be a steel factory and is being leased from a movie studio.  Several movies and TV show scenes are still filmed here (e.g. Chicago Fire, Transformers, Superman, others.)

The founders also have a fascination with marijuana, which is expressed throughout the building.


They also have one of the most kick ass employee break rooms I've ever seen.

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