Lagunitas to build brewery on SW Side
http://www.chicagotribune.com/busine...,6460197.story
By Emily Bryson York
Tribune reporter
11:20 a.m. CDT, April 10, 2012
Lagunitas Brewing Co., the Petaluma, Calif.-based craft-brewing powerhouse, is putting down roots in Chicago.
The maker of Lagunitas beers is planning to build a brewery at the old Ryerson steel mill, at 18th Street and Rockwell Avenue, with construction expected to be completed by July 2013 and the first mash in the fourth quarter of 2013. The $15 million to $18 million facility, with an eventual 600,000-barrel capacity is being built as an exact copy of the Petaluma brewery.
"We need to continue to add capacity because sales are growing," Lagunitas founder Tony Magee said in an interview. "I can add capacity in Petaluma, 2,500 miles from where I'm pretty sure I'm going to sell it, or I can add capacity there and get all of the diesel out the beer."