Lagunitas

Tony Magee started brewing after his printing business collapsed, with $35,000 and a stovetop homebrew kit. An early batch went wrong when wort spilled and caught fire, burning the Thanksgiving turkey; his wife Carissa asked him to take the hobby elsewhere, and he moved into an old storage shed in Forest Knolls, California. The brewery was formally established in 1993 in the town of Lagunitas, California, then relocated to Petaluma, California in 1994. Lagunitas introduced its IPA in 1995, using early small hop additions and late heavy hop additions. From 2008 to 2014 the brewery grew ten times over in production size, becoming one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the United States, and reported $228 million in annual revenue in 2016.

Heineken International acquired a 50% stake on 8 September 2015 and purchased the remaining portion on 4 May 2017, becoming sole owner. Tony Magee continued as CEO following the acquisition and remains chairman of the board. The Brewers Association no longer classifies Lagunitas as a craft brewery following the Heineken purchase. The brewery's base is in Petaluma, with brewing operations extending to the UK, Amsterdam, Brazil, and further afield; beers reach around 20 countries.

In 2020, Lagunitas launched its first alcohol-free IPA, extending the brewery's hop-focused approach to zero-alcohol formats and offering an option for sober-curious drinkers.