Spiteful Brewing Competitors

Lagunitas beers are available in 20-ish countries and growing. And whether supporting local communities by turning beer into money for the cause, or simply fueling stories and songs with IPA and other fine ales, we’ve learned one thing (aside from how to cook a turkey)…Wherever you go: beer speaks, people mumble.

Mike Stevens and Dave Engbers both had steady jobs when they decided to chase their dreams and open a brewery–which meant writing a business plan, quitting their jobs, and taking out giant loans. They figured if you’re going to live life, you ought to live it hard, without regrets. After some initial challenges, due to making balanced but unremarkable beers, we were on the verge of bankruptcy. Then, the original Founders team decided to brew the kind of beer that they liked to drink: complex, in-your-face ales, with huge aromatics, bigger body, and tons of flavor. The Founders Family has grown around a simple statement: “We don’t brew beer for the masses. Instead, our beers are crafted for a chosen few, a small cadre of renegades and rebels who enjoy a beer that pushes the limits of what is commonly accepted as taste. In short, we make beer for people like us.” We have been lucky to evolve into one of the highest recognized breweries in the United States. In 2011, Ratebeer.com ranked us as the 2nd best brewery in the world (up from 4th best in 2010), and we have several beers listed in the top 100 beers on Beeradvocate.com. We were the 2nd fastest growing brewery in the U.S. in 2009, the winner of 4 medals at the 2010 World Beer Cup, and the winner of 2 medals at the 2010 Great American Beer Festival. We are proud to be doing what we are doing, and we give great thanks to our customers and credit to our staff for whom we continually work to provide world-class beers.

Our famous beer began with a trip across Europe, when Goose Island founder (and unabashed beer lover) John Hall took a tour across the continent. Pint by pint, he savored the styles and selections of brews in every region, and thought to himself, “America deserves some damn fine beer like this, too.” Craft brewing wasn’t widely known at the time, but upon return from his European sojourn, John set out to change all that. He settled down in his hometown of Chicago—a city perfect for craft beer, with rapidly evolving tastes and the largest system of fresh water on the planet. And then he got to brewing. First he made some stellar beer. Then he invited his consumers in to watch his process at the brewery, bringing them behind the scenes every step of the way. The result was a new fascination with craft brewing, and beer that not only catered to people’s tastes, but challenged them as well. That was back in 1988, and we haven’t slowed down since. By 1995, John’s beer had become so popular that he decided to open a larger brewery, along with a bottling plant to keep up with demand. 1999 brought even more growth, along with an additional brewpub, and today, what was once one man’s pint-filled dream has become the Goose Island empire you know and love. Here’s where we tell you that in 2011, Goose Island Beer Company was acquired by Anheuser-Busch. Since then, we’ve continued to brew beer that we’re proud of and now we get to share these beers with our friends both nationwide and internationally. If you're ever in Chicago, we'd love for you to stop by the brewery and have a beer with us. 1-800-GOOSE-ME WWW.GOOSEISLAND.COM