Lagunitas opening brewery in Southern California

Petaluma-based Lagunitas Brewing Co., which opened its second brewery in Chicago only a year ago, plans to open a third facility in the Southern California city of Azusa, company founder Tony Magee has announced.

The latest expansion of what was the nation’s sixth-largest producer in the fast-growing craft beer market will add about 420,000 barrels of capacity initially, with a potential to produce as 1 million barrels a year. The Chicago facility can produce about 1.2 million barrels, while the Petaluma flagship brewery is undergoing a $30 million expansion from 450,000 barrels to 750,000 barrels.

Magee, who made the announcement via his Twitter account, noted the Azusa facility will be “spittin’ distance” from a major MillerCoors brewery in Irwindale and that it is already under construction. Production is expected to begin in early 2017. Magee said no city or state grants were promised for the development.

Lagunitas is the sixth-largest craft brewer in the nation, according to the Brewers Association, the industry’s trade group.

Magee and other top craft brewers, such as Chico’s Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and Escondido’s Stone Brewing Co., are racing to capture more of the nationwide market as craft beer market continues to grow nationally, now representing about 10 percent of the overall U.S. beer market. He has noted that the satellite facilities can save tremendous money in trucking costs as well as create a local buzz in a new community through its taproom.

Lagnitas’ Chicago facility, for example, is located in an old warehouse in a redevelopment area and includes a popular taproom.

The unconventional Magee made the announcement in a series of ungrammatically correct tweets on Tuesday, noting the company’s growth is because “you’re digging us” and “demanding better” beer. He added that “I earned my living in” the Los Angeles market when he first started Lagunitas in 1993.