In 1933, Tony Magee was brewing his own mix of beer on a homebrew stovetop kit. After a few successful batches, Magee started to become more comfortable with his creations. Unfortunately, on Thanksgiving night in 1933, his beer brewing project caused a fire and ruined the Thanksgiving turkey.

Magee then moved his production to the town of Forest Knolls, located near the city of Lagunitas, which he took as the name of his beer. Today, the Lagunitas brewery is located just 20 minutes south of Sonoma State University, in the city of Petaluma. Many Sonoma State students attend their beer garden and events, which they have been hosting for years. That much hasn’t changed.

What has changed though, is the terms of attending the beer gardens. As coronavirus has affected individuals and businesses alike, there are now some restrictions that attendees need to be sure of following. 

The first of the new rules concerns party size. Parties are now limited to ten or less members, and all party members must live in the same household. This restriction has been put in place in order to ensure the safety of other parties as well as the staff at the Petaluma beer garden. Upon arrival, guests are now required to check in with a server in order to be seated. This means no more self-seating, for parties of any size. All seating available at the beer garden is outside. Lagunitas is not taking any risks by placing multiple parties indoors, a measure that can certainly help to thwart the spread of the coronavirus among attending parties.

Reservations are not available, and all attending parties must find a hostess to locate a table. This means that parties, especially large ones, should be prepared to wait to be seated. It should also be noted that parties are only seated when all members are present.

Luckily, dogs are still allowed to attend with their parties. However, dogs are held to the same social distancing rules and expectations as everyone else. Sorry everyone, no petting the puppies, no matter how cute they are.

The rules for guests aren’t the only change forced by the coronavirus. Lagunitas has been allowing non-profit organizations every Monday and Tuesday to help them fundraise money through beer sales. Unfortunately, due to the coronavirus, Lagunitas has been forced to put this program on hold, and it will not be returning until 2021 at the earliest. Lagunitas made this decision in order to ensure the health and safety of everyone who goes to their Petaluma location, and this policy change also applies to their Chicago and Seattle locations. Lagunitas plan to post to their website as soon as they feel they can safely allow nonprofits to return.

Although much has changed for everyone, both businesses and individuals, Lagunitas is still able to offer a good time to all who go to the Petaluma beer garden. Parties can still expect good beer, local music, and above all, a safe way to spend time out of the house. So although the experience is certainly different than before, attending is a very pleasant experience for all that decide to go.