Category Archives: Policy

The State of Beer

Posted By // April 23, 2013

Crafting Legislation With The Minnesota Brewer’s Association

By Doug Hoverson

Minnesota State Capitol // Doug Hoverson

Walk into Indeed Brewing Company’s taproom and order one of their fine ales—their seasonal beer is always a good place to start. If you sit at the bar, you might end up in a conversation with one of the brewery’s co-founders, Rachel Anderson, Nathan Berndt, or Thomas Whisenand. On a recent visit in February, enjoying a pint of Hot Box Smoked Pepper Porter, I asked Tom to identify common questions asked by patrons. Without hesitating, he said, “Do you have growlers?” The answer is no. But why not?

For the People, By the People

Visit the Minnesota State Capitol when the legislature is in session. There is something majestic about walking up the century-old steps. Once inside, your eyes will be drawn up to the magnificent rotunda, then to the grand staircases leading to the House and Senate chambers. But as you look around you will see an inordinate number of men and women in sharply tailored suits, all working on something critical to the future of the state. How can I, as a citizen, acquire the same power they seem to radiate?

Forming a political interest group is part of a great American tradition. Alexis de Tocqueville, in his 1831 masterpiece Democracy in America (which you may have been forced to read at some point), explained what he found to be the most unique aspect of American politics: the tendency of people to form groups to plead their case to the government. He wrote:

In America the citizens who form the minority associate in order, first, to show their numerical strength and so to diminish the moral power of the majority; and, secondly, to stimulate competition and thus to discover those arguments that are most fitted to act upon the majority; for they always entertain hopes of drawing over the majority to their own side…

In short: Americans seek to solve problems by forming a group to try to sway public opinion and legislation in their favor. This includes beer drinkers. The rise of organizations like the Minnesota Beer Activists would make de Tocqueville proud that his analysis holds true nearly two centuries later.

The desire of brewers to band together for mutual protection against economic and legal threats is as old as the industry itself. Brewers’ guilds were active in European cities in the early 1300s. Closer to home, a group of prominent New York lager brewers called for a national organization in 1862 to monitor the new federal excise tax on beer. The result was the United States Brewers Association, which was an important voice for brewers well into the 20th century. A local group using the name Minnesota Brewers Association acted as the voice of the state’s breweries in the decades after Prohibition when dealing with state or federal government, and in negotiations with the governments of states to which Minnesota exported beer. Each of these groups had at least one lawyer on staff to deal with legal and legislative issues; additionally, many of the larger brewers retained their own counsel.

Save the Growler

The Minnesota Brewer’s Association was founded in late 2012 by several Metro area brewers: Ryan Petz and Jim Diley from Fulton Beer Co., Dan Schwarz from Lift Bridge Brewing Co., and Tom Whisenand from Indeed Brewing Co.; support from the north came from Clint and Jamie MacFarlane of Castle Danger Brewery in Two Harbors, Minnesota. The Association aims to “monitor, protect and advance legislative issues that affect Minnesota packaging breweries.” As of early February, the organization had sixteen members, ranging from the 139-year-old Third Street/Cold Spring Brewery to NorthGate Brewing Co., which has not yet been open for 139 days. When the Association began, the founders recognized there were a number of issues before the legislature that could affect small brewers, as well as existing laws that might apply to craft brewers in ways not previously realized.

Is there room for another brewing organization in the state without jeopardizing the harmonious spirit that generally exists among Minnesota’s craft brewers? The Minnesota Craft Brewers’ Guild has generally avoided taking stands on legislative issues, since it includes production breweries of all sizes as well as brewpubs, and these groups sometimes have different concerns on issues like growlers or distribution. The Guild serves as an educational and outreach organization through its festivals and overall promotion of craft beer.

At the moment, the Minnesota Brewer’s Association, or MBA, is seeking targeted legislation on issues that concern smaller to mid-size production breweries. Of these, the best known is the Save the Growler campaign (unaffiliated with this magazine), which seeks to change the state law prohibiting breweries with annual production above 3,500 barrels from selling growlers. Since both Fulton and Lift Bridge are poised to pass that mark this year, and Indeed recently announced an expansion plan that would put them at almost double this limit, it is no coincidence that the founders of the MBA hail from these three breweries.

Tom Whisenand wondered why brewers who do a good job reaching the public and expanding their market should be punished for their success. Indeed Brewing Company elected to forego growler sales altogether, rather than spending the money on growlers, taking deposits, then having all that expensive glassware be worthless in a year or two. (Several breweries, including Indeed, Fulton and Lift Bridge, sell 750 ml bottles at their taprooms, which could simply be shipped to retailers if they lost on-premise sales.) Whisenand and others don’t see Save the Growler as asking the government for a new privilege, but simply a request to avoid losing something they already have.

Navigating capitol politics

So how does one get a law passed? Government can seem complicated, especially if you had a teacher who insisted you learn how a bill becomes a law without showing the immortal Schoolhouse Rock video. Now that you’re humming “I’m just a Bill, you know I’m only a Bill,” do you remember how many ways that Bill could die? In committee, on the House floor, by veto, and the list goes on. Bill needs a lifestyle coach—and in government, they are called lobbyists.

Lobbyists are often depicted as the villains who prevent the people from obtaining justice from their government, like the type portrayed in the movie Thank You for Smoking. Everyone likes to campaign against lobbyists, but the truth is, the vast majority of lobbyists are not working on ways to dump more sticky dark liquid in your neighborhood – unless that liquid is imperial stout.

Since every industry serious about protecting their interests needs a presence at the Capitol, the Minnesota Brewers Association has indeed (no pun intended) hired a lobbyist. Dan Larson has represented a variety of clients during his two decades at the Capitol. In fact, he met some of the Fulton founders at an event for another of his clients, Defending the Blue Line, an organization helping children of armed services personnel stick with youth hockey programs. Larson began to represent Fulton and later expanded his role to include the MBA.

Larson’s assessment of the support at the Capitol for craft beer is enthusiastic, but tempered by years of watching the process at work. “The energy it is generating is something I haven’t seen in my twenty years at the Capitol. Every neighborhood wants [a craft brewery]. We have the opportunity to be a destination state—and lawmakers understand that and they want to be part of it,” Larson said in an interview. Local craft brewers claimed they would create jobs and economic activity and they have been as good as their word, winning the attention of legislators. But success is not enough, and Larson said that brewers have already seen the advantages of having a group on the ground at the Capitol. Awareness of the laws could mean a difference between tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of dollars to the member breweries . However, he also cautioned, “Change is coming, but we have to be reasonable and respectful and not ask for too much all at once. We need to bring other groups in as partners.”

Larson and Whisenand both commented on the complicated relationship brewers have with retailers and wholesalers. Loyal customers of a neighborhood brewery taproom sometimes see the other parts of the three-tier system as the opposition, but retailers are also customers of the brewery, and wholesalers are important partners in many ways. Chairs of legislative committees prefer to have agreement among the concerned entities before they advance a bill, so the MBA has been working closely with wholesalers and retailers to give potential legislation a realistic chance of passing.

Call to Action

How can beer lovers help support bills to benefit the industry? Start by following the MBA through social media and respond to calls to action. Legislators usually prefer e-mail messages from their constituents – keep them respectful, brief, and to the point. You may have 101 reasons to support a law, but they won’t have time to read your manifesto; however, contact does matter. Larson said that one contact from a constituent will earn a lobbyist a note to the legislator, contacts from five constituents will result in an urgent note, but fifteen or more contacts may be enough to get a meeting with the senator or representative.

Most of Minnesota’s craft brewers—and their lobbyist—see the rapid growth of the industry as an opportunity to open new frontiers and reach markets not yet imagined, rather than as a threat to any individual brewery’s sales. With careful management, the MBA may be able to help bring the state’s laws in line with some of the more liberal policies of other states, without losing what is special about the Minnesota beer scene.

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Opinion – The Race for Rare Beer: High Demand for Limited Releases

Posted By // March 19, 2013
By Tyler Anderson, Beer Buyer for Zipp’s Liquors, & Mark Joseph, Beer Buyer for The Ale Jail
Illustration by DWITT

It’s an interesting time to be working in the beer industry. The two of us, Tyler Anderson, beer buyer for Zipps, and Mark Joseph, beer buyer for The Ale Jail, have worked in the Minnesota beer industry for a collective 21 years and have seen a lot of changes.

Rare Beer: High Demand for Limited Releases

In the last two years we have seen a plethora of new Minnesota breweries open their doors, some of the best breweries in the country expanding distribution to Minnesota, and a whole new onslaught of demand for craft brews. Demand isn’t the right word anymore, it’s an explosion. With this explosion comes “limited release beers.” Beers such as Founders KBS (Kentucky Bourbon Stout), Bells Black Note, Deschutes “The Dissident,” and any Goose Island Bourbon County (fill in the blank). As retailers, we’re given the difficult task of how to release these beers to the public as fairly as possible.

Let’s use Goose Island Bourbon County Brand Stout (BCBS) as an example of how the limited-release beer scene has changed. Only a mere three to five years ago, you could buy BCBS pretty much year round in Minnesota. At Zipp’s, we almost couldn’t give the stuff away. We literally had stacks and stacks of the beer sitting on display on our show floor. People would come in and ask for recommendations, and naturally we would suggest this fantastic barrel aged imperial stout. “Twenty bucks for a four-pack!? You gotta be kidding me, that’s outrageous!” was a common response. These days, we’re lucky to have that beer lying around for an hour. And when we do, we end up having more disappointed customers than happy ones. Why? Because the demand has far exceeded the amount of product available. Therein lies our predicament. As more and more people are drawn to how awesome the craft beer scene is today, more and more liquor stores, bars and restaurants are selling craft beer.

 ”The demand has far exceeded the amount of product available. Therein lies our predicament.”

So, how do we handle these releases when we are only given a very small allotment to sell, yet most of our customer base wants them? This has been an ongoing conversation between the two of us for the better part of a year. Instead of seeing each other as competitors in the craft scene, we’re working together as an alliance, trying different methods in releasing limited-release beers in an attempt to appease as many people as we can. However, with the sheer amount of demand for limited releases – some of which only have 20 cases hitting the entire state – it has become increasingly difficult to please our consumers.

We would like everyone to know that we are trying to do everything as fair as we can, but it doesn’t seem like it’s possible. In most instances, we don’t get to determine the amount of limited product we get to sell. We are told by our distributors, how much we are allowed to buy. This is important for you, the craft beer buyer/consumer to know. If we could buy entire pallets of these beers, we would!

“Support the brewery’s main-line brands. The more of their main-line beers you purchase directly affects the number of cases of limited releases we get.”

These numbers are usually based on sales figures from year-round products. Want to make sure your local store gets more limited items to sell? Well, then you have to support the brewery’s main-line brands. The more of their main-line beers you purchase directly affects the number of cases of limited releases we get. The same goes for breweries and how they allot the amount of limited releases that go to each state. You want more Bourbon County or Central Waters Bourbon Barrel aged beers? You need to buy more of their year-round beers. Breweries don’t want consumers only purchasing one or two of their beers when they offer plenty of other fine options year round. They said it themselves, “you buy more of our regular beer, and we’ll send you more limited beer.” It’s as simple as that.

Over the past year, both of our stores have been playing around with different methods to release these limited beers. The bottom line is that we want to be fair to everyone. We’ve tried staggering release times, having an AM and a PM release of certain beers. But when we only have 12 bottles of something to sell, it doesn’t make sense to have two 6 bottle releases, because it only lasts a few minutes. People know the release times and show up long before just to wait. There are people who literally take the day off work and chase the delivery trucks around town going from store to store. In addition, regardless of what time we release it, there will ALWAYS be people who are unable to come purchase it.

“We want to be able to please all of our current and future customers. But we can’t. We realize that, and it sucks.”

We could do a reservation list, but we don’t. That’s not how we do business. We’re selling beer, not booking tables in a restaurant. Another method we have explored is not announcing via Twitter and/or Facebook when we put these beers on sale. What does that accomplish? It allows people who frequent our stores to have a good chance at buying a limited beer. What else? It gets the general public mad at us for not telling them that we have this super limited beer in stock. Another option would be to give out raffle tickets based off purchases of a brand’s main six-pack line. The problem with that is that people don’t want to be required to purchase one thing in order to be able to buy another. Although in hindsight, this is the best option for supporting a brewery’s main-line beers. The problem with this, though, is that it still doesn’t guarantee that you will get a bottle of the coveted limited release.

So where does this leave us, the retailers? Between a rock and a hard place. We love selling beer. We aren’t trying to keep special releases out of your hands. We want to be able to please all of our current and future customers. But we can’t. We realize that, and it sucks. But we are trying our hardest! There are some things you can do to have the option of obtaining these super limited beers a little easier. However, with the ever-booming beer scene, rise in demand, new craft drinkers who have never tried these beers, seasoned craft drinkers who want to continue to build their cellars, beer traders, and the whole onslaught of more limited-release beers produced in smaller numbers, it’s going to be really difficult. Why not be nice, get your allotment at one store, and allow other people to buy some? Do you really need 20 bottles of Surly Darkness? Do you need an entire case of Bourbon County Stout? Share the wealth.

 

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Minnesota Beer Politics: A Primer

Posted By // October 21, 2012

3 hot issues that will be debated in the year ahead

By Drew Kerr

Omar Ansari has spent his share of time navigating the halls of the Minnesota State Capitol trying to convince lawmakers that breweries should be allowed to share their products directly with the masses. This year, with a battery of newly minted taprooms to show for the legislation that bears his brewery’s name, the Surly Brewing Company owner isn’t so eager to return to the capital city.

“I like going there as little as I have to,” Ansari admits. “It’s just a whole different world than brewing beer.” While Ansari busies himself settling on a location for Surly’s own much-anticipated “destination brewery”—a decision had yet to be made at the time of publication—other members of the local craft brewing community are hoping to score some legislative victories this year.

The most dominant issue likely to emerge in the coming legislative session will be a push to allow retailers to sell alcohol on Sundays, something that is permitted in each of the states surrounding Minnesota. Other issues on the table include a push to open new distribution channels for brewpubs and to remove a production cap that limits larger breweries from selling growlers.

Here’s a quick primer on each issue.

Sunday Sales

Efforts to repeal Minnesota’s law barring alcohol sales on Sunday have been a perennial non-starter at the Capitol. But that hasn’t stopped the Minnesota Beer Activists from putting it atop their legislative agenda, or for supportive retailers to make plans to drum up support this year.

Observers say the bid to change the law, while not impossible, will be a particularly hard sell. The challenge comes in part because retailers themselves are divided over the issue. The Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association (MLBA), says its vast network of small, independent beer stores is almost universally against the change. A powerful force at the capital, the group says allowing Sunday sales would force store owners to make an unwanted switch to a seven-day business plan, while only spreading six days of profit over those seven-days (stores would not have to open on Sundays, but the groups says the decision would essentially be made for store owners who want to remain competitive).

More potently, the association’s leadership says Sunday sales would give grocers and convenience stores that sell 3.2 beer (a remedy for Sunday drinkers with an empty fridge) an opening to push for full alcohol sales. If allowed, that shift would devastate many of the state’s small, independent liquor retailers, according to Frank Ball, the executive director of the MLBA.

Jason Alvey, the owner of Four Firkins, is on a mission to debunk those arguments. With consumers seemingly in his corner (a June poll by the Public Policy Polling showed Sunday liquor sales were favored by a 59-27 margin), Alvey says he hopes to team with other supportive retailers to educate his peers that opponent’s fears are overblown and that lifting the Sunday ban would be good for a retailer’s bottom line. Aside from the revenue he says is being lost, Alvey claims the issue is about principle and allowing him to run his business the way he sees fit. “I should be able to choose when I want to open my store, just like every other retailer can in Minnesota,” he says. “It is extremely frustrating to me that on potentially one of our biggest trading days, I am forced to be closed by a ridiculous, outdated, frankly embarrassing law that is more than 60 years old.”

Sen. Roger Reinert, DFL-Duluth, introduced a bill last year that would have allowed Sunday sales and, while it stalled, he says he has every intention of making another bid this year, assuming he is re-elected.

Brewpub Restrictions

Town Hall Brewery owner Pete Rifakes expects to brew at least 1,600 barrels of beer this year, but he believes there’s enough demand for him to double the amount being made at his Minneapolis brewpub virtually overnight. Unless state law changes, though, his only means of growing distribution are opening new restaurants (his West Bank brewpub has already spawned a south Minneapolis outpost), splitting the restaurant and brewery into separate businesses or converting his brewpub into a brewery, a move that would force him to give up selling wine, liquor and guest beers. Rifakes says the first option is costly and full of risk, and that the others would mean upsetting an established and profitable business, and underutilizing valuable real estate.

So Rifakes hopes the state will instead lift a law that keeps brewpubs like his from selling their beer at other restaurants or through third-party retailers, as brewpubs are allowed to do in Wisconsin and other states. Rifakes, as well as the owners of Duluth’s Fitger’s Brewhouse, have spent years pressing for the change without success. To win this year, brewpub owners will have to overcome arguments that the law change would disrupt an alcohol distribution system that seeks to separate the production, distribution and sale of beer (the “three-tier system,” as those familiar with the rules call it) and fears that the switch would allow large breweries to make the case that they too should be allowed to act as retailers (a commonly recited example posits that Anheuser-Busch could buy a chain such as Applebee’s, and use the outlets to distribute their beer).

Rifakes says those fears are overblown, and that the change would benefit not just his business, but all Minnesota brewpubs struggling to succeed and grow despite having limited distribution channels. He says it could also open the door to more brewpubs in the state—something he believes is critical for the region’s craft beer industry to reach new audiences.

“We got into the business knowing the restrictions of the law, but now laws have evolved in states around us and, because Minnesota has been slow to change, businesses like ours are in a difficult situation,” he said.

State Sen. Sandra Pappas, DFL-St. Paul, has worked with Rifakes in the past, but Rifakes said in September that he’d yet to connect about making a legislative push again this year.

Growler Regulations

Stillwater’s Lift Bridge Brewery, which celebrated its fourth year in September, is approaching a milestone most young breweries would like to celebrate: the production of 3,500 barrels of beer a year. Dan Schwarz, the co-owner and chief executive at Lift Bridge Brewery, views the number instead with apprehension. That’s because state law prohibits breweries that produce more than 3,500 barrels of beer a year—a number Lift Bridge will come near to this year, and likely surpass in 2013—from filling growlers with their libations. “If we do 3,501 barrels, then we lose that revenue stream,” Schwarz says.

Lift Bridge may be in a unique class now (Minneapolis’ Fulton Brewery is also near the tipping point) but Schwarz believes other small breweries will find themselves in the same predicament as their popularity and production grow. His hope now is that the state will raise the production cap, or at least agree to a compromise that would allow him to sell growlers until Lift Bridge reaches its 3,500-barrel limit. While the law was designed to give small breweries an edge, Schwarz says it now threatens to inhibit their growth and hurt consumers.

Schwarz says he has yet to begin the delicate work of finding a lawmaker who will carry the cause, but that he believes the idea is something of a no-brainer. “It’s a small business bill, a jobs bill, and it’s really a no-cost item,” he said. “The state doesn’t have to do anything but sweep a pen.”

Photos by Aaron Davidson

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Notables at the Nomad: Dessa Chats with Mayors R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman

Posted By // October 10, 2012
by Dessa

Each issue, Dessa will sit down at the Nomad World Pub with guests of her choosing. For this issue, she chatted with the mayors of Minneapolis and Saint Paul.

People who are often interviewed develop particular and recognizable habits. They’ve already told their best stories, hundreds of times to hundreds of people, so they tell them well, fluidly, and maybe a little too rapidly. They’ve got a stable of engaging, telling anecdotes at the ready—about their childhoods, about their hometowns, professional beginnings, personal life, and hardships. To be interrupted mid-anecdote is usually jarring—a bit of turbulence that takes the craft off autopilot. Having answered the same sets of questions so many times, most of them could probably give a good interview alone in a room, without any prompts at all.

When I sat down with each of our Twin Cities’ mayors (whose schedules wouldn’t permit them to meet with me together), I was a bit surprised at how much it felt like sitting down with musicians. Long hours. Zero job security. Public life. Ambitions that would be indelicate to discuss. Regular interviews.I make these observations both as a writer and as a person who is often interviewed.

I asked RT Rybak, Minneapolis’ ebullient mayor, about the celebrity associated with his job. How often is he recognized in public? A lot. Is he ever approached by people who know he’s famous, but aren’t sure why? To his dismay, he’s been mistaken for Pawlenty more than once. On the whole, RT says he doesn’t mind the public aspect of the gig: “Minneapolis wants a mascot as much as a mayor… As much as I’m about policy, I’m in the same business as T.C. the Bear or Goldie the Gopher who turns his head around. My job sometimes is being a giant flashlight and just saying, ‘Hey everybody, look at this.’ ” If he were working in music, I suspect RT would be a frontman for a pop outfit: eager, energetic, charm his instrument of choice. (As many readers may know, Rybak does have a confirmed history of stage-diving at First Avenue, much to the chagrin of this rapper who has yet to work up the nerve.)

Mayor Chris Coleman of St. Paul seems more like a guitar guy. His low voice is paced and he talks while leaning back against the booth at the Nomad. When I ask how often he’s recognized he says it’s hard to tell. Oftentimes, someone in a crowd will eye him, but he can’t be certain of what they’re thinking, which can get awkward.  “If you don’t acknowledge someone who thinks that they should be acknowledged, they’re mad at you, and if you acknowledge someone that has no idea who you are, you just seem like a weird stalker dude.”

For years Coleman served as a public defender. He jokingly describes the position as one most often filled by “sick, twisted individuals with really dark humor.” I ask him how the job shaped his understanding of human nature. “You see all kinds. The good, the bad, and the weird—particularly the weird.” Coleman says he was especially affected by the fact that a single person was often perceived first as a victim, then later transformed into a perpetrator. Kids first entered the system as a dependency neglect case, then through truancy petitions, and then predictably as delinquents themselves.  “You could see the continuum.”

As elected officials, both men woo voters at regular intervals. But as mayor, each one must make decisions that are not universally well received. I ask, to do their jobs well, do politicians have to suppress a natural human inclination to be liked? Yes, according to RT. “I was so desperate to be liked when I got the job. And now I really want to be respected. There’s a massive difference. That has been, along with my grey hair, probably the biggest evolution.” Coleman, who considers himself more introverted than extroverted, replied after a long pause. “I don’t necessarily have that natural inclination. I’m very comfortable with people not liking me.” He references his history as a public defender, explaining that prosecutors have the sexier, more popular role, “but you have a job to do… and what you realize is you can’t please everybody so you have to do what you think is the best.”

I ask Chris if his wife Connie usually agrees with what he thinks is best for St. Paul. Philosophically they agree he says, although they sometimes differ on strategy. The hardest marital strain of his mayorship is that Connie (a “true extrovert” according to her husband) wants to share every detail of his day, whereas he’s inclined to sequester himself after work, “Lock me in the room with a guitar and I don’t want to talk.” Coleman plays a Telecaster (his ‘Telly’), having given up his other instrument because, well “You can’t come home at 11 at night and play the bagpipes.”

RT says that on many, many occasions, his wife Megan has disagreed with his mayoral decisions with enough intensity to make things tense at home. But he’s accustomed to that kind of dynamic: “I grew up in a family that talked public policy. My stepfather and I fought so much about Vietnam over the dinner table that my mother stopped serving fondue.” Is it difficult, then, to disengage from his professional role? Is there a constant mayoral tickertape running through his head, even when he should be focusing on the movie in front of him, on a conversation with his wife, with his kids? Art helps, says RT. Although he’s a regular theater-goer, “I have much more trouble with theater when I have a lot on my mind.” The verbal medium somehow gets tangled with the stuff of his workday, of the constant communication. So he says he likes seeing dance more “because it’s visual, and it’s not words.”

Both Rybak and Coleman are escorted by young men with paper files and wristwatches and camera phones who keep their mayors on track, on time, and photo-documented. After a little nod from his staffer, Coleman takes his leave. He’ll be working a full day and then setting off on an overnight drive to Montana to see his daughter. Tough schedule. I ask if he’s a coffee fiend. His answer, again, sounds like it could’ve been issued by a shredder: “Mountain Dew. You can drive forever on like three Diet Mountain Dews.”

Rybak and I snap a picture before he goes. We discuss the relative merits of Twitter and Instagram before he departs, stopped on his way out by other bar folk hoping to shake hands.

Although generally impressed by the candor of both mayors, it’s hard to believe that either has fully vanquished the desire to be liked. In the abstract? Sure, it’s one thing to set aside poll numbers. It’s another to sit across from someone with a total disregard to the likeability of the impression you’re making. If you had no stake in it all, why cultivate the humor, the charm, the diplomacy that politicians (and most of the rest of us) strive for?

The morning after interviewing Rybak, I tune in to Kerri Miller’s show; incidentally both mayors are on air with her. They’re broadcasting from the Fair, taking questions. Rybak has the opportunity to share the anecdote in which he stage-dives with Duluth’s Mayor Ness, who has a rather rough landing. The story, I know, will end with some variation of the line, “That’s the secret to it: You gotta tell them you’re jumping.” Ah, I think. They’ll like this one.

Dessa is a writer, rapper, and a proud member of the Doomtree crew. In the press she’s been compared to Erykah Badu, Tom Waits, Mos Def and Dorothy Parker. In real life, she lives in Uptown, Minneapolis or in the back seat of a moving tour van. You can find music, images and tour dates at www.doomtree.net/dessa

Photos by Joe Alton

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The Pint Law, a Year Later

Posted By // June 8, 2012
By Jake Lewis

It has been a progressive year for the Minnesota beer scene since the passing of the Surly Bill just over a year ago, and the momentum keeps building. The efforts of the brewing community to create better business opportunities for themselves has been wholly supported by their consumers, and for the most part, legislators as well.

The climate in which the Twin Cities’ breweries are now thriving in is one of mutual support and growth. The changes being made are being designed for the greater good of the breweries and other avenues of the beer industry, by the very people that make the delicious craft beer that Minnesotans can’t seem to get enough of.

Many of these legislative changes that have taken place focus on the revision of outdated laws that lack the initial purpose with which they were created in the post-prohibition era. Times have changed, and finally some of these laws have changed, too.

Surly Brewing’s support of the Pint Law was a proactive effort to make their dream of opening up a destination brewery, where people can actually drink the beer they’re learning about, a reality. As of the publication of this article, a new location for the brewery has yet to be decided upon, but the Pint Law and the subsequent taproom ordinances that each city had to create to make the change possible, has been a positive change for everyone.

Lift Bridge Brewery was the first to take advantage of the bill. “As soon as the bill was signed into law, we met with the City of Stillwater to talk about getting a taproom license,” says Dan Schwartz, one of the brewery’s founders. “Since there wasn’t an ordinance that allowed it, we worked with them to craft some language. The City Council was very supportive and unanimously passed the change. We proceeded with the licensing and inspection process. In September of 2011 we were the first licensed taproom in the State of Minnesota. We didn’t know at the time we were the first, we had assumed that others had already moved forward. Many of the other taproom ordinances are based on what we crafted in Stillwater.”

However, the Surly Bill has done more than just allow consumers to belly up at the brewery bar. There is now a greater sense of community and culture that ties the brewery to its patrons. “We have seen a shift in the culture of the brewery. People are joining us specifically to have a pint, talk with the brewery staff and to connect with friends,” says Schwartz.

But you don’t have to go all the way to Stillwater to take advantage of taproom culture. Fulton’s downtown Minneapolis location makes for a great place to have a pint before a Twins game (and an even better place afterwards when you’re trying to forget it.) At Harriet Brewing , where community is one of their main principles, patrons are able to enjoy an über relaxed atmosphere, a variety of beers, and live music three or four nights a week.

A well-run taproom is proving to be an essential revenue stream for these breweries. Many that don’t have one are planning them out, and developing breweries like Indeed are realizing how important their taprooms can be to their business. Tom Whisenand, Indeed Brewing’s Director of Operations and Co-Founder, talks about their developing taproom plans. “During our planning process it became apparent that the law may be changed to allow taprooms and first, we just got excited about the idea as we were still pretty early in the planning process of the brewery. We began to work on a small side plan for a taproom and think about how it would change our approach to starting and operating a brewery.

“Looking back now, none of the Indeed crew could imagine starting Indeed without a taproom. The taproom ended up becoming a centerpiece of our business plan and subsequently the centerpiece of our brewery in Northeast Minneapolis (currently under construction). The Indeed crew is social, we love meeting people, and we love drinking beer and we feel our taproom will be the living room of our brewery.”

When asked about how he thinks these legislative changes will affect the local industry, Whisenand said, “No doubt it will affect the industry in a positive manner. The financial benefits of having a taproom cannot be ignored and I think it will help breweries accumulate the capital needed to expand their operations and get more of their delicious beer into the hands of thirsty consumers. Recent tax changes will also help breweries expand by reducing what could have been seen as barriers to growth. So overall, Minnesota has taken some great steps towards being a craft beer destination, and we hope our elected officials won’t stop there.”

Minnesotans are eager for more craft beer, and it’s the support of the beer drinking community that has proven to be paramount in making these changes possible. The Surly Nation was crucial in making legislators realize how important the Pint Bill was to them, and the legislators listened. Even Rob Miller and Sarah Bonvallet of Dangerous Man Brewing Company were successful in having an ordinance restricting the sale of alcohol within 300 feet of a church lifted.

“It wasn’t until we had already discovered our dream building in Northeast Minneapolis that we discovered the church law,” says Miller. “And we had no choice but to try and change the legislation, which we did. It was either that or lose out on an amazing building in an awesome neighborhood. Now that all these laws have changed, my dream brewery model (a taproom without wholesale or distribution) is possible. I have always wanted my brewery to be a neighborhood meeting place where people come to try many different styles of beer and take some home with them in the form of growlers. I didn’t want to be a production brewery focusing on distribution and wholesale. I want to be a destination taproom, where people come to enjoy the beer and get educated on the process and on what they are drinking.” Now the family-run tap house microbrewery is in the middle of their build-out at their Northeast Minneapolis location.

The Minnesota Beer Activists have championed the cause of craft beer from a consumer perspective in the state for over a year now. “The easing of old blue laws has a positive impact for beer consumers,” says Andrew Schmitt, the organization’s president. “More Minnesota breweries will raise the bar, both on pricing and product.”

The MNBA is now looking to have off-premise alcohol sales legalized on Sunday. “There have been objections to Sunday sales from a few powerful bar and store owners in the past. With over 80% of consumers in favor of the change, we are hoping to find some middle ground,” says Schmitt. The sale of alcohol, and even limited to beer and wine, on Sundays has been a hotly debated annual topic for a long time not at the capitol, and was in fact shot down again at the end of March. Consumers are tired of driving across the border for their beer on Sundays, and with the way our sports teams have been playing, we’re giving a lot of money to Wisconsin.

The fact of the matter is that the Pint Law, or the Surly Bill (whichever title you prefer), has marked the beginning of a very enthusiastic change in policies regarding craft beer in the metro. Policy makers are realizing the economic impact that craft breweries have, and are finally enabling beer makers to take advantage of new opportunities that will give them greater chances of success. In less than a year, opportunities for brewpub distribution, raised production limits for growler sales, Sunday sales, and even bottle shop restrictions have been brought to the table, because of the momentum that the Pint Law generated. It is a great time for craft beer in the Twin Cities. Keep supporting the local breweries. Be vocal and drink up.

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