Minnesota looks to legalize the sale of local beer

The next big battle over Minnesota's liquor laws is fermenting at brew pubs.

When Minnesota breweries won the right to sell their beer to visitors at on-site taprooms last year, brew pubs across the state thought they were next in line to broaden their reach.

Under state law, brew pubs are prohibited from selling their beer off-site to bars, restaurants or bottlers.

"People just assumed we'd be able to sell ours," said Dave Hoops, master brewer at Fitger's Brewhouse in Duluth, which serves its acclaimed beer at the three restaurants and five bars it owns and operates. But Hoops knows from experience that challenging the rest of Minnesota's liquor establishment is never easy.

"This is my 14th year at the brewhouse and I've spent 10 of them going down to the Legislature" to push brew pub bills, he said. "But I think there's hope."

This year, the Town Hall brewery in Minneapolis hired a team of lobbyists to build the support needed to change the state's long-standing and elaborately constructed walls between retailers, brewers and distributors. Brewery founder Pete Rifakes knows it will be a long-haul fight.

continue at Star Tribune (video)

Having lived many years in Minnesota, I can attest that they like the tainted waters more than Wisconsin.  I'm glad to see someone take this on.  Another weird law there is that you can't buy any off-sale liquor, beer, wine, anything on Sundays - the only day worth celebrating during the week. 

If you have not seen Beer Wars yet, you need to pronto!

"Too much capitalism does not mean too many capitalists, but too few capitalists.” - G. K. Chesterton