Minnesota lawmakers struck a deal Thursday afternoon to allow beer producers and full-size bottles of wine to be sold by brewers and distillers.
Under the bipartisan plan, every brewery currently operating in the state would be allowed to sell beer producers — 128-ounce cans of fresh beer — and be able to sell standard 750-milliliter bottles of spirits like gin and vodka at the distillery site. Will be , instead of the thinner bottles currently required under state liquor laws.
The bill, which would be the first in many years to make sweeping changes to the state’s liquor code, makes several other changes, but doesn’t change one of Minnesota’s most specific restrictions: grocery stores from selling anything still strong. Banned will be 3.2 percent alcohol beer.
The bipartisan agreement still needs to pass the House and Senate before Monday and needs to be signed by Gov. Tim Walz to become law, but a joint House-Senate committee approved it on Thursday evening, Due to which the prospects of passing in the form of motion of the Legislature became bright. Deadline for winding up your business.
growler free
The agreement was praised by both the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild and the Minnesota Alliance of Craft Breweries. Groups include some if the largest breweries in the state that are currently banned from selling producers on site: Summit, Skiles, Surly, Fulton, Lift Bridge, Castle Danger and Indeed. Ever since growers were first authorized to microbreweries more than a decade ago, state limits have restricted the largest producers from selling them.
The plan agreed by lawmakers raises that cap, giving breweries a long-sought victory, often marketed under the hashtag #FreeTheGrowler. The old production limit of 20,000 barrels per day will be raised to 150,000 barrels per day; Summit, the state’s largest brewery, produced 109,000 barrels in 2020. Under the plan, a brewery could sell up to the cost of a one-to-one growler to each customer in a day.
Distillers loose
The makers of the distilled spirits also claimed victory in the agreement. Not only would they be allowed to sell 750ml bottles, but all distilleries would also be allowed to sell cocktails and operate a “cocktail room” – essentially an on-site bar.
other changes
Among other provisions of the Bill:
- Liquor shops will be allowed to sell fruits and glassware. Currently, they may only sell lime juice, but no limes, and only plastic cups, no glasses.
- Resorts will be allowed to sell containers of regular beer, not the 3.2 beer required by grocery stores.
- Municipalities will be allowed to extend hours for bars during live FIFA men’s and women’s World Cup football events, which are often broadcast during odd local hours.
- Local wineries making hard cider from real apples will be allowed to act as their own distributor for up to 2,500 barrels a day – but only if no wholesalers are available.
- Several rules will be loosened to allow sales in some local civic centers, long sales at county fairs, and beer sales at local “town ball” baseball league games and venues.
