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“We’re begging the Legislature to pass something because it’s absolutely necessary right now.” – Lauren Bennett McGinty, Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild
According to a survey done by the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild, more than half of the state’s craft breweries could close if the mandated lockdown policies stay in place for a prolonged period.
As things stand now, Minnesota’s beer laws are a mish-mash of directives. Restaurants and bars are closed although they were recently granted the ability to sell beer and wine to-go (along with food) during the COVID-19 pandemic. And the state’s liquor stores have been deemed essential so they remain open to sell bottles and cans of beer.
Many of the state’s breweries don’t even can or bottle their products, relying on taproom sales and growler takeaways to profit. But Minnesota laws come into play here as well.
Breweries that produce less than 20,000 barrels a year are still able to offer takeaway growlers or crowlers from their taprooms under the current lockdown. While larger operations such as Surly Brewing are prohibited from even doing that.
Now with taprooms closed and a statewide lockdown with no definite endpoint in place, Minnesota brewers are losing a significant part of their “in taprrom” income, normally the source of up to 70% of profits for smaller breweries (40% for larger operations).
So Minnesota breweries of all sizes are in need of immediate legislative action that would allow them to temporarily sell takeaway beer out of their taproom in 12oz and 64oz containers (even bigger craft breweries like Surly), bypassing the state’s three-tiered distribution systems that require them to go through a distributor and retailer for can and bottle sales.
Speaking with the Twin Cities Pioneer Press, Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild’s Executive Director Lauren Bennett McGinty said that breweries are in desperate need of support…
“We are at a point where we’re begging the Legislature to pass something because it’s absolutely necessary right now. It’s a really dire situation and we’re just trying to help them move product as quickly as possible.”
Too many Minnesota breweries are already on life support and Minnesotans can help by contacting the #MNLeg today and telling them to let bars and breweries sell cans and bottles to go!
