Minocqua Brewing Company has never been shy about mixing beer and politics. Now the outspoken Wisconsin brewery owner, Kirk Bangstad, says that one of its two taprooms will likely close by the end of the year as its battle with state alcohol regulators continues.

Bangstad says he probably won’t renew the lease on Minocqua Brewing’s Madison taproom, which expires at the end of 2026, because of the uncertainty surrounding the company’s Wisconsin brewer’s permit.

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue moved to revoke Minocqua Brewing’s permits earlier this summer, alleging that beer brewed in Illinois had been transported into Wisconsin without the required permits and without paying required state excise taxes.

The brewery appealed the decision and has been allowed to continue operating while that process plays out.

But the timing has created a problem in Madison, home to Minocqua Brewing’s second taproom.

Bangstad says committing to another three-year lease while facing the possibility that the brewery could lose its ability to operate under its brewer’s permit is simply too risky.

“I own our building in Minocqua, and that space gets pretty quiet over the winter,” Bangstad wrote in a recent update. “We could weather an extended legal battle up there, but can’t afford to pay rent on our Madison space if we’re forced to shut down for months at a time this winter.”

Minocqua Brewing opened the Madison taproom on East Washington Avenue in 2024, describing the location at the time as a “safety valve” for the company amid separate zoning and permitting battles in northern Wisconsin.

The location has since evolved into more than a traditional brewery taproom, hosting live jazz, classical and folk music as well as political events, talks and other community gatherings.

Bangstad is now looking for someone to take over the Madison space and operate it independently as a politically progressive, music-focused beer and wine bar, which would not depend on Minocqua Brewing’s brewer’s permit.

The regulatory dispute dates back to June, when Wisconsin authorities seized roughly $25,000 worth of canned beer from the company’s Minocqua and Madison locations.

The state maintains that the beer had been produced in Illinois and brought into Wisconsin without complying with state alcohol regulations. Bangstad has disputed the state’s characterization of the violations and argues that the enforcement action is politically motivated.

And politics have been almost impossible to separate from Minocqua Brewing.

Bangstad, a former Wisconsin State Assembly candidate and founder of the Minocqua Brewing Company Super PAC, has built much of the brewery’s identity around progressive causes and opposition to President Donald Trump and Republican politicians.

Earlier this year, the brewery drew national attention after promoting a “free beer day” tied to Trump’s death, rhetoric that generated considerable criticism and even prompted an interview with the FBI following a separate social media post after the April shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

But whatever one thinks of Minocqua Brewing’s politics, its immediate problem is considerably more straightforward.

Its Madison lease is running out while the brewery remains locked in a potentially lengthy fight over whether it gets to keep its Wisconsin brewer’s permit.

And Bangstad apparently isn’t willing to bet another three years of rent on how that fight ends.

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