American Craft Beer The Best Craft Beer, Breweries, Bars, Brewpubs, Beer Stores, And Restaurants Serving Serious Beer.
The beer biz never sleeps at American Craft Beer. And here’s just some of what’s been happening in the beer world while you were enjoying a long holiday weekend.
Top 10 Minnesota Craft Breweries
Minneapolis
Minnesota has a vibrant craft beer scene and in April the national trade organization Brewers Association released its annual ranking of the nation’s top craft breweries and “the Land of 10,000 Lakes” was home to many of them.
Three to be exact.
August Schell Brewing Company of New Ulm came in at #22 on the list this year. Then there’s Summit Brewing Company of St. Paul, which came in at #34, and Surly Brewing Company of Minneapolis, which made the list at #39 in 2025.
And here are Minnesota’s Top 10 Craft Breweries in 2024 (based on beer sales volume)
- August Schell Brewing Company – New Ulm
- Summit Brewing Company – St. Paul
- Surly Brewing Company – Minneapolis
- Castle Danger Brewery – Two Harbors
- Fulton Beer – Minneapolis
- Third Street Brewhouse – Cold Spring(
- Lift Bridge Brewing Company – Stillwater
- Indeed Brewing Company – Minneapolis
- Bent Paddle Brewing Company – Duluth
- Fair State Brewing Cooperative – Minneapolis
Words to Drink By
“Remember, always, always, remember, that all of us… descend from immigrants and revolutionaries” – Franklin Delano Roosevelt, (FDR) the 32nd president of the United States
Tariffs and Immigration Crackdown Hit Mexican Beer Brands Hard
Constellation Brands, home to Modelo and Corona beer brands is bracing for a $20 million impact on its financials due to aluminum tariffs imposed by the US government.
The tariffs, which imposes a 50% duty on imported aluminum cans, are expected to affect the Rochester, NY company’s beer packaging costs.
While the first quarter results were not impacted, the cost will begin affecting margins in the current quarter but on a July 3 conference call the company told investors that they expected to take a $20 million hit going forward.
“Volume-wise, we don’t expect that we’re going to be able to fully offset this incremental tariff, so that’ll be about a 20-basis-point hit,” said Constellation Chief Financial Officer Garth Hankinson.
Hispanic consumers account for roughly half of Constellation’s business, so the US beer, wine and spirits provider is being hit by the imposition of increased tariffs but also n he Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
“The fact is, a lot of consumers in the Hispanic community are concerned right now … Over half are concerned relative to immigration issues and how that impact [them],” Constellation CEO Bill Newlands told analyst on the company’s call. “A number of them are concerned about job losses in industries that have a high Latino employment base.”
