Author: ryan

Ryan Anderson (that's me!) is the editor & founder of MNBeer. Much has changed since the fall of 2005 and I'm proud to have been a part of it all. Sometime I'll tell you about my grand theory that links craft brewing to punk rock. Just ask.

Dark Horse Fun at Stub & Herb’s

Jon over at Stub & Herb’s posted this… dig it… Randallized Double Crooked Tree, Dark Horse’s owner and… tattoos!

Meet the owner of Dark Horse Brewing and try some Fresh Hopped Double Crooked Tree this Friday at Stub and Herb’s. We will fire things up at 7PM. We will also be pouring Dark Horse Amber, Crooked tree, Tres Blueberry Stout and Plead the Fifth.

We will also be giving away a tattoo gift certificate from Uptown Tattoo. Which is very cool!

Barley John’s 10th Anniversary

The crew at Barley John’s will be celebrating their 10 year Anniversary next week. They’ll be having great specials all week long as well as prize drawings.

Tuesday March 16th (Their actual anniversary!)
10% off our ENTIRE Menu – All Day Long
$10 Growler Fills of Anniversary Ale
Special Tapping of a very limited supply of Rosie’s Unoaked Reserve (no growlers)

Wednesday March 17th – St. Patrick’s Day!

$10 Corned Beef & Cabbage
$10 Growler Fills Wild Brunette

Thursday March 18th
$10 Grilled Pizzas
$10 Growler Fill IPA

Friday March 19th
$10 Pitchers (Pub Brewed Beers)
$10 Growler Fill Old 8 Porter

Saturday March 20th
$10 T-Shirts (while supplies last)
$10 Growler Fill Anniversary Ale

DRAWINGS

They  will be giving away prizes all week long! Please only enter 1x per day. Prizes to include: T-Shirts, Gift Certificates, BBS Memberships, Growler-A-Month Prize, Growler Carriers, A House Glass with your Initial etched in!
DESSERT SPECIALS
$0.10 Cupcakes All Week Long
Retro Monster Cookie Sundaes – a blast from our past and available all week!

The Lowdown on “Basement Brewing”

Thanks to Tod Fyten from Mantorville Brewing for taking the time to provide a bit of an explanation of the “basement brewing” legislation that’s been bouncing around (previously mentioned here and here)…

There is a misrepresentation by some that the legislation about brewing below grade will allow folks to brew in their home basement commercially. This is not case.

The bill was introduced on behalf of a non-alcohol beverage producer who wish to produce products below grade in a commercially zoned area.

When the MN Department of Agriculture looked at the rules they realized many current commercially licensed businesses were   in compliance with the law. This included several brew pubs and breweries. Recognizing this, language was introduce to cleaned up the law to bring existing business in compliance with the law.

To become a brewer in MN you will still need to be approved federally by ATF/TTB which now include filing documents via the ATF/TTB for the Department Homeland Security and the FDA. Further you will have to be approved by the MN Department
Public Safety, the MN Department of Agriculture and by your local city government which governs local building, zoning, and  icensing issues. The key word being zoning.

Production breweries are license by the State as a manufacturing business thus local governments required them to operate in industrial zoned areas.

Brewpubs are licensed under the on premise license thus are required to operate in commercial zones, with all the requirement that come with being an on premise business.

Hope this helps everyone better understand the issues.

Tod Fyten
President/Brewer
Mantorville Brewing Company, LLC