Rybak Signs Minneapolis Taproom Ordinance

MINNEAPOLIS - With the stroke of a pen Wednesday morning, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak cleared the way for local brewers to start serving beer straight from their breweries.

“We’re making it easier for Minnesota beer drinkers to drink Minnesota beer and create jobs here,” Rybak said. “Sales of pints on site will also grow the local beer economy by lowering the barriers for entry for new breweries, which will allow them to hit the ground running. And it complements Minneapolis’ burgeoning local food economy that is creating new businesses and even more jobs.”

The taproom ordinance is a welcome change for Twin Cities beer lovers and the crop of new brewing companies in recent years, like Fulton Brewing and Harriet Brewing . Jim Diley of Fulton told Minnesota Public Radio earlier this month that a taproom ordinance could make Minneapolis a tourist destination for beer hounds.

“A great city deserves great beer, and with this ordinance, Minneapolis will become a beer destination,” said City Council Member Gary Schiff, who co-sponsored the ordinance.

Fulton is set to open a downtown Minneapolis brewery in the Warehouse District this fall, while Surly Brewing Company has cleared another hurdle in opening its planned $20 million destination brewpub facility.

A state law enacted this year through a Surly-headed effort created the taproom license, which allows brewers that produce fewer than 250,000 barrels annually to sell pints of beer on-site.

The state laws leaves it to each city to decide whether to create a taproom license for breweries within their city limits, and Minneapolis followed the lead of St. Paul in approving the change.