To break down the “significant roadblocks” facing the state’s 200 craft breweries, the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild (MNCBG) has launched a political action committee, the MN Craft Beer PAC.
“I think our entire guild is excited about being a more serious player in the game,” guild executive director Lauren Bennett McGinty told Brewbound. “Unfortunately, not a lot of people know a lot about how politics get done.
“PACs are part of that conversation, and we just had to make that decision and say, ‘Are we here for the long haul?’ And ‘Are we here to try to make some serious changes?’” she continued. “I think the PAC is that option that pushed us into that category of being those serious players.”
Minnesota isn’t alone in creating a PAC to advocate for its members at the state Capitol. In 2018, the Texas Craft Brewers Guild formed CraftPAC to push for the legalization of to-go sales from the taprooms of manufacturing breweries, which it achieved in 2019.
Rather than focusing on a specific piece of legislation, the MN Craft Beer PAC’s primary goal is to boost state lawmakers who support the industry, Bennett McGinty said.
“As of right now, we do have a good handful of people that work really hard to be our authors on our bills every year and talk to the press about why it’s important and stand up for us,” she said. “The goal of that is to endorse candidates that we believe are going to speak for craft beer and legislation that really moves our industry forward.”
The PAC’s second goal is to recruit more lawmakers into supporting its agenda, which Bennett McGinty hopes to do by educating them on the value of small businesses to the state.
“Most states want to grow their small businesses, especially after COVID, where so many of them had to pivot so many different times and deal with shutdowns and furloughs and layoffs, and I think just recognizing that these people are really hard working individuals,” she said. “Breweries might seem really sexy, but they don’t make a ton of money, and people aren’t taking home million dollar paychecks every single year.
“So I think to recognize that, all in all, they’re small businesses — they’re working really hard and they really do try hard to support the communities that they’re in,” she continued. “Finding ways to make our laws more modern to accommodate their growth should be a priority.”
Minnesota ranked 12th in economic impact generated by breweries in 2019, according to data from the Brewers Association (BA), the national not-for-profit trade group representing the country’s small and independent brewers. That year, the state’s then 196 craft breweries generated $2.2 billion in economic impact.
But Minnesota’s laws regulating the production and sale of alcohol rank much lower compared to other states.
“It is clear that we are either in last place or at the bottom of the pack when it comes to beer laws,” Bennett McGinty said.
She likened Minnesota’s alcohol regulatory climate to “the Prohibition dark ages.” Currently, breweries with annual production greater than 20,000 barrels cannot sell beer to-go from their taprooms. To-go taproom sales became a lifeline for brewers across the country after the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to shut down on-site service.
Minneapolis-based Surly Brewing, the state’s third largest craft brewer by volume, according to the Brewers Association, said its beer hall, which could not sell beer to-go due to the cap, was not economically viable and ceased operations in November. The closure, which was accompanied by hospitality staff layoffs, was announced the same week as a union drive among beer hall workers, leading some workers to call it a union-busting attempt. Surly announced today its beer hall is scheduled to reopen June 1.
The Drink Local Economic Recovery Act — a bill promoted by the Minnesota Craft Beverage Council, which advocates for the interests of all craft beverage trade associations in the state, including the MNCBG — would allow all breweries to sell beer to-go in cans, bottles and growlers up to 64 oz. with a purchase limit of 768 oz. per person, per day. The bill has not received a hearing in either chamber of the Minnesota Legislature, but Bennett McGinty said the council’s outreach efforts are working.
“We’ve gotten reports from legislators and some contacts at the governor’s office that they are hearing us and that we are making an impact,” she said.
In addition to legalizing taproom to-go sales, the Drink Local Economic Recovery Act would also permit Minnesota brewpubs to self-distribute up to 200 barrels of beer each year. Brewpubs in the state are capped at 3,500 barrels annually, all of which must be sold on-site under current law. While 200 barrels, about 5% of the allowed maximum production, is small, the ability to sell products in other venues is exciting to brewpub owners, Bennett McGinty said.
“Some of them have a liquor store across the street that they’re close to that would love to carry their products, or they want to be able to distribute to other bars and restaurants in the area,” she said. “Just having any amount to distribute is super helpful for them.”
Work began on MN Craft Beer PAC in 2019, but was sidelined in 2020. Bennett McGinty serves as the PAC’s treasurer, while Bob Galligan, who is also a MNCBG board member, is its chair. Before moving to Minnesota, Galligan worked with the Texas Craft Brewers Guild while it formed CraftPAC.
The PAC kicked off its fundraising drive this week and has raised more than $1,500 as of press time. The MN Craft Beer PAC is non-partisan and plans to donate funds to members of any party, so long as they support craft beer. In addition to politicians, the PAC may also donate to ballot initiatives and support for legislative items “that positively impact the growth and sustainability of the Minnesora craft beer industry, and in turn, oppose candidates, initiatives, and legislation that negatively impact our breweries,” according to the PAC’s website.
In addition to Texas and now Minnesota, the Brewers Association formed a PAC in 2019 with an eye toward advocating for the Craft Beverage Modernization and Tax Reform Act, which was made permanent in late 2020.