Congrats to The Four Firkins and everyone else who supported two bills that give liquor stores in Minnesota a little more flexibility. We covered them a few months ago here…
So what will these bills allow? One will allow liquor stores to sell store-branded apparel. The other will allow liquor stores to charge a fee for tasting/education events in order to pay folks like myself big bucks to sample beer with their patrons special guest speakers.
Also included in the omnibus liquor bill are provisions to allow for beer sales at the U of M’s TCF Bank Stadium (and if I follow correctly, sales can’t be limited solely to the suites) as well as a bill allowing breweries that aren’t distributed in Minnesota to sample beer at one festival a year.
I’ve always been very confused with the liquor store apparel bill. East Lake Liquors has been selling $15 shirts (but usually giving them away) for years. Were they breaking the law?
We need to take our laws a step further for the breweries not distributed here. Wisconsin allows breweries not distributed in the state to sell their beer in the state the weekend of the Great Taste of the Midwest.
At the same time it seems like a lot of work for something that will be utilized on only rare occasion. Not a lot of breweries will see much return from pouring their beer once a year in a state where people can’t even buy their beer.