Would You Like a Pint with That?
Mayor Rybak signs ‘taproom ordinance’ to allow local breweries to serve pints of beer on site, creating new jobs
August 24, 2011 (MINNEAPOLIS) — Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak today signed a new City ordinance that allows breweries to sell pints of beer on site.
The ordinance creates a new type of liquor license called a taproom license. To be eligible for the license, breweries may not produce more than 250,000 barrels of beer a year. The ordinance follows a recent change to State law, commonly referred to as the "Surly Bill," that lifted restrictions on breweries’ ability to sell pints on site and allowed cities to license the practice.
"We’re making it easier for Minnesota beer drinkers to drink Minnesota beer and create jobs here," said Mayor Rybak. "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."
Mayor Rybak’s great-grandfather owned and operated Rybak Brewery in New Prague, Minnesota in the 1920s.
"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 with Council Member Elizabeth Glidden the ordinance that the City Council passed unanimously on August 19.
Mayor Rybak signed the ordinance in the presence of Omar Ansari, president and founder of Surly Brewing Company of Brooklyn Center, and Ryan Petz and Jim Diley, co-founders of Minneapolis-based Fulton Beer. They were joined by Council Member Schiff and Council Member Kevin Reich.
Published Aug. 24, 2011