Senator Karin Housley (R-Stillwater) today held a press conference declaring support for Minnesota Breweries and removing the “growler cap” threshold. Many Minnesota breweries surpass production thresholds every season and are then limited to the number of growlers (64 fluid ounce jugs of beer) they can sell. Once a brewery has produced 20,000 barrels of craft beer in a calendar year, the state caps their growler sales. Minnesota is also currently the only state where all craft brewers are not able to sell beer to go.

“There are many breweries across our state, and now more than ever as we work towards recovering from the pandemic, they need our support,” said Senator Housley. “Some of breweries send over half of their volume of products to restaurants and bars, but since these businesses have been closed for much of last year, our brewers are operating at a loss. Raising the growler cap would help them make up the loss of sales.”

Lawmakers originally set this growler cap limit in 2013 and told brewers to return to the Capitol when the limit needed to be raised again. Because of this, some Minnesota breweries are expanding in other states because of the state’s current beer laws. Of the 8,000+ breweries in the United States, only five are unable to sell beer to go, and all five are in Minnesota. Arguments have been made that if breweries are able to sell growlers, it will hurt wholesalers. However, there is already a rule in place that limits total growler sales to 750 barrels a year, therefore protecting retailers.

“No one could have predicted the growth of the craft brewing industry, it’s created a whole new entertainment culture which is very exciting,” continued Senator Housley. “They’ve generated a ton of jobs in their communities from the tourism, to the brewery, to the distributors and liquor stores. The trickle down is enormous and should be celebrated and not handicapped. These are family-owned businesses, and we should support them—no other Minnesota industry is penalized for being successful. The craft beer industry is absolutely vital to our local communities and removing the growler cap will allow these businesses to grow, and in turn keep and grow more jobs in our state. This is a bipartisan issue with bipartisan support. Minnesota breweries have been operating at a severe disadvantage, and it’s time we updated these antiquated laws.”