It’s a significant development for the state’s growing craft brewing and distilling industries, which have been pushing for years to expand what they can sell directly from their operations. Distilleries want to be able to sell larger bottles, and the state’s biggest craft breweries have wanted fewer restrictions on the sale of growlers, the large glass bottles typically used to carry draft beer poured from taphouses.
On Tuesday, March 22 members of Minnesota's Craft Brewer's Guild rallied against legislation with demands for change to the state's outdated liquor laws that prevent them from selling their own products.
On Tuesday, Minneapolis-based Indeed Brewing Co. will begin selling its own beer in Castle Danger’s growlers. Tom Whisenand, Indeed’s CEO, says it’s a playful workaround designed to raise awareness about Minnesota’s cap on growler sales. Under Minnesota law, breweries are prohibited from selling growlers, crowlers, or other off-sale products in their taprooms once they begin producing more than 20,000 barrels a year.
Indeed hasn’t hit that mark quite yet, which means the brewery can continue selling any growlers it wants. But Whisenand is well aware that that the state’s cap on growlers will eventually impact his operations.