MINNEAPOLIS - It's another milestone for the craft beer community in Minneapolis.
"This is an amazing day for Fulton and for Minnesota beer," said Jim Diley, co-founder of the Fulton Brewing Company.
Fulton opened the city's first "tap room" Saturday and hundreds of beer lovers attended. The grand opening was made possible thanks to the loosening of laws and city ordinances. Breweries in Minneapolis are now able to serve customers a pint of beer on-site.
"A year ago, no brewery could open up and sell a pint inside," says Diley. "But now we can bring people in and show them what we're doing."
Last Spring, Governor Dayton signed the "Surly Bill" into law allowing brewers to sell, but not serve, on location. Since then, the city of Minneapolis has helped to make life easier for small brewing companies looking to do business by allowing customers to drink on-site and purchase growlers.
"City laws made it impossible for them to brew in Minneapolis," said city councilmember Gary Schiff. "These laws crept up over time and a lot of them have been on the books since prohibition. This makes sense as the microbrewery industry is growing."
Fulton won't feature the only "tap room" in the city for long. The Harriet Brewing Company will follow with their own this spring.
It's another sign the beer brewing in Minneapolis is booming.
"We're expecting about a hundred jobs at the end of this year just in the microbrew industry as a result of loosening these laws," says Schiff.
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