If there's one thing Minneapolis could use more of -- besides snowplows -- it's breweries.

For almost a decade, we've been the proud home to none -- that's right, zero breweries. Summit dominates the scene from St. Paul. Surly is based in Brooklyn Center. And while Fulton claims Minneapolis as its home, the fast-selling upstart actually contract-brews in Wisconsin. But a tiny bit of legislative tinkering last summer authorized the sale of growlers -- 64-ounce jugs sold straight from the brewery -- within the city, setting the stage for a potential boom of Minneapolis-based breweries.

The first one out of the gate is Harriet Brewing, the brainchild of a beer guy who helped remove the city's shackles on would-be brewers. Jason Sowards opened the doors of his south Minneapolis microbrewery on Saturday. On Wednesday, Harriet will make its debut in the Twin Cities bar scene with a release party at the Blue Nile for its flagship beer, a Belgian-style IPA called West Side.

For Sowards, it wasn't about being first in Minneapolis. "It was about being in Minneapolis," he said.

Sowards became a prolific homebrewer in 2008. After getting laid off the following year, he focused all his energies on turning his newfound passion into a real business. "I knew I wanted to open a brewery the moment I made my first beer," he said. Soward, who lives in Linden Hills, decided to name is brewery after his favorite neighborhood amenity: Lake Harriet.

Sowards has used the science of his engineering background to design and build his brewery. The sparse 6,000-square-foot warehouse space, near the corner of Lake Street and Minnehaha Avenue S., used to be an armored-car garage. Now it houses used brewing equipment from Japan and the dreams of a one-man beer-making operation.

"It's kind of rare for someone to go into brewing with no professional experience," said the Blue Nile's bar manager, Al McCarty. "I have a good feeling that he's going to pull this off. Once people taste the beer, that will seal the deal."

Sowards has made an ambitious first beer. His West Side ale is a Belgian-style IPA, which mixes big yeast character with a hoppy bitterness looming in the background (6.5 percent alcohol). "I definitely think it is a very forward-thinking move," McCarty said. "There's more bad Belgian-style beers made in America than there are good ones. But I think he's on the right track."

Harriet will start small with seven bars, including the Blue Nile, the Muddy Pig, Busters on 28th, Bryant-Lake Bowl, Groveland Tap, Edina Grill and the Hanger Room. Sowards said he has 25 more on his waiting list. He plans to brew 600 barrels in the first year.

Harriet opened its doors to the public last Saturday and sold a few hundred growlers. It was a solid number to start with and maybe a prelude to bigger things to come. Sowards hopes other brewers will help make Minneapolis a brewery hotbed.

"Why in the world wouldn't we want to do that here?" he asked.

HARRIET BREWING RELEASE PARTY