With all of the recent political activity surrounding the local beer scene you can imagine how important it must be to have an organization speaking on behalf of the consumer. That non-profit organization is MN Beer Activists; run by Andrew Schmitt. It all started a year ago about the time that the Surly Bill was being discussed. At the time there was no real consumer voice, but through the power of social media, Andy has built an organization that prides itself on teaching consumers about beer and the public policy issues surrounding it. Right now there are a few things being discussed at the state level including Sunday alcohol sales, brewpub distribution, and t-shirt sales at liquor stores. Many of these laws were put in place to protect the 3 tier system which was installed due to the "problematic system" (according to the MN House of Representatives House Research website) prior to prohibition where manufacturers were running aggressive sales outlets. The times have certainly changed and the consumer still has very little say in the rules and regulations. According to Andy, "Consumers are the ones who will continue to be ill served if we don't change these old archaic rules. Restrictions have been eased in different parts of the country and the results have been very positive." Just take a look around, in Wisconsin you can buy alcohol on Sundays and no one seems to complain. As odd as it sounds, Minnesota liquor stores cannot legally sell t-shirts bearing their logo. When asked about the issue Andy said, "The fact that consumers cannot purchase a shirt that says Merwin's or Four Firkins is absurd, it shouldn't even be an issue." This is another example of just how silly some of these laws are in the eyes of the consumer. The proposed bill (HF0448), which MN Beer Activists supports, would allow liquor stores to sell t-shirts with their logo on it, a seemingly harmless change to the current law. Brewpubs under the current law (Minn. Stat. § 340A.301) can only sell their product on premise by the pint or by the growler whereas packaging breweries (such as Summit) are able to distribute their beer to liquor stores across Minnesota. Andy hopes that this will soon change, "Minnesota is home to some of the greatest brewpubs in the country, Town Hall has won countless medals, Barley John's won the Snowshoe award at Winterfest. Their beers are only available on site or via growler; this is not fair to consumers" Andy said. "Who stands to lose anything in this situation?" MN Beer Activists is not aiming to take down the 3 tier system but it does want to change some things to better serve consumers. According to Andy, "The prohibition era is gone; it is time to ease these restrictions. We live in a 24/7 society, these rules and regulations have been set up to perpetuate the current power structures." Much of the fear about easing alcohol restrictions revolves around public safety and it's easy to see why government has strict laws regarding drunk driving and sales to minor. "We have some great laws in place to punish those that don't consume alcohol in a responsible manner, nobody is asking to see those change" said Andy. These are just some of the many issues that MN Beer Activists is involved with. If you would like to get involved, simply go to the website and sign up. Volunteers are needed to steer committees and spread the word. The organization hosts a Beer Geeks night every Wednesday at the Nomad Pub in Minneapolis where you can go and enjoy a few beverages and maybe learn a thing or two about what they do. You can also follow MN Beer Activists on Twitter @MNBeerActivists or on Facebook.


Cheers!

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