SF1938 (Legislative Session 94 (2025-2026))
Amount of wine a winery may produce with a brewer taproom license modification
AI Generated Summary
Purpose
The bill changes who is allowed to receive a brewer taproom license by adding size-based limits. It aims to limit these licenses for very large producers of malt liquor or wine.
Main Provisions
- Section amends Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 340A.26 subdivision 2 (Prohibition).
- A municipality may not issue a brewer taproom license to:
- a brewer seeking the license, or
- any person with an economic interest in the brewer seeking the license, or
- any person exercising control over the brewer seeking the license, if the brewer or winery qualifies as a large producer.
- Large producers are defined by production thresholds:
- Brewers: those that brew more than 250,000 barrels of malt liquor annually.
- Winemakers: wineries that produce more than 250,000 to 750,000 gallons of wine annually (text indicates a range in gallons).
- In short, very large brewers or wineries would be ineligible for a brewer taproom license under this prohibition.
Significant Changes to Existing Law
- Inserts a size-based prohibition into the existing license-issuance rules.
- Adds explicit production thresholds tied to eligibility, restricting municipalities from issuing brewer taproom licenses to large-scale brewers or large-scale wineries.
- Keeps existing licensing framework otherwise intact, but creates a clear upper limit based on annual production.
Practical Implications
- Large breweries and large wineries (above the stated production levels) will be excluded from obtaining brewer taproom licenses in municipalities.
- Operators and investors with any economic interest or control in such large producers could also be barred from blind eligibility for these licenses.
- Local governments will apply these thresholds when reviewing requests for brewer taproom licenses.
Notes on Ambiguity
- The text for the winery production threshold shows a range (250,000 to 750,000 gallons). The exact interpretation could be that wineries producing within that range are restricted, or that there is a tiered or variable threshold. The core idea remains: very large wine producers face the prohibition.
Relevant Terms brewer taproom license brewer malt liquor barrels annual production winery gallons more than 250,000 750,000 economic interest exercising control municipality prohibition
Actions
| Date | Chamber | Where | Type | Name | Committee Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 27, 2025 | Senate | Action | Introduction and first reading | ||
| February 27, 2025 | Senate | Action | Referred to | Commerce and Consumer Protection |
Citations
[
{
"analysis": {
"added": [
"Prohibition based on production thresholds: a brewer that brews more than 250,000 barrels of malt liquor annually or a winery that produces more than 250,000 to 750,000 gallons of wine annually is barred from receiving a brewer taproom license."
],
"removed": [],
"summary": "This bill amends Minnesota Statutes 2024 section 340A.26, subdivision 2, to prohibit issuing a brewer taproom license to certain high-production brewers or wineries.",
"modified": [
"Subd. 2 text rewritten to implement the prohibition against licenses for entities exceeding specified production thresholds."
]
},
"citation": "340A.26",
"subdivision": "2"
}
]Progress through the legislative process
In Committee