Tuesday, Jun 30, 2015 @ 05:29 pm
Sunday Growler sales are happening, and it's about dang time!
We are ecstatic to be taking part in a monumental event happening in our community starting July 5th. You will finally be able to purchase a growler (or two ;) ) of brews in the city of Saint Paul on Sundays from 12-5pm in the Taproom! We have been open on Sundays during that time since the very beginning to supply the neighborhood with a pint or two, so it only seems natural that you should also be able to take a growler or mini growler home with you to continue the experience. You can either purchase one of our vessels including the beer for $20 for 64oz., or $9 for 750ml. for most beers, or bring in a cleaned growler from home (must be sealable and have those two amount quantities listed on the vessel) and we can fill it for $15 or $6 respectively, for most beers. Please call and inquire if you have any questions about pricing or availability: (651) 330-4734
Now for a little history lesson...
As a product of the 18th Amendment in the early 1920's, prohabition was put in to place. "Saint Paul’s history as Prohibition-era hotbed for gangsters, gals and whiskey runners is well known. The city became a haven for notorious names like John Dillinger, Babyface Nelson, Alvin “Creepy” Karpis, and the Barker gang, whose activities extended to robbing banks, holding up mail trucks and trains, and kidnapping hostages for ransom. Saint Paul celebrates this storied past by offering tours of sites where the gangsters once lived as they planned and executed the most notorious crimes perpetrated in the upper Midwest. Gangster tours highlight the sites of nightclubs, kidnappings and gun battles associated with the lawlessness of the 1930’s. The most famous, of course, are the Wabasha Caves, actual caves that were transformed into an underground speakeasy known as the “Castle Royal." (http://www.visitsaintpaul.com/discover-saint-paul/history-mystery/)
A photo in Castle Royal (https://www.lehmannfarms.com/index.php/about-lehmann-farms)
Well, needless to say a lot has happened since the early 1920's; technologically, aesthetically and most importantly, culturally. The 21st Amendment, which appealed the 18th Amendment prohibiting alcohol consumption, was passed in the early 1930's.
"The second heyday of Minnesota beer occurred in the 1940s and '50s when brewers like Hamm's, Schmitt, Grain Belt and others had a major regional influence. But as breweries continued to consolidate nationally, it was harder for Minnesota's brewers to keep up. The advent of light beer and major advertising from national beer companies in the 1970s spelled the end for most of Minnesota's remaining brewers." (http://live.mprnews.org/Event/Amber_Waters_history_of_brewing_in_Minnesota)
Hamm's Brewery smokestack construction circa 1933 (Courtesy of the Minnesota Historical Society http://search.mnhs.org/index.php?q=%22Collection+I.356.7%22&brand=cms)
Throughtout the late 1970's and 80's, large, mass produced beer companies were king. The tides started changing throughout the early 2000's and finally in 2011, the Surly Bill was passed in Minnesota, which, "opened the door for many smaller beer makers. It offered them a better shot a profitability, allowing brewing establishments to sell their beer by the pint right on site." (http://www.mprnews.org/story/2013/01/17/business/minnesota-beer-brewery-boom)
Since that time, micro-breweries have been popping up everywhere, but Sunday sales were never a part of the bag. Post prohabition, there was something called the Blue Law, prohibiting sales of sorts around the U.S. for many things, including alcohol, due to religios standards. Thankfully the times have changed, and as of May 13th the Governer signed the Omnibus Liquor Bill, allowing establishments to sell growlers on Sundays.
So raise your glass (or growler) this Sunday to the United States, Minnesota and the progression of our State Laws! See you in the Taproom!
