St. Paul Joins Craft Beer Craze

Urban Growler, Bang Brewing Co. and Burning Brothers Brewing are three brand new breweries in the lovely city of St. Paul. Each business had looked at quarters in northeast Minneapolis only to wind up in St. Paul, which this year loosened its dated brewery restrictions. In each case the right place was available at the right price, near the light-rail Green Line slated to begin operating on University Avenue next summer.

It was the so-called Surly bill passed in 2011 that allowed brewers to sell pints of beer on the premises, launching a flight of taprooms in the metro area. Minneapolis and then St. Paul expanded the areas where microbreweries could locate.

Kevin Duchschere investigates for vita.mn.