From the Star Tribune. Glad to see the possibility of more places opening closer to the southeast metro! Taprooms for craft brewers get OK in St. Paul Small craft brewers in St. Paul soon will be able to sell beer where they make it, after action taken last week by the City Council. Council members agreed to allow microbrewers that produce fewer than 5,000 barrels a year in neighborhoods and business districts to set up taprooms. Mayor Chris Coleman supported the changes, which will take effect in late April. Council Member Russ Stark, who along with Amy Brendmoen sponsored the resolution, said the old restrictions were designed to keep large breweries out of neighborhoods. Allowing microbreweries to operate taprooms makes it “easier for these new kinds of breweries to open up,” Stark said after a March 20 hearing. It ensures “instant cash flow” for new brewers, said Deb Loch, founder of Urban Growler Brewing Co., which is negotiating a lease in the St. Anthony Park neighborhood. The changes bring St. Paul into line with the state’s “Surly Bill,” which allows beer to be served where it is brewed.
"Council members agreed to allow microbrewers that produce fewer than 5,000 barrels a year in neighborhoods and business districts to set up taprooms." It was a zoning change vs. just allowing a brewery to have a taproom.
From what I recall, previously breweries in St. Paul had to be in areas zoned industrial. This new change allows them to be in neighborhoods and business areas, allowing them to better integrate into their surroundings.
