Police said a bar in Maple Grove, Minn. was caught selling Spotted Cow, a beer that's only legal in Wisconsin.
Posted on 04/20/2015 12:24:11 PM PDT by SJackson
Police said a bar in Maple Grove, Minn. was caught selling Spotted Cow, a beer that's only legal in Wisconsin.
A Minnesota bar was busted for illegally pouring a Wisconsin exclusive.
The owners of Maple Grove’s Maple Tavern could face felony resale charges for selling pints of Spotted Cow, a farmhouse beer brewed in Wisconsin and distributed only in-state, police said.
The Minneapolis-area bartenders drove across the border and loaded up on kegs of the coveted New Glarus Brewing Co. ale before they were busted during a sting last week, KMSP reported.
Undercover officers went to the Maple Tavern on April 13 after several anonymous tips. The pub had been bragging on its Facebook that the elusive brew was on tap, and some customs reported seeing the handle behind the bar, police said.
When the officers ordered frosty mugs of the Wisconsin-only Spotted Cow, they got them.
(Excerpt) Read more at nydailynews.com ...
Since New Glarus Brewing Company is not a licensed manufacturer of alcohol in Minnesota, there are no licensed Minnesota distributors who are authorized to legally distribute the beer to retail establishments, KMSP reports.
FOX9 says David Lantos, a manager at Maple Tavern, purchased Spotted Cow kegs for retail sale from Historic Casanova Liquor Store in Hudson. “Lantos is not licensed to transport or import alcoholic beverages into Minnesota for the purpose of resale,” court documents said.
MY GOD! THE HORROR!! A FELONY!
And right in Minnesota, too.
Stupid.
State tyranny. Got it.
Link should be...
LOL
“after several anonymous tips”
Ahh, good comrads dutifully informing big brother! Enjoy “The Brave New World” comrads!
“Licensing agreement that the beer can only be distributed in WI.”
Agreement between whom and whom? I doubt they make people sign anything like that when they buy the beer in a liquor store.
Coors is really great when its scorching hot out, and you don’t feel like a beer.
We can sleep better tonight knowing that this travesty has been stopped.
Looks like Minnesota is in violation of the Commerce Clause.
I remember him saying he graduated from Kenyon College Summa Cum Lager. Paul was a classic sixties liberal, but that’s a very different creature from the unbridled nutcases who carry the label now.
Agree. My Mom (RIP) attended high school with Newman back in the Cleveland area (Shaker Heights).
As a 20 yr old college in the midwest I once flew to visit a relative in Rochester NY, drove to Toronto, bought a case of Molson Brador (not available in the US), drove it back to Rochester, and got on a plane back to college with the beer in my carry on bag. Airlines and airport security weren’t in the business then of banning innocuous fluids in suitcases nor worrying about legal drinking age.
I’m not sure if this is still true, but in the late 70s, Wisconsin had a law that promoted local beers, and part of that was that if the brewers didn’t sell across state lines, they didn’t have to pay federal or state alcohol taxes.
I would think this has to do with not paying the appropriate taxes.
It was written poorly. The brewery is not licensed outside the state to produce beer for that state. Every state requires a brewery to get a license to brew for consumption in a particular state, and more importantly, pay the taxes for that beer. Because it's all about the money.
I wonder what that can is that he’s holding in his right hand?
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