Minnesota to stop selling MillerCoors beer

July 13, 2011 12:49 PM

Because of a regulatory beer labeling registration snafu, Minnesota beer supplies will soon be down 38%. Another stunning example of inefficient state bureaucracy getting in the way of one's alcohol consumption.
posted by Kokopuff (103 comments total)

At first I read that 38% as alcohol content, and got excited.
posted by dunkadunc at 12:53 PM on July 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

This is how a putsch starts.
posted by clavdivs at 12:53 PM on July 13, 2011 [10 favorites]

I do legal compliance for an alcohol beverage distributor and, while the government shutdown is in part responsible, large beer distributors should have this shit done months in advance. I'd bet whomever has my job at MillerCoors is in big, big trouble.
posted by something something at 12:54 PM on July 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

Er... the snafu being the guy in charge of renewing the license at Miller waited until the last minute and the bureaucratic inefficiency being that nobody's paying for a functioning government at the moment?
posted by Zalzidrax at 12:56 PM on July 13, 2011 [5 favorites]

MPR's story has additional info, including MillerCoors thinking they were still good to go and the Department of Public Safety saying "No". But another distributor says:

Wirtz Beverage Minnesota, one of the region's big distributors, just tweeted earlier today that the MillerCoors products are still flowing.

I'm still preparing my basement for an impromptu speakeasy.
posted by jillithd at 12:56 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Editorialize much? How about this instead? Inflexible Minnesota Republicans Force Government Showdown; Unintended Yet Predictable Consequences Ensue.
posted by andreaazure at 12:56 PM on July 13, 2011 [27 favorites]

I hope this works out great for Midwest Supplies.
posted by box at 12:56 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Isn't Minnesota the state that is shut down because their legislature is gridlocked?
posted by Cranberry at 12:57 PM on July 13, 2011

As long as Surley has their act together I'm fine.
posted by TheShadowKnows at 12:57 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Given the list of beers that won't be available this looks like a win for Minnesotans.
posted by plastic_animals at 12:58 PM on July 13, 2011 [20 favorites]

will soon force MillerCoors to pull its beer from Minnesota liquor stores, bars and restaurants

Finally an upside to this fiasco.
posted by nanojath at 12:58 PM on July 13, 2011 [4 favorites]

Point of order: Do any MillerCoors products actually qualify as beer?

Full disclosure: Even were I in Minnesota, I would be remarkably unaffected by a lack of MillerCoors products. Forcing the drinking public elsewhere might actually be a longer-term good for the state.
posted by Capt. Renault at 12:59 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

The company tried to renew in mid-June, but the process got delayed when they wrote a check for too much money.

It's pretty silly that the government was unable to process the license renewal in a timely fashion because of this. I'm aware that it's a common problem for governments to be unable to deal with overages. It's still a stupid problem.

That said, the real problem here is the government shutdown and the company's poor compliance procedures. Also, it's interesting how other beer companies were able to get their paperwork in order, but the big company fucked it up.
posted by Sticherbeast at 1:00 PM on July 13, 2011

So what you're really talking about is that a major brewer acted incompetently and is causing a non-essential item shortage due to an bizarre political problem.

Y'know lots of regulated alcohol gets into people all the time. I live in a Canadian province where alcohol sales are run by a state-sponsored duopoly. This has never happened, and I would not call Ontario an efficiently run province.

Though honestly, I'm not up for beer right now. Maybe I'll have a bit of the absinthe the gov't run liquor monopoly sold to me tonight.
posted by mobunited at 1:01 PM on July 13, 2011

I'm not sure how, but I'm hoping that this somehow leads to the end of those commercials where the VO pronounces it "coooo-erz."
posted by uncleozzy at 1:02 PM on July 13, 2011

Looks like a well funded and functional government is actually pretty fucking important for business interests. Who'd have guessed?
posted by 2bucksplus at 1:02 PM on July 13, 2011 [20 favorites]

I hope this works out great for Midwest Supplies.

Or Northern Brewer based in St. Paul.
posted by burnmp3s at 1:02 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

This is totally something I've seen a lot in corporate IT:

Day 1 - Mr. Smith is told to have a presentation ready for Day 14.
Day 2-8 - He doesn't even touch the presentation.
Day 9 - He takes the day off to play in a golf tournament
Day 10 - He spends two hours of his day looking at various Blu Ray Players so he can decide which one to buy for his bedroom HDTV
Day 11 - It's a Saturday. He'll have plenty of time to finish it if he remotes in tomorrow (Sunday)
Day 12 - He sets up the template, looks the associated spreadsheet over, then calls it a day. Surely, Monday will be slow, right?
Day 13 - Boot Partition corruption. He hasn't saved anything on his homeshare, everything is on his desktop. He calls IT who kindly inform him "Sorry, we're going to have to get a new HD and reimage it. Here's a loaner so you can work in the meantime." He curses IT for providing him with substandard equipment.
Day 14 - He tells his boss he couldn't get it done because his laptop crashed.
Day 15 - His boss calls IT supervisors and yells at them.
posted by Bathtub Bobsled at 1:02 PM on July 13, 2011 [38 favorites]

Editorialize much?

Honest question: who are you talking to, and what are you talking about?
posted by nanojath at 1:03 PM on July 13, 2011 [6 favorites]

Worth noting that two members of the government of the failed state of Minnesota currently have pretensions to the Presidency.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:04 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Honest question: who are you talking to, and what are you talking about?

Those are two questions.
posted by found missing at 1:05 PM on July 13, 2011 [6 favorites]

Here is a list of the beers that are affected:

Blue Moon Pale Moon Belgian Style Pale Ale, Coors Banquet, Coors Light, Coors Light 3.2, Foster’s Lager Beer, Foster’s Premium Ale, Grolsch Amber Ale, Grolsch Blonde Lager, Grolsch Light Lager, Grolsch Premium Lager, Hamm’s, Hamm’s Genuine Draft Style, Hamm’s Special Light, Henry Weinhard’s Dark, Henry Weinhard’s Hefeweizen, Henry Weinhard’s Pale Ale, Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve, Icehouse Beer, Keystone Light Beer 3.2, Killians Irish Red 3.2, MGD Light 64, Mickey’s Ice Ale, Mickey’s Malt Liquor, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller High Life 12/16 oz can, Miller High Life Ice, Miller High Life Light 12 oz can, Miller Lite 3.2%, Miller Lite Beer, Milwaukee’s Best #1 , Milwaukee’s Best Ice, Milwaukee’s Best Light #1 3.2, Molson Canadian, Molson Canadian Light, Molson Golden, Molson Ice, Molson XXX, Olde English 800 Malt Liquor, Sparks Light

WORST DRINK MENU EVER
posted by scottatdrake at 1:05 PM on July 13, 2011 [16 favorites]

Honest question: who are you talking to, and what are you talking about?

The OP, obviously. In reference to the line "Another stunning example of inefficient state bureaucracy getting in the way of one's alcohol consumption."
posted by kafziel at 1:06 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

We had a beer strike in Ontario when I was younger. We got around it.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 1:07 PM on July 13, 2011

If MillerCoors products are indeed pulled from shelves, the state shutdown could result in the greatest jump in the average quality of beer in Minnesota since the microbrew revolution.
posted by nickmark at 1:07 PM on July 13, 2011 [5 favorites]

Headlines of the future:

STATE OF MINNESOTA SOBERS UP, MICHELLE BACHMANN RECALLED IN LANDSLIDE
posted by griphus at 1:07 PM on July 13, 2011 [58 favorites]

Molson Ice? That still exists?
posted by mobunited at 1:07 PM on July 13, 2011

Blue Moon is good, and the Henry Weinhard's looks like it should be decent- (I haven't had a bad hefeweizen yet.)

The rest can go to hell, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by dunkadunc at 1:08 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

If you're in Minnesota and your regular tipple isn't one of our amazing local beers, or at least one of the excellent regional craft beers, then you deserve to be thirsty.

I'll be on my patio with a ice bucket full of Surly, Crispin, and maybe a little New Glarus or Bell's in there, just to be ecumenical about it.
posted by padraigin at 1:08 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

Let the hoarding commence!
posted by lesbiassparrow at 1:08 PM on July 13, 2011

Blue Moon is decent if you put the orange in it.
posted by T.D. Strange at 1:09 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

MillerCoors products? No great loss.
posted by brand-gnu at 1:11 PM on July 13, 2011

Foster’s Lager Beer

A couple weeks ago, I had tied one on pretty good and needed a beer for the walk home, so I picked up a Foster's oilcan from the 7-11. So bad it almost made me wish I'd gone with Steel Reserve instead.
posted by uncleozzy at 1:11 PM on July 13, 2011

Blue Moon Pale Moon Belgian Style Pale Ale, Coors Banquet, Coors Light, Coors Light 3.2, Foster’s Lager Beer, Foster’s Premium Ale, Grolsch Amber Ale, Grolsch Blonde Lager, Grolsch Light Lager, Grolsch Premium Lager, Hamm’s, Hamm’s Genuine Draft Style, Hamm’s Special Light, Henry Weinhard’s Dark, Henry Weinhard’s Hefeweizen, Henry Weinhard’s Pale Ale, Henry Weinhard’s Private Reserve, Icehouse Beer, Keystone Light Beer 3.2, Killians Irish Red 3.2, MGD Light 64, Mickey’s Ice Ale, Mickey’s Malt Liquor, Miller Genuine Draft, Miller High Life 12/16 oz can, Miller High Life Ice, Miller High Life Light 12 oz can, Miller Lite 3.2%, Miller Lite Beer, Milwaukee’s Best #1 , Milwaukee’s Best Ice, Milwaukee’s Best Light #1 3.2, Molson Canadian, Molson Canadian Light, Molson Golden, Molson Ice, Molson XXX, Olde English 800 Malt Liquor, Sparks Light


I have bolded the items that true Minnesotan beer drinkers will miss. The rest can go in the Mississippi. Have you tried our fucking microbrews lately? Maybe this is the opening in the market that they need.
posted by Think_Long at 1:11 PM on July 13, 2011

This doesn't just affect beer distributors.

From a related article:

Hundreds of bars, restaurants and stores across Minnesota are running out of beer and alcohol and others may soon run out of cigarettes -- a subtle and largely unforeseen consequence of a state government shutdown.

In the days leading up to the shutdown, thousands of outlets scrambled to renew their state-issued liquor purchasing cards. Many of them did not make it.

Now, with no end in sight to the shutdown, they face a summer of fast-dwindling alcohol supplies and a bottom line that looks increasingly bleak.

So, tourism in Minnesota during the summer is getting VERY HARD HIT. State parks are closed, fishing licenses can't be issued, highway rest stops are closed and now there are limited alcohol supplies at both bars and liquor stores.

Yipes. I fear for the already delicate economics of Northern Minnesota cities.
posted by jillithd at 1:13 PM on July 13, 2011 [8 favorites]

Hamm’s, Hamm’s Genuine Draft Style, Hamm’s Special Light

Of the clear lagers, I do like Hamm's and Schlitz, and Grain Belt isn't too bad. None of them are my favorite, but they'll do nicely.

The Hamm's commercials from my childhood are dear sweet memories, however, and I will always have a softspot for those wacky, casually racist, anachronistic ads.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:15 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Olde English 800 Malt Liquor

Won't somebody please think of the children!
posted by griphus at 1:16 PM on July 13, 2011 [5 favorites]

I've always wondered what it would be like to live in a Third World country. I don't think I'm going to have to wonder much longer.
posted by tommasz at 1:19 PM on July 13, 2011

WORST DRINK MENU EVER

I keep looking for something -- anything -- worthwhile, and, no. But I can't quite believe that there's nothing in a list that long, and review it again. And again. And again. But it never changes. There's nothing. Absolutely sweet fuck all.
posted by Capt. Renault at 1:19 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

What's really amazing is that this is the first issue that may actually get the attention of the Republican base. Up until now they've been sitting back in their still-functioning exurban communities, sneering at the poor people who depend on child care and medical support.
posted by norm at 1:22 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

Worth noting that two members of the government of the failed state of Minnesota currently have pretensions to the Presidency.

For crying... we're not a fucking "failed state". I like many of my fellows are not happy about the government shutdown and we all obviously have our opinions about who is most to blame but it isn't as if this little display of political dramatics is unprecedented.

Which is not to say that Pawlenty and Bachmann aren't both horrible in their own special ways...
posted by nanojath at 1:23 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

The Hamm's commercials from my childhood are dear sweet memories, however, and I will always have a softspot for those wacky, casually racist, anachronistic ads.

We didn't discover them until college, but have had many a boozing singalong to "from the land of sky blue waterrrrrrrrr"
posted by Think_Long at 1:23 PM on July 13, 2011

oh shit dude looks like somebody failed the bar exam
posted by robocop is bleeding at 1:24 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

Yeah, say what you may about "LOL, no shitty beers" those shitty beers are the bread and butter of the beer sales industry.

Rarely are there more than two beer distributors in a given region, one for AB, the other for MillerCoors and everything else (ie, the beer we like). If places need beer can't get coors, they aren't going to get kegs of dogfishhead or arcadia on tap, they are going to double down on AB stuff more likely, making it less likely for folks who want any craft beer stuff. Some distributors may have trouble justifying a delivery of leinenkugel or similar beer because they fill their trucks tanks by dropping off kegs of bluemoon, hamms, and coors light.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:24 PM on July 13, 2011 [4 favorites]

From nanojath's link. This isn't the first time that Minnesota has been a failed state. Ha.
posted by found missing at 1:25 PM on July 13, 2011

I do not think Blue Moon is a good beer.
posted by box at 1:27 PM on July 13, 2011 [5 favorites]

There are some craft breweries that distribute through AnneheiserBusch affiliated distributors, but usually there is enough volume and margin carrying budweiser and their properties, there aren't as many established channels.

I was thinking this might bode well for http://craftbrewers.com/ (whose got some killer distribution deals through AB as part of the Goose Island sale), but then they may not be registered in Minnesota yet for sale.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:28 PM on July 13, 2011

Somebody needs Coors beer and can't get it? I think I know who this sounds like a job for.
posted by lantius at 1:29 PM on July 13, 2011 [4 favorites]

What's really amazing is that this is the first issue that may actually get the attention of the Republican base.

might get the attention of some of their leaders, too, like the coors family ...

yeah, how do you guys like your small government now that you can't sell your beer?
posted by pyramid termite at 1:31 PM on July 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

> yeah, how do you guys like your small government now that you can't sell your beer?

Well, thats because of too much government regulation, see. Once the beast is drowned, you can sell as much beer as you want, to whoever you want, drivers, children, the dead.
posted by mrzarquon at 1:33 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

The argument against needing government is that if the government didn't make you label your beer in a particular way, and reregister every 3 years, a government shutdown wouldn't stop beer sales.

(I don't agree with this -- I think a government is a good thing -- but the "you need government to keep functioning" assumes that you think this regulation is a positive.)
posted by jeather at 1:35 PM on July 13, 2011

Your favorite beer sucks.
posted by pardonyou? at 1:36 PM on July 13, 2011 [4 favorites]

That'll be great until the first couple Minnesotans go blind from bathtub gin- but hey, I'm sure the market is self-regulating, right?
posted by newdaddy at 1:37 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

good thing that they have not legalized pot and collected taxes on that shit.Smart move, though: got to fix deficit so now no tax money from booze and butts to help fix deficit.
posted by Postroad at 1:38 PM on July 13, 2011

something something: "I do legal compliance for an alcohol beverage distributor and, while the government shutdown is in part responsible, large beer distributors should have this shit done months in advance. I'd bet whomever has my job at MillerCoors is in big, big trouble."

Don't worry they'll make up for it in the Wisconsin lobby now that we can't have our nice microbrewpubs all done up proper like.
posted by symbioid at 1:41 PM on July 13, 2011

Another stunning example of inefficient state bureaucracy getting in the way of one's alcohol consumption.

You're in the wrong place; this is the "more government is always better" forum.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 1:42 PM on July 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

Just to bring people up to speed:

In 2010, the Republicans took over full control of the Minnesota legislature since the early 1970s. They had had control of the House from time to time, but they hadn't been in control of the Senate since 1972. Many suburban and exurban districts swung to the Republicans, and a lot of inexperienced new legislators were sworn in. Most of them teabaggers to one extent or another.

However, the Governor's office went to Mark Dayton, a DFLer (that's "Democrat" to non-Minnesotans). So, the Republicans did not get the 100% control of the state that they wanted. Previously, we had a Republican governor and a DFL legislature, now the roles are reversed.

Minnesota's state constitution requires a balanced budget. This is not new, it goes back to the 1800s. The deadline to pass a budget was July 1 of this year. After this date, the State of Minnesota does not have the authority to spend money or conduct business, unless a judge rules that the service is 'essential' or 'emergency'. (So, drunk drivers are still getting pulled over by the State Patrol, for example.)

Gov. Dayton and the Republicans in the legislature spent the entire legislative session arguing about the budget, which was expected. They went into closed-door sessions to negotiate right up until the last minute.

The word is that the two sides were very close on the numbers as the deadline neared. Then, with little more than a day to go, the Republicans exploded the entire process with this:

Republican June 29 Compromise Offer to Governor Dayton

Basically, a long list of new demands, few or none of them budgetary, that the Republicans demanded Gov. Dayton agree to or there would be no deal on the budget. Among them:

--anti-abortion clauses
--ban on human cloning research at the U of M
--anti-union measures comparable to next-door in Wisconsin
--outsourcing of State of Minnesota workers to private contractors
--"Photo ID" refers to Republican proposals to restrict voting eligibility at the polls
--tort reform
--reducing the minimum wage

and more. And more.

Basically, this blew all the careful negotiations of the previous weeks to smithereens. So now, we're about two weeks in with most of the State government shut down, and no clear end in sight.

Dayton has a plan to balance the budget that involves increasing taxes on the top one percent of wage earners in Minnesota. Republican leaders say they will never agree to this.
posted by gimonca at 1:43 PM on July 13, 2011 [39 favorites]

Meanwhile, next door in Wisconsin we're voluntarily pouring out Miller Coors beer to protest Walker's attack on small breweries.
posted by desjardins at 1:45 PM on July 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

Further ramifications: how can you sell a car if the State isn't there to issue a title on the vehicle?

For that matter, what happens when you have to buy new license tabs for your car? Mine expire in October.
posted by gimonca at 1:46 PM on July 13, 2011

Having RTFA, I'm not sure why MillerCoors is being blamed or called incompetent. They sent in a check timely and before the shutdown, but they inadvertently paid too much (maybe that's someone's definition of "incompetent," but these calculations can be complicated and it's certainly not unusual for mistakes to be made and reconciled). They tried to correct their mistake but by then the shutdown had occurred. Now they're a shuttlecock in a game of political badminton.
posted by pardonyou? at 1:46 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

At some point, calling it a 'failed state' is going to start to be justified; without enforcement mechanisms, the whole thing is going to devolve into anarchy. Somewhere in Minnesota tonight, someone is sharpening a stick at both ends -
posted by newdaddy at 1:51 PM on July 13, 2011

I was about to come in to say all we drink is Surly and Summit, but obviously other Minnesotans are already on the ball.
posted by Astro Zombie at 1:55 PM on July 13, 2011

Somewhere in Minnesota tonight, someone is sharpening a stick at both ends.

That'd be me. My broker told me to put everthing I have in canned goods and shotguns.
posted by Muddler at 1:56 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

In the election of 1855, the American Party (the party of the Know Nothings) gained control of Chicago's government, with Levi Boone as mayor.
The Lager Beer Riot
posted by clavdivs at 2:00 PM on July 13, 2011

Pogo_Fuzzybutt: "Hamm’s, Hamm’s Genuine Draft Style, Hamm’s Special Light

Of the clear lagers, I do like Hamm's and Schlitz, and Grain Belt isn't too bad. None of them are my favorite, but they'll do nicely.

The Hamm's commercials from my childhood are dear sweet memories, however, and I will always have a softspot for those wacky, casually racist, anachronistic ads."

Fuck yeah man - Right after those sunday (or was it saturday?) afternoon nature shows sponsored by that insurance company...
posted by symbioid at 2:02 PM on July 13, 2011

Government Shutdown Forces Closure of the Independent in Uptown
posted by gimonca at 2:04 PM on July 13, 2011

Oh! Calvin sticker idea!

Calvin pissin in a redneck's mouth, with the phrase "REAL AMERICANS DRINK PISS WATER BEER" and the logos for shitty american beer.
posted by symbioid at 2:04 PM on July 13, 2011

Calvin pissin in a redneck's mouth, with the phrase "REAL AMERICANS DRINK PISS WATER BEER" and the logos for shitty american beer.

The problem with this is that all beer is vile piss water.
posted by kafziel at 2:06 PM on July 13, 2011

...all beer is vile piss water.

Eventually, sure.
posted by Floydd at 2:09 PM on July 13, 2011 [13 favorites]

kafziel: "Calvin pissin in a redneck's mouth, with the phrase "REAL AMERICANS DRINK PISS WATER BEER" and the logos for shitty american beer.

The problem with this is that all beer is vile piss water."

Whatevs, Carrie Nation. (that said, I'd much prefer a nice stong liquor of some sort :))
posted by symbioid at 2:14 PM on July 13, 2011

That'll be great until the first couple Minnesotans go blind from bathtub gin- but hey, I'm sure the market is self-regulating, right?

The regulation being violated here has nothing to do with quality-control - which is handled by our fine friends at the ATF, FDA, and other agencies, if I understand the regulatory jurisdictions correctly. Rather, we're talking about filing your brand labels with the state. This is done, as I understand, not to protect consumers from tainted products, but to ensure that packagers are following the law regarding what needs to be printed on the labels (government warnings, etc.) and what kind of packing is not permitted (marketing designed to appeal to children, for example, and boasts about the strength of the beverage in some markets). In my mind, it may also serve as a handy way for producers to demonstrate a trademark for their packaging, just in case, though maybe that's not really important.

I work in the regulatory world, but not in alcohol, so if I'm misunderstanding the situation, I hope something something will correct me.
posted by nickmark at 2:16 PM on July 13, 2011

Just to bring people up to speed: [...] Dayton has a plan to balance the budget that involves increasing taxes on the top one percent of wage earners in Minnesota. Republican leaders say they will never agree to this.

An excellent summary - but you left out the possibly key fact that this session, Dayton also signed the Surly Bill. Clearly, this whole shutdown thing is part of just a massive game of chess, with the end goal being to make Minnesota entirely self-sufficient in beer production! Scott Walker is playing right into Dayton's hands!
posted by nickmark at 2:21 PM on July 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

Something like this happened in Pennsylvania last year, only instead of going after the wholesaler and/or supplier, it was a young couple who run three Philly bars that got nailed. Armed state police raided their bars and demanded they remove unregistered brands. And I'm talking not about shitty Coors. This was primo stuff, including Russian River Pliny the Younger and Duvel from Belgium. I wrote a bunch of columns about the fiasco (here's the first one), and it led to retaliation by the state police against me personally. (In addition to my weekly beer column, I'm the director of Philly Beer Week). A dozen undercover state police officers showed up at the opening beer festival of 2010 Philly Beer Week IN BULLETPROOF VESTS and threatened to shut down the event, swearing that I might TRY to serve unregistered beers.

Don't ask my why the state even cares about this shit - during one state hearing prompted by my reports, a government bureaucrat claimed the provision was intended to protect the public, in case of poisoning.

Much of the problem stemmed from the fact that the state cops were total beer boobs and were utterly confused by some obscure (and not so obscure) beer names. For example, they confiscated cases of Duvel because it was registered as "Duvel Beer" but the label said "Duvel Golden Ale." The young bar owners eventually got much of their beer returned, but never received any real apology for completely mucking up their inventory. Then, earlier this month, the governor signed a new law that streamlines the registration process considerably.

Laws like this go back to the post-Prohibition era, when states took over direct enforcement of liquor laws. Eighty years later, most of them are sadly out of date and serve no real purpose other than to generate revenues for the state. It's amazing, though, how often they trip up businesses.

Scroll to bottom here for a rundown of the pieces I wrote. Sorry, a few dead links...
posted by sixpack at 2:22 PM on July 13, 2011 [6 favorites]

Hamm's beer always got us where we wanted to go on $1 a pitcher night when I was in college. Uh, the first time I was in college. Apparently Hamm's beer didn't get me to class.
posted by marxchivist at 2:31 PM on July 13, 2011 [3 favorites]

At some point, calling it a 'failed state' is going to start to be justified

And at that point I won't get on anyone's case for calling us a failed state. If I can take the time away from sharpening my sticks...
posted by nanojath at 2:33 PM on July 13, 2011

Government Shutdown Forces Closure of the Independent in Uptown

Oh damn. Wow will I miss that place. I wonder where I might find another dive that charges way too much for mediocre-generously-at-best food and drinks.
posted by kingbenny at 2:33 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Government ShutdownFailure to pay sales taxes in a timely fashion Forces Closure of the Independent in Uptown


It appears they have been on the delinquent tax list (page 6 of this PDF) since Nov 2010.
posted by cnelson at 2:49 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

The company tried to renew in mid-June, but the process got delayed when they wrote a check for too much money.

When I first read this, I wondered if MillerCoors had been taken over by Nigerian scammers.
posted by grouse at 2:59 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

MetaFilter Minnesota: Have you tried our fucking microbrews lately?
posted by aaronetc at 3:04 PM on July 13, 2011

I keep looking for something -- anything -- worthwhile, and, no. But I can't quite believe that there's nothing in a list that long, and review it again. And again. And again. But it never changes. There's nothing. Absolutely sweet fuck all.

Obviously you've never enjoyed the smooth taste of Molson Golden.
posted by GuyZero at 3:21 PM on July 13, 2011

You can still buy license tabs from county governments. I got mine from Hennepin County last week.
posted by norm at 3:30 PM on July 13, 2011

If issuing licenses isn't an "essential" function, how is enforcing them an essential function?
posted by tyllwin at 3:55 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Surly, Summit, Schell's, Flat Earth are all safe. What's to worry about?
posted by Ber at 4:26 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

Dear Minnesota:

Quit pretending that you are the center of the universe. Between the microcosm of divided government, to presidential candidates who who French kiss presidents to a professional wrestler governor. Comedian senator.

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a bad Farrelly Brothers movie (the Coens moved on after Fargo). This shit is wack. Goodbye MN Miracle (more) goodbye civic pride. We may protest the loss of Coors light. That is our last remaining unalienable right.

Passive aggressively,

Citizen
posted by thebestusernameever at 5:03 PM on July 13, 2011

Bums Extend Deadline
posted by ShutterBun at 5:34 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

(the Coens moved on after Fargo)

Nein.
posted by COBRA! at 5:46 PM on July 13, 2011

HowTF has this editorializing post not been deleted yet??
posted by DU at 6:17 PM on July 13, 2011

I took the "editorializing" to be tongue in cheek, DU. I guess (most) everybody else did too.

...Maybe your comment is tongue in cheek too. My God, I don't know what anybody means about anything any more. And according to my profile I'm a "dumbass". Shit, I'm outta here.
posted by nanojath at 6:28 PM on July 13, 2011

> Meanwhile, next door in Wisconsin we're voluntarily pouring out Miller Coors beer to protest Walker's attack on small breweries.

So breweries and distributors got paid for a lot of beer, and their customers were still thirsty so breweries and distributors got paid again for even more beer?

I don't think that works as a protest, not even symbolically.
posted by ardgedee at 6:55 PM on July 13, 2011

@COBRA! [yes a serious man was based in MN]

I'll give you that. I'm probably overreacting as usual.
posted by thebestusernameever at 7:15 PM on July 13, 2011

Note: Use of the @Username convention is strongly discouraged.
posted by ryanrs at 7:23 PM on July 13, 2011 [4 favorites]

Good. This is one of the surest ways to make people realize that having a government is important to them. If all the beer were removed from America's shelves tomorrow as a result of governmental budget cuts, the Tea Party would be gone by Friday.
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 8:11 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

@dixiecupdrinking

Government = beer sounds like a great political platform!
posted by thebestusernameever at 8:15 PM on July 13, 2011

^{Note: Many otherwise helpful notes throughout history have been, and continued to be ignored.}
posted by Ghidorah at 8:38 PM on July 13, 2011 [2 favorites]

A strong government is also useful for those times when you want to get over the hump from "strongly discouraged" to "punishable by death."
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 8:41 PM on July 13, 2011

Further ramifications: how can you sell a car if the State isn't there to issue a title on the vehicle?

For that matter, what happens when you have to buy new license tabs for your car? Mine expire in October.'

Motor vehicle licensing and registration is still working fine--I bought a car last weekend with no problems and I got in an accident with another car the day the shutdown started and was able to get a replacement for the license plate that fell off my bumper.

But I'm glad I bought my canoe and my fishing license two weeks before the shutdown, because I'd have been out of luck otherwise.
posted by padraigin at 8:50 PM on July 13, 2011

Lake Wobegon ... sober?
posted by ZeusHumms at 10:23 PM on July 13, 2011

dixiecupdrinking: Good. This is one of the surest ways to make people realize that having a government is important to them. If all the beer were removed from America's shelves tomorrow as a result of governmental budget cuts, the Tea Party would be gone by Friday.

Seems unlikely to me. If all the beer were removed tomorrow, the Tea Party would convince their followers that it's the fault of Democrats, probably by tonight.
posted by jiawen at 10:34 PM on July 13, 2011 [1 favorite]

Capt. Renault writes "Even were I in Minnesota, I would be remarkably unaffected by a lack of MillerCoors products."

This is only true if you don't drink beer. After all the market isn't all that elastic. The vast majority of consumers when faced with the choice of no beer or not their prefered brand of beer is going to go with the other brand. And 38% of the market isn't something the other producers are going to be able to ramp up for in the short term as it takes time to make beer. So shortages will spread to other brands.

Sticherbeast writes "That said, the real problem here is the government shutdown and the company's poor compliance procedures. Also, it's interesting how other beer companies were able to get their paperwork in order, but the big company fucked it up."

Many of them probably just got lucky considering the renewal is only every three years. AB will be in the same boat if the shutdown lasts till November.

tyllwin writes "If issuing licenses isn't an 'essential' function, how is enforcing them an essential function?"

Ah but you need the licence to be in compliance now while enforcement can occur after the regulators are back on the job. 30 minutes spent perusing bills of lading would give them all the proof they need to subpoena the business records showing who received what when.
posted by Mitheral at 12:36 AM on July 14, 2011

We had a beer strike in Ontario when I was younger. We got around it. yt

I can't seem to found anything online with the search terms 'imperial beer strike' or 'ontario beer strike' or any combination thereof. Perhaps my Google-fu is simply weak, but I would like to read more about the real life events that inspired that wonderful little diddy. Any idea where I might?
posted by LiteOpera at 1:04 AM on July 14, 2011

It's ok - Minnesotans won't need to drive to Wisconsin for their crappy miller lite anymore. In another prime example of how inefficient our government actually is (regardless of party); the budget that was presented on June 30th has passed with some revisions. Let the beer flow...

http://www.startribune.com/politics/statelocal/125578518.html

Somehow I'm still pretty bitter about both parties, or maybe it's just the yuck face from taking a sip of miller lite. Go Schell's or Summit.
posted by lpcxa0 at 11:34 AM on July 14, 2011

We'll still have to go to WI on Sundays however.
posted by sanka at 5:42 PM on July 14, 2011

Can you buy beer after 9 though?
posted by symbioid at 3:34 PM on July 15, 2011