Politics & Government

State of Shutdown: Beer Battles

With MillerCoors being forced to remove its product from shelves, uncertainty looms.

Day 13 of the state shutdown was all about beer.

Reports surfaced Wednesday that MillerCoors products have to be pulled from Minnesota shelves and bar taps because of an expired brand license. The Star Tribune reports that MillerCoors is fighting the decision, but a state spokesman said the law is pretty clear.

"There's really nothing in the statute that allows us to make an accommodation for anybody," Doug Neville of the Department of Public Safety told the newspaper.

Find out what's happening in St. Louis Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With no one around to approve a new license for MillerCoors, the company is in limbo. As are Minnesota beer retailers who don't know what to do with the brews.

"My advice would be come in and buy it now. Stock up," John Wolf, owner of Chicago Lake Liquors in Minneapolis, told the Star Tribune.

Find out what's happening in St. Louis Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Liquor store owners in the west metro had , with one saying he though customers would just shift to other products, while another said he planned on continuing to sell MillerCoors beers.

"We've already paid for it, so I wouldn't let them (pull it),” said Lee Gilbertson, a manager at . “That would sort of be like going after customers who have purchased it and trying to take it back from them."

But the issue goes beyond just MillerCoors. A number of Minnesota bars and liquor stores may soon have to stop selling alcohol altogether because they have expired state liquor buyers' cards. And beer stores that have valid cards could be impacted, too—Jason Alvey of St. Louis Park craft beer store told Patch that he is worried about the because many of them sell MillerCoors beers, too.

"If they take a hit, craft beer takes a hit," Alvey said.

For more, see how the shutdown will affect the following areas and services:

 

Also, we have reaction from St. Louis Park's legislators . And here is what they plan on doing .

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