One of Minnesota’s newest breweries in the works, Fair State Brewing, plans to go against the grain when it begins production: In addition to making mainly traditional lagers and session ales, it will produce beer that contains 3.2 percent alcohol content.
 
Fair State, which is reportedly looking at brewery spaces in the Seward and Longfellow neighborhoods within Minneapolis, revealed its plans to Dara Moskowitz Grumdahl, a writer and editor at Mpls.St.Paul magazine, Twin Cities Business’ sister publication.
 
“We could be the only good beer at Rainbow!” Fair State cofounder D. Evan Sallee told Moskowitz Grumdahl. He’s referring to the fact that the state’s grocery stores and convenience stores are only permitted to sell alcohol that contains 3.2 percent alcohol or less.
 
Sallee reportedly expects Fair State to officially open in December or January. Fair State claims to be the only cooperatively owned brewery in Minnesota. That essentially means that individuals can give it money, become a member-owner, and then receive associated benefits—like priority access for special beer releases, invitations to special happy hours, and more. Then, if a member decides he wants to be done, he’ll receive his money back.
 
Sallee told Moskowitz Grumdahl that the co-op structure will allow member-owners to be as involved as they want to be and can run for the board and volunteer at the brewery’s taproom.
 
Fair State on Wednesday announced a membership referral program via its Facebook page. Sign up a friend to be a member, and receive $10 in credits to be used at the brewery’s taproom; that’s in addition to $50 in credits that each of the first 250 new members will receive. Sixty-three people had signed up to be members as of Wednesday.
 
Moskowitz Grumdahl reported that Fair State is a joint Macalester College-Carleton College production—and that its brewer, Niko Tonks, has worked at Live Oak Brewing in Austin, Texas, which industry group Beer Advocate claims makes one of the nation’s best wheat beers.