Mmmm, Beer.

I love beer. My favorite beers are boring, pedestrian beers like Minnesota favorite Michelob Golden Draft Light (fun fact! Michelob Golden Draft Light is only available for sale in nine states, and was introduced to the market in 1991), the hipster nectar PBR, and when I get fancy, something like Dark Horse Brewery's Raspberry Ale (love their motto: "Beer first, fruit second.")

My boyfriend also loves beer. He loves beer that I don't like (maybe that is not a coincidence?) because it's all bitter and hoppy and not at all refreshing.

My brother and most of my guy friends are "beer snobs".

Minnesota has a few really great breweries--Surly, Summit, and of course I would be remiss in not acknowledging Grain Belt Brewery, which brought us one of my favorite Minneapolis landmarks:

The Grain Belt Beer sign facing the Hennepin Avenue Bridge, between Downtown Minneapolis and Northeast!

However, curiously, Minneapolis has a long-standing ban on allowing small brewing companies to sell their beer.

Fortunately, the Minneapolis City Council is likely to update the wording of this ordinance on Friday! Brewers will be allowed to sell growlers. This is important because it cuts out the distributors, and allows the small companies to make more money early on, enabling them to grow and hopefully expand their business. Ultimately, of course, the goal would be to gain wide distribution which would necessitate working with a distributor, but having a small "cult" following is a great way to grow business as well, expanding by free word-of-mouth advertising instead of paying for exposure.