The Minnesota Legislature recently struck a deal allowing local breweries to sell six-packs right at their taprooms. One company very thankful for this opportunity is Jack Pine Brewery in Baxter.

After years of only being able to sell 64-ounce growlers and 750 milliliter crowlers, Minnesota breweries now have new off-sale options in their taprooms. With the new law in place, breweries like Jack Pine are able to sell 12 ounce and 16 ounce cans in four- or six-packs. There is a 128-ounce limit on how much they can sell to a person per day, but there currently isn’t a limit on their growlers and prowlers. One of the things this does for the company is to help keep their sophisticated canning line in place.

When they fill the crowlers and growlers from their taps, there’s a little bit of oxygen that can get in. But with their efficient canning line, they are able to keep that oxygen level very low. Beer is also a perishable product and once it is sealed in a can, that’s as fresh it gets and stays fresh.

When it comes to the possible increase of sales, Jack Pine Brewing expects their revenue to stay about the same. But now that breweries in Minnesota can sell six-packs out of their tap houses, It will make the process a lot more efficient. It will also allow companies to push their products out quicker and give customers a better service overall.

The new legislation also allows breweries that had grown too big to sell 64-ounce growlers to customers to do so again. That affects the five biggest breweries in the state, but none in the Lakeland viewing area.

By — Hanky Hazelton