FALCON HEIGHTS, Minn. — On a hot summer night there's nothing better than a cold drink at the Minnesota State Fair.
This year fairgoers will have 63 new Specialty Sips to choose from, and many of them are made by small local companies. Those drinks are sold at booths and restaurants across the state fairgrounds.
Fairgoers can also get a taste of something local by visiting the Brewed in Minnesota exhibit at the Agriculture/Horticulture building.
"It's a good way of connecting the consumer to beers that they normally wouldn't have access to,” Bob Galligan said.
Galligan is the Director of Government and Industry Relations at the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild. He said the Brewed in Minnesota exhibit was created to give small Minnesota breweries a chance to grow their business.
"No other state fair really celebrates the craft beer culture the way the Minnesota State Fair does,” Galligan said. “The fun part is once a keg is out, we switch out that beer right away. Beer lovers can come and get a flight at 10:00 a.m. and then come back at say 3:00 p.m. and it very well could be a different flight with four different beers.”
This year the guild purchased 450 kegs that contain more than 200 different beers brewed by 90 local breweries.
Padraigs Brewing in Minneapolis is featuring a few of their beers at the fair this year. Owner Pat Carey said serving their beer at the fair is like a dream come true.
"That's always the dream, how do I get to the state fair?” Carey said. “We just passed our first anniversary last week, so this is huge for a newer brewery like us.”
Carey said showcasing their beer at the fair this year is already benefiting their business. He has been watching the reviews pour in through the popular beer reviewing app “Untappd.”
“We can tell when our beer is being tapped at the fair. When they cycle through the beers I can see the ratings pour in. It’s been fun to watch, and we’ve been very happy. We’re getting high ratings,” Carey says.
And with every high rating, hopefully a new customer?
"We're already seeing that. We’re seeing people come from the state fair over to the tap room,” Carey said.
Minnesota winemakers are also reaching new customers at the fair.
Kyle Peterson from Winehaven Winery is one of the partners who started the Minnesota Wine Country booth that offers wine tastings, wine slushies and food pairings.
"There are very few places a small business like ours can get exposure to literally hundreds of thousands of people within a 12-day period. It's just amazing,” Peterson said.
The fair also offers a unique opportunity for local winemakers to build the local industry.
"We're still hearing people tell us ‘oh, I didn't know you could grow grapes in Minnesota'," Peterson said. "We’re not just educating customers about our wines and winery but also what Minnesota wine grapes have to offer."
Peterson said Minnesota’s wine industry has experienced tremendous growth in recent decades. When his family started their winery in the 1990’s Peterson said they were among a handful of wineries in the state. Fast forward to today and he said Minnesota now boasts nearly a hundred wineries.
“We’re still growing. Napa was a relatively new wine region back in the 50’s, so it does take some decades. We feel we’re on track. We have some really good grapes here,” Peterson said.
But every industry has its challenges. For wine, Peterson said the last few growing seasons have been rough.
Over on the brewery side, it's more competition from hard liquor and seltzers.
"For beer, the numbers are declining, not just for craft beer, but beer in general,” Galligan said. "I like to say we're hitting a cruising altitude at this point. The industry is kind of settling in after several years of tremendous growth. We have seen some breweries close since the pandemic, but we are still seeing more openings than closings.”
So, the next time you buy an adult beverage at the Minnesota State Fair take a moment to think about where that drink came from and how it was made, because chances are that drink was made right here in Minnesota.