The guys at Fulton Beer have been taking some heat recently, in part because they currently contract brew in Wisconsin. The argument goes that if they contract brew they aren’t really a brewery, and if they contract brew in Wisconsin they aren’t really Minnesotan. Thus, a group of guys who all live and work in Minneapolis, registered their company in Minnesota, and put forth the effort to make a regular 3:00 AM trek to Black River Falls in order to make their beer themselves are not Minnesota brewers.

While I understand this argument, I don’t altogether buy it. There are many ways to reach the goal of being professional brewers. No matter what route one chooses to take, a sound business plan is a must. If contract brewing allows you to keep the business operating while you build the capital to invest in your own brewery, that’s a sound business decision. If you find the contract opportunities in Minnesota to be limited, especially if you want a hands-on contract relationship as opposed to one in which you are just having your beer brewed for you, and you choose therefore to head to Wisconsin, that is again a sound business decision.

But all of this should soon become moot. The Fulton guys have taken a big step that will take some of the wind out of their critics’ sails. On August 18^th they signed a lease on a building that will house their future brewery, possibly the first packaging brewery in Minneapolis in nearly a decade.

According to a press release that I received today, they have researched brewing equipment and plan to purchase a 15 to 20-barrel brewhouse soon. Initial production from the new facility will be limited to kegs and growlers, but will eventually include limited run 750 ml bottles. They will host tours, tastings, and special events at the brewery.

So where is this brewery-to-be located? Other than to say that it is in Minneapolis, the exact location remains a closely kept secret. According to the press release, “Fulton is withholding details on the building location until the conclusion of a contest in which the first person to find the new brewery space will be rewarded with the very first growler produced in the brewery. Instructions and clues to the contest are available at Fulton’s Facebook page.”

Congratulations guys. I look forward to eventually bringing home a growler of Fulton Beer.

With Lift Bridge in the process of putting together their Stillwater brewery, Fulton signing the lease, and Harriet Brewing not far behind, (I’m not sure how far along the 612 Brew folks are.) things are heating up for the Minnesota brewing scene.