A Wisconsin brewery has found itself in the crosshairs of state efforts to shut it down after its owner vowed to offer customers free beer on the day President Donald Trump dies.
The owner of Minocqua Brewing Company in Minocqua, Wisconsin, says the state is targeting him and trying to take away his liquor license over his political views and his criticism of Trump.
The state is denying the accusations, saying it’s revoking the license of brewery owner and progressive activist Kirk Bangstad, who also runs a liberal super PAC, according to People, for licensing, transport, and excise tax violations.
Brewery’s Stance Against Right-Wing ‘Authoritarianism’ Caused Backlash
Wisconsin’s Department of Revenue says the brewery is scheduled to have its license revoked on August 4, months after Bangstad announced he’s hosting a Free Beer Day when Trump bites the dust.
Bangstad is well-known to politicians in the state’s Northwoods area, repeatedly irritating folks in the heavily conservative region, especially with sales of his “progressive beer,” a gimmick that focuses on and promotes Democrats.
“Our brewery is very popular among progressives throughout the Upper Midwest because we actively fight against right-wing authoritarianism and corruption. As a result of our political activism, we’ve been boycotted by beer distributors and major grocery chains,” Bangstad said in a post on Substack.
Bangstad continued his post by writing that the reasons the state is giving for revoking his license to sell alcohol are almost unheard of while also drawing attention to “Wisconsin’s complicated liquor laws.”
“I couldn’t believe it and neither could the law firm that handles my liquor permits. Both my liquor lawyer and his law partner … said they’ve never seen the state come down so hard on a brewer before,” he continued.
“They both believe that someone in Wisconsin’s government is trying to make an example out of me, and they’ve told me to fight this with everything I’ve got,” Bangstad added.
Bangstad says he tried to work with the Department of Revenue’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages (DAB) to return to compliance over the past six months, but that “the DAB purposefully blocked all avenues for us to fix the problems they said we had. As a result, they’re now attempting to use those violations to shut us down.”
The state raided the brewery in June and removed beer, contending it was transported across state lines without the proper permits. Shortly afterward, it announced it was revoking the brewery’s liquor license
Social Media Reacts
Social media exploded in outrage, sarcastically pointing out other companies that have made political statements without any consequences and noting how Wisconsin seems to be violating the First Amendment’s free speech clause by going after Bangstad.
“How dare a company express a political leaning! not like Coinbase, Kraken, and Crypto, Chevron and ExxonMobil, Amazon and Meta to just name a few. I guess it matters how much money you contribute to tRump,” a Daily Beast reader stated.
Another chimed in, “Surprised the retribution took so long, or that it didn’t involve capital punishment. Is political blasphemy even barely illegal? Or protected under our first amendments?”
People readers had a similar reaction.
“So free speech only counts if it flatters Donny does it?”
“It’s criminal that the people can’t express their opinions of tRump, but he’s allowed to say despicable things about people, and tell lies without any consequences. His hatred and vile comments that hurt people financially, and personally are not censured. What happened to freedom of speech?”
Bangstad, for his part, says he’s not going down without a fight.
“We’re going to fight the state of Wisconsin tooth and nail,” he vowed, “and once again, they’ll have to pry me out of my taprooms before I stop selling beer to thirsty progressives who come to visit us.”
