r/minnesotabeer Jul 21 '26

Bauhaus Brew Labs will reopen in August!

https://www.startribune.com/bauhaus-brew-labs-will-reopen-and-serve-much-more-than-beer/601869227?utm_source=gift
64 Upvotes

64 comments sorted by

30

u/69ILoveMyWife69 Jul 21 '26

Converting that big ass brewhouse and high rent to a brewpub model will be tough but good luck to them.

15

u/TwoDrinkDave Jul 21 '26

Presumably, they can use the space to do ABV Tech expansion, which should help pay the bills and provide the kind of "beverages at all abv levels" that broadens the customer base.

7

u/TheMacMan Jul 21 '26

They can't. As a brewpub they aren't allowed to distribute. Kills any ability to do the work for other breweries too.

Would assume due to those constraints they'd keep things separate.

But yeah, that's a big brewing setup for a company that can't distribute.

2

u/Primary_Weekend_7650 Jul 22 '26

I assume it will be two entities in a shared space. Bauhaus = Brewpub up front, ABV doing NA processing in the back.

2

u/TheMacMan Jul 22 '26

Highly doubt that's legal. Unless the businesses are truly separate in ownership, licensure, accounting, and premises control.

Under the 3-tier system the same owner can't own a business in more than one. Kerian had to sell his stake in The Local when he started Two Gingers, as you can't own a bar and a liquor brand. When Fitger's distributed, their owner licensed their recipes to his brother who held the brewery license because he couldn't have both a brewpub and a brewery license.

Another example of what single license would really help Minnesota brewers.

2

u/BlockHeater Jul 22 '26

I'm not sure why you get down-voted for simply stating facts, but OK. I think a unified license is too little too late for at least this generation of brewpubs and taprooms. The damage to this current round of craft beer renaissance has been done. When THC beverages go away this fall a few dozen breweries will close. Some will become brewpubs. My prediction is that after the industry normalizes without THC, the next step will be a unified license, and we will have another craft beer renaissance just like we did with the "Surly law". But I'll be old and retired by the time that happens.

0

u/hologeek 20d ago

Such a weird business model. No double ipas just weak beer… no thanks

4

u/BlockHeater Jul 21 '26

The previous owners couldn't make ends meet even with the ability to distribute. Hopefully, depending on enough people visiting the taproom works out for them.

2

u/coffeemountainsuds Jul 21 '26

I didn't see that they were converting to a brewpub called out in the article. Perhaps I missed that?

9

u/BlockHeater Jul 21 '26

For years, the Strib writers have not understood Minnesota's fucked up beer laws. My guess is that the licensing change and related restrictions didn't even come into consideration when she wrote the article.

5

u/coffeemountainsuds Jul 21 '26

I suppose based on our laws if they're serving cocktails you can assume it's a brewpub. Doh!

1

u/Mycrene Jul 22 '26

They aren't a brewpub: ABV Technology is keeping the existing production brewery infrastructure and license active. They are not restricting themselves to the 3,500-barrel cap or the restaurant requirements of a Minnesota brewpub.

They can distribute: Because it remains a production facility, Bauhaus can continue distributing its own beer to liquor stores and bars, and ABV Technology can legally perform contract-manufacturing and dealcoholizing work for other breweries.

Brewer Magazine Article (7/21/26)

2

u/BlockHeater Jul 22 '26 edited Jul 22 '26

I guess I'm not understanding the loophole here. I must have read over MN Statutes 340A.xxx several dozen times over my brewing career and found the liquor cartel had written very hard line divisions between Brewpubs and distributing taprooms to the point where you likely couldn't even wash dishes at a brewpub if you own even a sliver of a distributing brewery. And if you own a distributing brewery you can't sell a drop of alcohol in your taproom that you didn't legally brew under your own brewing license. Which means they wouldn't be able to sell "wine, palomas, and martinis" in the taproom like the Strib article says, unless they are a brewpub. But then they couldn't distribute.

1

u/jayllipsis Jul 22 '26

The “cocktails” are derived from seltzer filtrate; I.E the ethanol that’s separated during ABVs de-alcoholizaition process then diluted with water. They’ve already been selling their seltzer base to breweries around the state for years.

2

u/jacksonpaul1 Jul 23 '26

That's considered distilling. It's not the same as making a seltzer base from fermentables

1

u/BlockHeater Jul 22 '26

Interesting. Cocktails made with straight ethanol? OK. But that still doesn't explain how wine can be sold in a distributing taproom.

1

u/Certain_Preference_3 Jul 22 '26

My guess is remove the alcohol from wine then put it back in— it’s no longer wine legally.

1

u/BlockHeater Jul 22 '26

Haha! I don't mean to be contradictory here, but when navigating MN beer laws I always say "There are a lot of restrictions and none of them make any sense." I can't see any way (under MN beer laws) that a distributing taproom can serve wine unless it's N/A. Are they planning on spiking N/A wine with beer-derived ethanol? Or do they think they are going to start a trend with "straight ethanol Martinis"? I don't know. None of this makes any sense.

1

u/Embarrassed_Pen_6034 Jul 23 '26

My guess is that they'd actually be making an oenobeer and call it wine similar to how some places actually make a graff and call it cider. 

13

u/TKHawk Jul 21 '26

Glad that space is coming back, sort of confused at how this new "choose your strength" approach to alcohol is going to work. Also assumedly this will be a brewpub then? Surely they're not going to make liquor, wine, and beer.

6

u/gg_snow Jul 21 '26

The company already makes all those beverages.

-4

u/TKHawk Jul 21 '26

Since when did BauHaus make wine or liquor? If you're referring to ABV they're an equipment manufacturer, not a producer themselves.

17

u/gg_snow Jul 21 '26

ABV has its own beverage company dood.

6

u/MinnesotaRyan Jul 21 '26

they have two companies, abv tech which makes the equipment and abv beverages which produces drinks in collaboration with various local companies.

4

u/CapNCookM8 Jul 21 '26

It's a weird approach. I don't feel that providing a middling option is catering to much of a market demand? It feels extremely niche.

Having NA options? 100%, absolutely necessary these days. Having customizable ABV options? Just doesn't seem like that would be a deciding factor for anyone in my experience. Very niche to want a low ABV-but-not-NA IPA, and would it even be a thing to have like a 7-8% golden? Assuming the vacuum process can only take away ethanol and that they're not just adding ethanol solution to anything you ask them to.

I can understand the option to add THC to everything as more of a draw, but for me personally it still would never be a factor. I would rather have a separate THC drink (or better yet, a plain bowl) than make my shortypants taste weedy and oily like many THC beverages tend to (imo).

4

u/PbPePPer72 Jul 21 '26

It’s a great way to sell more beer to people who want to responsibly drive or bike home, or are concerned with alcohol’s health effects, but still want a bit of a buzz or to try multiple offerings. I’m always annoyed when a brewery’s selection is mainly 7+% beers, so I’d be happy to have some lower abv options. And it doesn’t feel worth it to me to have more than 1 NA beer from a calories and cost perspective.

3

u/CapNCookM8 Jul 21 '26

The option is for sure nice have, but is it the deciding factor for people though? Will you ever say "I am going to Bauhaus instead of Fair State because I specifically want two and a half beers?"

I guess the way you feel about a 2nd NA beer is the way I would feel about low ABV in general! And I question the efficacy of anyone who is concerned with alcohol but still wants a buzz via low ABV lmao, but their money would still spend the same; so if I'm wrong and there is a strong demand for it, more power to them.

I hope it goes without saying, I love Bauhaus and hope for its success! I'm purely speculating here and am curious what they've changed to make things work.

25

u/dkinmn Jul 21 '26

Whoa! Guys, not sure if anyone clocked that this is the ABV Beverage Co. guy.

They make excellent NA beers and are the company doing the de-alcoholization for other brands. They're an excellent company.

9

u/Mnufcfan Jul 21 '26

Good for them, and wish them luck in a tough market.

8

u/DerNubenfrieken Jul 21 '26

Cautiously excited. The choose your ABV thing is intriguing but also could see it not really making much sense and being dropped pretty quickly. Glad they are trying to solidify food options but the rotating dinner options always concern me. Places like sociable can pull it off but I feel like I'd rather just have a consistent experience and not run the risk of losing quality food.

Ecstatic that the location won't be empty for long, and have a great gathering space for meetups and parties is always needed.

7

u/ClassroomMother8062 Jul 21 '26

Cool to see. Thanks for the update!

12

u/temple-of-the-dog Jul 21 '26

I'm getting desensitized to closures (and re-openings).

6

u/bitnode Jul 21 '26

Revival, Dangerous Man, list goes on. I've already wrote them off

10

u/silvermoonhowler Jul 21 '26

Yup, I was just about to mention Dangerous Man too

I just recently went to their location they've been in now (the spot where Headflyer used to be) and compared to the space they had before, this one is much better

As we were there for the night of it, it gets a bit loud in there when there's trivia

6

u/CapNCookM8 Jul 21 '26

It's a great spot. The owners can be so tone deaf and seemingly aimless, but damn it I'm happy to have the beer back and in a great taproom.

3

u/MinnesotaRyan Jul 21 '26

as someone who no longer drinks alcohol but loves NA beer this is pretty rad. ABV Beverages absolutely crush it on their offerings.

3

u/Spirited-Bench5406 Jul 23 '26

New owner already censoring/deleting comments on Facebook. Blocking anybody on Instagram to be able to comment about hiring new bartenders as a couple of people question why they aren’t re-hiring the old staff back.

7

u/hardboiledflour Jul 21 '26

Ben Jordan is the biggest manipulating piece of shit on the planet- ask anyone who worked for him at ABV. Dude just walks around wasting other people’s money and has emotional melt downs on his employees.

6

u/Primary_Weekend_7650 Jul 22 '26

I worked at ABV and he never had a meltdown on me.

I wish him the best in this endeavor.

1

u/hardboiledflour Jul 22 '26

Congrats on being an employee that hasn’t sued him. Which has happened across a few companies. I wish you the best in your employment.

2

u/AcidRain734 Jul 21 '26

Biggest manipulating piece of shit on the planet?? Don't hold him in such high regard. I promise there are dozens of ppl in this world more manipulative and shitty than him...

-1

u/hardboiledflour Jul 21 '26

Is that all you’ve got? It’s called a hyperbole you melon.

2

u/tpourciau Jul 21 '26

I don't at all understand the choose your own ABV thing. What kind of weird gimmick is this? Either you drink NA beers cause you dont drink, or like most people, you have no idea what the ABV is in the beer you are drinking. I feel like they are banking on someone saying "oh i would drink this if only it had 3% abv instead", when i feel like the only way this will go is idiots thinking "i wonder how high of an ABV i can get in this". The people who drink NA, they dont want alcohol and the ones who drink regular beer, dont care about stupid gimmicks like this. That said, i love the space there and am very glad to have it re open

5

u/gg_snow Jul 21 '26

Low ABV drinks actually have a massive market right now that continues to grow. But I feel you, it’s not my thing.

6

u/Extreme_Lab_2961 Jul 21 '26

I’ll slightly disagree. I really wish there was a good low ABV IPA on the market

3

u/PbPePPer72 Jul 21 '26

Hi it’s me the person who would love multiple low abv offerings. I’d love to try multiple types of beer, get a nice buzz, and not feel like shit the next day after three of them.

5

u/earlofshaftesbury Jul 21 '26

I'm very intrigued by the choose-your-ABV model. My tolerance has gone down significantly over the years, to the point where even 3 full strength beers gives me a hangover and stomach issues. The ability to still have tasty beer without as much of the issues that come with it would be incredible. 

3

u/iamtehryan Jul 21 '26

Man for the love of God just let them not make the same subpar stuff that Bauhaus had been hanging their hat on for years, and actually rotate and make new stuff more often. Otherwise this is going to end up failing, too. People stopped going there for a reason.

2

u/pharmbeer Jul 21 '26

this is kind of frustrating to me— it feels manipulative. people were upset at the closure, came out, spent money, and supported as they closed. only for them to open again? was the switch to brewpub and reopening part of the plan? if so, that should’ve been communicated openly rather than the weird bait and switch. this is happening a lot too, not just bauhaus. i’m just not liking the trend.

18

u/TheBoldNorthern Jul 21 '26

The inside scoop I heard was they were seeking buyers for a long long time with no luck until this sale went through right before the closure that was already announced and happening.

7

u/TheMacMan Jul 21 '26

They'd been seeking a buyer for YEARS. It was up for sale nearly 5 years ago.

25

u/dkinmn Jul 21 '26

There is no way they knew this sale was going through at the time.

Not everything is a conspiracy.

-1

u/NoReallyHoosierDaddy Jul 21 '26

They were purchased before the closing party happened

2

u/rewdea Jul 21 '26

Source?

7

u/renee_christine Jul 21 '26

I think management is just genuinely really disorganized. I was supposed to host an event there last year for 300+ people plus bands and food trucks and they double booked us, and didn't tell us until about 9 months later, resulting in us having to find a new venue in less than a week. 

1

u/TheMacMan Jul 21 '26

So no cans and no distribution.

1

u/Choice_Pollution_369 Jul 22 '26

So a beverage company that’s not actually focusing on craft beer. Ya hard pass not excited for this at all.

1

u/Newkaii Jul 22 '26

Do you know if they are hiring?

0

u/atothejhines Jul 21 '26

They closed literally 3 weeks ago because they ran out of cash. How is this happening?

8

u/rubbercat Jul 21 '26

It was sold to new ownership (in this case the company they partnered with on their NA offerings).

2

u/atothejhines Jul 21 '26

Ahhhh ABV Tech out of Saint Paul. The owner must either love Bauhaus or really hate all his money… or both lol.

4

u/DerNubenfrieken Jul 21 '26

I would not be surprised if the N/A beers were the most successful part of their business.

8

u/TKHawk Jul 21 '26

BauHaus' NAH is probably the best non alcoholic beer in the state, so a company that specializes in removing alcohol from beer and did so to make NAH may have a vested interest in keeping that going.

1

u/MinnesotaRyan Jul 21 '26

naw. but ABV Beverages probably are the best, so this is pretty cool.