Brewery that promised Donald Trump free beer stripped of alcohol permit
Officials are set to revoke the alcohol permit of a brewery that previously promised free beer would flow following the death of the current sitting United States President.
"Free beer, all day long the day he dies,” Minocqua Brewing Company once wrote via social media. “Show us this post when it happens in a few months, and we’ll make good on that promise.”
The vow is unlikely to take shape as Wisconsin’s Department of Revenue has announced plans to shut down the business owned by Kirk Bangstad.
“The Division of Alcohol Beverages is dedicated to the fair and consistent enforcement of alcohol beverages regulations in Wisconsin,” state officials decreed.
Advert
“The division is required to follow and implement state law, including ensuring permit holders and licensees follow all applicable laws and regulations. The division takes appropriate actions when these laws are not followed.
"We can confirm that the Department of Revenue has issued notice of a Brewer's permit revocation for two Minocqua Brewing Company locations and notice of an Alcohol Beverage Warehouse permit revocation for one location. The business has until August 4th to appeal and can operate during the appeal process.”
Bangstad, who said he would ‘fight the state tooth and nail’, claimed he was being forced out of the industry due to his political stance.
“Everyone reading this, Democrat or Republican, should recoil at the thought of a small and thriving business being destroyed by their state government over such small violations—especially a brewery in the state of Wisconsin!” he claimed.
He has since asked fans to donate to the brewery’s legal defence fund, telling The Independent: “We need all the money we can get to sue the Department of Revenue and stay in business.”
“As you can imagine, I’m not taking this lying down,” he commented via a Substack notice titled ‘In and Absurd Act of Heavy Handedness, Wisconsin's Department of Revenue Plans to Revoke Minocqua Brewing Company's Permit to Do Business on August 4th’.
“They’ll have to pry me out of my taprooms before I stop selling beer to thirsty progressives who come to visit us.”
The action follows a raid that took place in June. It saw state officials seizing canned beer from Minocqua Brewing Company, claiming that the beverages had been transported into the state from Illinois without the correct taxes and permits, USA Today reported.
Following the White House Correspondents' Dinner on April 25, FBI agents interviewed Bagstad over a social media post that appeared to reference an alleged assassination attempt on Donald Trump’s life.
The post in question read: “Well, we almost got #freebeerday. Either a brother or sister in the Resistance needs to work on their marksmanship or he faked another assassination to get a positive news cycle.”
FOODbible has contacted Minocqua Brewing Company for comment.
Ella Scott