Cooperative brewery opens in Minneapolis

Published 10:07 am Monday, September 8, 2014

MINNEAPOLIS — The founders of what could be Minnesota’s first cooperative brewery have opened their doors in Minneapolis.

Evan Sallee, Niko Tonks and Matthew Hauck met in college and were home brewers. Lacking the revenue for a brewery, they came up with the idea for a co-op while in graduate school. Several years later, the three have launched Fair State Brewing Cooperative. Their motto? Drink like you own the place.

Lifetime membership at Fair State Brewing is $200 for an individual and $300 for a couple. And after opening weekend, the co-op already has about 350 members.

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Marty Hillman of Fridley is a card-carrying member. He said that even if he doesn’t get anything back for his investment, the tap room is a great place to hang out.