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forestlaketimes.com http://forestlaketimes.com/2015/03/25/forest-lake-brewpubs-could-be-on-tap/ By Ryan Howard March 25, 2015 at 7:31 am Forest Lake brewpubs could be on tap Photo by Ryan Howard The Winehaven winery in Chisago City was cited by council members as the kind of business Forest Lake would welcome if city code is changed to allow establishments like taprooms and brewpubs into the community. After positive feedback from the City Council, Forest Lake city staff are working on code changes that would allow taprooms and brewpubs to come to town. At their March 16 meeting, council members said they would be open to allowing on- and off-sale liquor licenses to be granted to breweries and microdistilleries in Forest Lake. City Administrator Aaron Parrish said the city has had inquiries about whether the city allows drinking establishments that serve alcohol created on-site, and Mayor Stev Stegner said he’s also heard of some demand. “I … was asked about a whiskey distillery that wanted to move into the area,” he said. After a brief discussion, council members determined that an acceptable policy would be to allow taprooms and brewpubs in areas where on-sale liquor licenses can currently be granted. According to Deputy City Clerk Jolleen Chaika, that means that the establishments would primarily be located in business and mixed-use districts around town. “Basically, anywhere you see restaurants currently,” she noted. Though it’s been four years since Minnesota passed the “Surly bill” that opened the brewpub floodgates in the state, Stegner told The Times that he views the potential changes as the city attempting to anticipate future demand for taprooms in the area, allowing the path to be clear for would-be local entrepreneurs. “So often, when people want to get into the community, there’s not enough time to go through all the planning processes,” he said. Stegner pointed to the popularity of venues like Chisago City’s Winehaven as evidence of the budding demand for home-grown alcohol sales. “I think people are looking for a higher quality,” he said. On the subject of wineries, Councilman Ed Eigner asked staff if any consideration has been made for that sort of establishment in the city. Staff said they felt that topic was separate from brewpubs and taprooms and was something they could research more in the future. Chaika said the code changes would likely be discussed during an April Planning Commission meeting. Read more about the proposed changes at tinyurl.com/k48fdvr.