When politics and beer mix, do beer drinkers lose?

A lobbyist for the Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association (MLBA) tells MPR reporter Tom Scheck that the lobby group is against Surly Brewing Company’s desire to build a $20 million brewery in Minnesota that includes a brewery, restaurant and beer garden. To build the proposed brewery and restaurant Surly needs to change a law preventing large brewers to sell beer in a brewery.

The MLBA is also opposed to relaxing the state’s blue laws that keep Minnesota stores from selling booze on Sundays. If Surly gets an ice-cold shoulder from lawmakers, should they consider building on the other side of the St. Croix in beer-friendly Wisconsin?

Do you think the MLBA is acting against the wishes of Minnesotans by opposing the Surly brewery?