Union That Fought Sunday Beer Growler Sales Lifts Objection

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) - A labor union is lifting its objection to Sunday takeaway sales of 64-ounce beer growlers from craft breweries.

Ed Reynoso of the Teamsters Joint Council 32 told a Senate committee on Monday that "at this point" the union won't oppose a bill legalizing those growler sales on Sunday. It's a shift from last year when Teamsters' concerns about those sales affecting labor contracts helped derail the proposal.

But Reynoso says craft brewers should have to report its off-site sales on a quarterly basis to make sure they're not exceeding annual barrel limits for small breweries. Members of Minnesota's burgeoning craft brewing industry have been pushing hard for seven-day-a-week sales, saying the weekends bring the heaviest customer traffic.

A Prohibition-era Minnesota law prohibits takeaway liquor sales on Sundays.

The proposal has a ways to go, and key senators are still on record in opposition to altering the Sunday sales law.