What Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild does

The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild (MNCBG) is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association founded in 2000 and headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It serves as the collective voice for Minnesota's craft brewing industry, representing over 160 brewery, brewpub, and brewery-in-planning members plus 60+ Allied Trade Members that supply products and services to the industry. The Guild's mission is to promote, protect, and grow a robust Minnesota craft brewing industry, and over 80% of the state's craft breweries are members. Its core offerings are advocacy, legislative representation, professional development, networking, scholarship programs, and a portfolio of signature events including the MN Brewers Cup competition, All Pints North Summer Brew Festival, Autumn Brew Review, MN Beer Day, and the MN State Fair's 'Brewed in Minnesota' exhibit.

The Guild's business model is membership-funded, with four tiers: Regular Members (operating breweries holding a TTB Brewer's Notice and qualifying for the federal excise tax exemption), Associate Members (contract brewing organizations and minority alternating proprietorships), Breweries in Planning (discounted pre-opening rate), and Allied Trade Members (industry suppliers). Revenue is generated through annual membership dues, event fees and sponsorships, and donations to its affiliated Minnesota Craft Beer PAC. The Guild operates with a small staff (1-10 employees) led by Executive Director Jess Talley, with board governance including President Nate Schneider of Trove Brewing and Treasurer Matt Johnson of Scientia Beverage Consulting. Membership acquisition is conducted through a direct sales model via the Guild's member portal and application process.

In recent years, the Guild has expanded its policy scope beyond traditional beer to pioneer hemp-beverage regulatory advocacy beginning in 2022, playing a key role in the 2023 passage of Minnesota HF100 — the first U.S. legislation to explicitly regulate hemp-derived THC products. The Guild is now actively opposing a federal hemp-derived THC ban effective November 2026, which it argues threatens Minnesota's regulated market and its member breweries. The Guild reaches 7,000+ newsletter subscribers and maintains active social media presence to drive event attendance and advocate for industry positions.

Name

Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild

Legal name

Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild

Website

https://mncraftbrew.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association founded in 2000 that represents over 160 of Minnesota's craft breweries, brewpubs, and 60+ Allied Trade Members, providing advocacy, legislative representation, education, and signature industry events including the MN Brewers Cup, All Pints North, and Autumn Brew Review.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association Services

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Beer Brewing & Brands (CRADAIAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Beer Brewing & Craft Brewing (AFAFAAAA), Microbreweries & Craft Breweries (THAFALAC)

Keywords

• Craft brewing trade association
• Brewery advocacy services
• Nonprofit industry membership
• Craft beer events
• Legislative advocacy brewing

Headquarters

HQ city

Minneapolis

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade association that promotes, protects, and grows Minnesota's craft brewing industry. It delivers legislative and regulatory advocacy, professional development, industry networking, and consumer-facing signature events (such as the MN Brewers Cup, All Pints North, Autumn Brew Review, MN Beer Day, and the MN State Fair Brewed in Minnesota exhibit) to its membership of more than 160 brewery and brewpub members and 60+ Allied Trade Members.

Product overview

The Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild is a not-for-profit trade association (501(c)(6)) founded in 2000 that serves as the collective voice for Minnesota's craft brewing industry. The Guild does not offer a commercial product or technology platform. Its core offerings consist of industry advocacy, legislative representation, professional development, networking events, and member services for over 160 brewery and brewpub members and 60+ Allied Trade members. The Guild organizes signature events including the MN Brewers Cup competition, All Pints North Summer Brew Festival, Autumn Brew Review, MN State Fair's 'Brewed in Minnesota' exhibit, and MN Beer Day (November 1). Membership types include Regular Members (operating breweries with TTB Brewer's Notice), Associate Members (contract brewers), Breweries in Planning, and Allied Trade Members (suppliers and service providers to the industry).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• MN Brewers Cup

Quantifiable outcome

• 160+ brewery and brewpub members represented
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Minnesota Licensed Beverage Association (MLBA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborates on legislative advocacy and shared stakeholder communications regarding hemp-THC regulations. Hosted contact form for members to reach legislators on hemp-ban issues. MLBA is a key stakeholder representing beverage industry interests in Minnesota.
• Minnesota Beer Wholesalers Association (MBWA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerWorks together on industry stakeholder communications regarding hemp-THC regulatory matters. Part of the coalition of Minnesota beverage industry associations advocating for hemp policy.
• Minnesota Microbrewery Association (MMBA)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerCollaborates on legislative and stakeholder communications for hemp-THC issues. Represents small brewery perspectives within the broader craft beverage coalition.
• Minnesota Craft Beer PACcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Guild's affiliated political action committee that supports legislators who support MN breweries and brewpubs. Individuals may donate to this non-partisan PAC. Supports the Guild's advocacy mission financially.
• Brewers Association (National)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerThe national not-for-profit trade group for U.S. brewers. MNCBG participates in national and state-based hemp groups and conferences, coordinating advocacy efforts. The Guild aligns with national craft beer industry positions.
• Hemp Beverage AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational coalition of stakeholders working on hemp-beverage regulations. The Guild coordinates with this alliance on federal hemp-ban advocacy efforts.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• California Craft Brewers Association: California's state-level craft brewing trade association and the most direct functional peer to MNCBG — both are 501(c)(6)-style nonprofit trade associations running festivals, advocacy, and member services for in-state craft breweries under a similar dues/event revenue model.
• Colorado Brewers Guild: Colorado's nonprofit craft brewers guild providing legislative advocacy, events, and membership services to in-state craft breweries. Directly comparable in mission, governance model, and revenue mix (dues + festivals) to the Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild.
• New York State Brewers Association: New York's nonprofit state brewers association, providing advocacy, events, and membership services to in-state craft breweries. Comparable to MNCBG as a single-state trade association serving a large craft brewing community through dues and event revenue.
• Oregon Brewers Guild: Oregon's craft brewing trade guild — a like-for-like nonprofit state peer that organizes festivals, runs advocacy at the state level, and represents craft breweries through membership dues, mirroring MNCBG's structure and member-services portfolio.
• Michigan Brewers Guild: Michigan's nonprofit craft brewing trade association offering advocacy, festivals, and member programs to in-state breweries. Like MNCBG, it operates exclusively at the state level, runs signature consumer events, and represents the industry to state legislators — making it a structural peer.

Broad incumbents

• Brewers Association: The national not-for-profit trade association for U.S. brewers, of which MNCBG is a state-level counterpart. Both organizations represent craft brewers, run conferences/events, publish industry data, and coordinate on hemp-beverage advocacy — making the Brewers Association the closest broad-incumbent peer that operates one tier above state guilds.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/MinnesotaCraftBrewersGuild
• Instagraminstagram.com/mncraftbrewersguild
• Xx.com/mncraftbrew
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/minnesota-craft-brewers-guild

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Minnesota Craft Brewers Guild