A progressive Wisconsin brewery says its liquor license has been snatched by state officials months after it promoted a free beer day for when President Donald Trump dies.
Minocqua Brewing Company’s owner received an alcohol permit revocation notice from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue’s Division of Alcoholic Beverages, he revealed on the brewery’s Substack.
The notice, dated July 15, came nearly six months after a post by the brewery promised “free beer” on the day Trump dies with the hashtag, “#freebeerday.” As it stands, the brewery must halt alcohol sales by Tuesday—though its owner says he has no plans to cut off his kegs.
“As you can imagine, I’m not taking this lying down,” Kirk Bangstad wrote in the Substack post. “We’re going to fight the state of Wisconsin tooth and nail, and once again, they’ll have to pry me out of my taprooms before I stop selling beer to thirsty progressives who come to visit us.”
The brewery was purchased by Bangstad and his late wife, Elizabeth Smith, in 2016. Bangstad aggressively rebranded the company into a hot spot for liberal Wisconsinites after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Officially, the state says Bangstad’s business is in hot water for transporting and selling beer brewed in Illinois without proper Wisconsin permits and excise tax payments, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Bangstad thinks the revocation is because of his politics.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that both beer distributors AND Republicans want me out of this state,” he writes.
Wisconsin is a swing state that voted for former President Joe Biden in 2020 but was carried by Trump in 2024. Its governor, Tony Evers, is a Democrat.
On the brewery’s official website, the company touts its “#ProgressiveBeer,” which features progressive figures. The beers include Sen. Bernie Sanders, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
The brewery also responds to heated MAGA opposition and promotes its discounted death deals to its 42,000 Instagram followers.
