By Ryan Falk
Murphy News Service
The interior design is modern and the beer classic at Fair State Brewing Cooperative in Northeast Minneapolis.
“We’re out to make really good beer that you want to keep having,” Matthew Hauck, director of operations at Fair State, said.
Founders Hauck, Niko Tonks and Evan Sallee have been friends for a while and started home brewing about seven years ago. Opening their own brewery was something they often talked about doing.
“I think it’s something we always kinda joked about,” Hauck said.
The jokes didn’t turn serious until Tonks studied brewing. After Tonks interned at local breweries the talks gained momentum.
“We were chatting with him (Tonks) even before he had a paid job and said ‘wouldn’t it be cool one day to do a cooperatively owned brewery in the Twin Cities,’” Hauck said.
The brewery allowed Hauck and Sallee to help Tonks do something he enjoys.
“We wanted to have a chance for Niko to brew the beer he loves,” Hauck said.
Beer is their business and each has a favorite of their own. Tonks said his favorite beer, which he used brew, is Live Oak Pilz.
Salle said he has lofty expectation for beer, which reflects, in his choice of favorite beer, Sierra Nevada Pale Ale.
“That was the first great beer I ever had, and it showed me a whole world of what beer could be,” Sallee said.
Hauck’s two favorite beers, his favorite ale is Odell St. Lupulin and his favorite lager is Prost Pilsner.
Beer is just one aspect of this unique brewery, which Hauk said is one of three cooperatively owned breweries in the nation, and first of its kind in Minneapolis.
“We wanted to stand out and do something a little bit different,” Hauck said. “We wanted to bring people into the operations of the brewery.”
The cooperative model was something the three founders gravitated to from the beginning.
“We all really believe in the cooperative movement and what it does to democratize governance, the profits and really does amazing thing as far as making capitalism work for the people,” Hauck said.
Members of Fair State enjoy decision-making power, which ranges from voting for the board of directors for the brewery to recipes for new beers as well and actually owning part of the brewery. It was a easy decision for the owners, Hauck said.
“We wanted to do cooperative membership so that people did have a piece,” Hauck said. “We wanted people to have literal ownership and buy into the idea of what we were doing.”
The members are a large focus of the brewery, which is evident by the pictures that hang on the wall opposite the bar. This was one of the founders’ earliest ideas.
“We decided we wanted to do something that honored the members,” Hauck said. “We couldn’t have done this without the members.”
The pictures on the wall are only part of the design of the bar, which features a modern simplistic aesthetic. Hauck said the design looks elegant yet approachable.
“We wanted something simple,” Hauck said. “We didn’t want something that was trendy, that was gonna feel old in five years and something we could work around, something we could do a lot with.”
The pride Hauck said he feels for the brewery is obvious and it stems from two major factors, the beer and the existence of the brewery itself.
“I’m incredibly proud of the beer,” Hauck said. “Every batch has been exactly where we wanted it.”
The best selling beer Tonks said is their IPA, and the lagers also have also been selling well, Hauck and Sallee said.
“I’m really proud we made it happen,” Hauck said. “There are dozens of cooperative breweries in the planning, and there have been only three that have made it to opening.”
Fair State brings a community feeling and a great experience to the city.
“We believe that drinking beer is an experience that brings people together,” Hauck said.
Reporter Ryan Falk is studying journalism at the University of Minnesota