Regulators Pounce – Anti-Trump Brewery Cornered

beer flight with assorted tasting glasses on a wooden tray — Photo: IntoTheWorld / Shutterstock

A Wisconsin brewery that promised free beer the day President Trump dies now faces losing its Madison taproom for good.

Quick Take

Wisconsin regulators revoked brewer’s permits for Minocqua Brewing Company’s Minocqua and Madison locations, plus a warehouse permit.
The state says the brewery shipped beer in from Illinois without proper permits or tax payments.
Owner Kirk Bangstad calls the violations minor and claims the real dispute is worth less than $500 in unpaid taxes.
A hearing on the company’s appeal is set for November 18, and the brewery can keep operating until then.

State Regulators Pull The Plug On Two Locations

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue confirmed it revoked brewer’s permits for Minocqua Brewing Company’s locations in Minocqua and Madison. It also pulled an alcohol beverage warehouse permit tied to one site. The action followed a June seizure of canned beer, which officials say had been shipped from Illinois without the required state permits or tax payments.

Owner Kirk Bangstad runs the brewery and became a lightning rod for controversy after promising free beer on the day President Trump dies. He also drew backlash for a social media post referencing the assassination attempt on Trump. Bangstad says the state’s enforcement effort is really about punishing his politics, not enforcing tax law.

The State Says This Is Routine Enforcement, Not Politics

A Department of Revenue spokesperson told reporters the agency acted because of regulatory noncompliance, not political motives. The department said it is committed to fair and consistent enforcement of Wisconsin’s alcohol laws. Wisconsin’s own guidance warns that permit holders with poor tax filing or payment records can lose their permits, a standard the state applies across the industry, not just to one brewery.

Bangstad disputes the severity of the case. In a newsletter to supporters, he said the alleged violations trace back to his contract-brewing deal with an Illinois partner, something he set up after Wisconsin barred him from shipping directly to out-of-state customers. He claims the total disputed tax amount is under $500, calling the violations “laughable”.

An Appeal Process Is Already Underway

The brewery had until August 4 to appeal the revocation and can keep operating while that process plays out. A hearing on the appeal is scheduled for November 18, meaning the permits stay valid until a final decision comes down. That timeline gives Bangstad room to keep serving customers for now, even as the closure threat looms over his Madison taproom.

Bangstad says he plans to fight the state “tooth and nail” and has vowed the state will have to “pry me out of my taprooms” before he stops pouring beer for what he calls Wisconsin’s most progressive customer base. Whether that fight succeeds depends on what the hearing examiner decides once both sides lay out their full case in November.

Why This Case Matters Beyond One Brewery

Alcohol regulation in Wisconsin treats tax compliance and interstate shipping rules as tightly linked, and permit revocation is a standard tool when regulators believe those rules were broken. That context matters here. A business owner who spent years publicly taunting a sitting president over his mortality is now asking the public to see his tax dispute as uniquely unfair, even though the state’s playbook looks like it follows normal procedure.

Common sense suggests regulators don’t need a political motive to enforce plain tax and permitting law. If Bangstad’s paperwork and payments were in order, the state would have nothing to revoke. Instead, he’s leaning on claims of persecution to explain away what looks like a straightforward compliance failure, one he says he was still working to fix months after investigators first flagged it.

🚨UPDATE: A brewery in Wisconsin that repeatedly promoted “free beer” for the day President Trump dies says its Madison taproom is now on the verge of SHUTTING DOWN!!

Minocqua Brewing Company’s owner says the location “will likely close by the end of the year” as they continue… pic.twitter.com/krQr8ooMIT

— Bethany O’Leary 🇺🇸 🦅 (@BethanyForTruth) September 26, 2026

For now, the Madison taproom’s fate rests on a hearing date circled in November. Until then, Bangstad keeps pouring, keeps posting, and keeps insisting the state picked this fight over politics rather than paperwork.