Avon brewer brings talent to Minnesota Street

by Logan Gruber

operations@thenewsleaders.com

St. Joseph residents will soon be able to use their taste buds to taste hops – local hops – after the St. Joseph City Council voted April 6 to amend an ordinance, which would allow taprooms and breweries to apply for permits to operate within the city.

“I’m pumped!” said Aaron Rieland of Avon after the council meeting, and he has every right to be. Rieland is the owner of Bad Habit Brewing Co., which plans to take up residence at Mill Stream Shops come September.

The alcohol and gambling enforcement arm of the Minnesota Department of Public Safety predicts a more than 60-percent increase in breweries across the state compared to 2014 numbers, according to Minnesota Public Radio.

Rieland had been brewing at home since 2001 and has been considering opening a brewery since 2012.

He had originally been working with Collegeville Cos., the developers behind Mill Stream Shops and Lofts as well as the not-yet-constructed Bayou Alley Flats building, to be part of the Bayou project working in conjunction with a restaurant. But with demolition for the Bayou project slated for November 2014, and delayed until just last week, Rieland felt he couldn’t wait to begin the work he’s been dreaming of for so long.

“We will have rotating taps every month,” Rieland said in a statement.

Bad Habit Brewing plans to be a small-batch brewery, rotating beers often and at customer request.

“We want a community brewery where our customers feel involved in the process and are willing to let us know what they like and dislike,” Rieland continued.

They expect to start with four to five rotating varieties of beer along with home-brewed sodas.

Rieland will begin remodeling and reconstruction of the space at 15 E. Minnesota St., Suite 108  in mid-June with a September opening planned. Follow the progress on its Facebook page by searching for “Bad Habit Brewing Co.”