October 10, 2011
Surly Brewing Co. is inspiring smaller breweries to take a chance and help build Minnesota's burgeoning craft brewing scene.
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Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, USA — Surly Brewing Co. owner Omar Ansari serves beer to patrons before a tour at Surly Brewing Co. in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. Ansari started the business when he sold his first keg in 2006. Surly has grown tenfold since then, and Ansari recently helped pass the "Surly bill," which allows his business to sell glasses of beer on site and paves the way for expansion into a destination brewery and restaurant. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minn., USA — A line forms outside Surly Brewing Co. before a tour in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. Surly uses social media to announce and direct their tours, which end up filling in minutes. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minn., USA — Becca Ansari listens to her husband, Surly Brewing Co. owner Omar Ansari, during a tour at Surly Brewing Co. in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minn., USA — Surly Brewing Co. owner Omar Ansari addresses a tour group at his Brooklyn Center, Minn. company Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. Ansari's brewery is based in a building his parents used for their abrasives business. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, USA — A Surly Brewing Co. employee finishes a day's work in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. The brewery has grown from the sale of 1,748 kegs in 2006 to more than 34,000 kegs this year. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minn., USA — Patrons sample beer and socialize before a tour at Surly Brewing Co. in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minn., USA — Surly Brewing Co. owner Omar Ansari enjoys a beer while chatting with Dan Smith during a tour of the Brooklyn Center, Minn. brewery Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minn., USA — The hand prints of Surly Brewing Co. owner Omar Ansari and his family are left in a poured cement floor at Surly Brewing Co. in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minn., USA — Brewing equipment sits idle at the end of a work day at Surly Brewing Co. in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minn., USA — Tour coordinator Keith Doten directs patrons from the sample room back to the brewery at Surly Brewing Co. in Brooklyn Center, Minn. Friday, Sept. 30, 2011. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, USA — Surly Brewing Co. owner Omar Ansari said he waited a couple of years after starting his brewery to get the Surly logo tattooed on his arm because he wanted to make sure the business was going to be successful. (MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson) link to this photo
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