A brewery in Wisconsin that has built a reputation for itself by posting anti-Trump material on its social media accounts, including one that promised patrons free beer when President Donald Trump dies, revealed that it has had its permit to operate in the state revoked by government officials. Liberal activist and brewery owner Kirk Bangstad revealed what happened in an interview with The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Bangstad vowed to fight “tooth and nail” after receiving a letter from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue, which informed him that his business, Minocqua Brewing Co., had its permit to operate revoked. The brewer spoke about the incident in a blog post published on his Substack account and blasted it out to his followers via email.
“As you can imagine, I’m not taking this lying down,” Bangstad went on to say in the 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.” Bangstad also asked his readers to donate cash to his legal defense fund.
“As usual, fighting to keep my business alive means I have to pay lawyers, and that’s never cheap. Every time this [happens], I rack up $100K in legal bills before we even see a judge. If you can help chip in to the Minocqua Company’s legal defense fund, I’d really appreciate it,” the post read. The revocation of Bangstad’s beer license will take effect on August 4, 2026.
A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Revenue spoke with Fox News, saying, “The Wisconsin Division of Alcohol Beverages is dedicated to the fair and consistent enforcement of alcohol beverages regulations in Wisconsin. The division is required to follow and implement state law, including ensuring permit holders and licensees follow all applicable laws and regulations. The division takes appropriate actions when these laws are not followed.”
The spokesperson then added, “We can confirm that the Department of Revenue has issued notice of a Brewer’s permit revocation for two Minocqua Brewing Company locations and notice of an Alcohol Beverage Warehouse permit revocation for one location. The business has until August 4 to appeal and can operate during the appeal process.”
“Should the business decide to appeal, the next step would be to appeal to the Secretary of the Department of Revenue, who will assign the appeal to a Department of Revenue hearing examiner for their recommendations as to proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law,” the spokesperson concluded.
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In a January 22, 2026 post published on Facebook, the Minocqua Brewing Company suggested that it would give free beer to its customers if Trump was killed, though the post did not explicitly use his name. “Free beer, all day long, the day he dies,” the post read. “Show us this post when it happens in a few months and we’ll make good on that promise.”
The post was later updated to say, “we meant the Madison Taproom because that’s open all year, if he dies in the summer, then it’s gonna be the Minocqua Taproom.” The company replied to a comment on the post, saying that it was hinting at a high-profile figure when the company was asked if the timeline for the deal could be moved up. “Well that’s up to you and your ability to act like a CIA agent,” the company said.