SBA 7(a) Brewery, Winery and Distillery Feasibility Study in Minnesota

Makers of beer, wine and spirits in Minnesota

This class gathers breweries, wineries and distilleries. The program approved 173 Minnesota loans from FY2017 to FY2026, worth $76.7 million, ranking the state 4 among states, while within Minnesota the class stands 6 of 39 by asset class. The $250,000 median equals the national 7(a) figure for producers, a ratio of 1.00x, so Minnesota sits on the norm, and loans most often land from $100,000 to $521,000. No loan went to a franchise brand: the share is 0.00%. Minnesota producers show no distinctive measure in this file, so the figures are best read as a plain record of what SBA approved.

Cancellations and losses

Cancelled approvals through FY2024 reach 11.2% at least, and the share stays 11.2% when undisbursed loans are added. In Minnesota's funded cohort of 93 producers, the charge-off floor so far is 2.2%, and the five-year figure is 0.00%. These are floors and open loans could raise them. Volume ran at 27 in FY2017 and 16 to 20 through most of the following years, then slid to 9 loans in FY2025 and 3 loans in the full year FY2026.

Lenders and counties

BankVista has 19 loans worth $9.4 million. A trio at 12 loans each follows: Minnwest Bank, Sunrise Banks National Association and Old National Bank, with Frandsen Bank and Trust at 11. These entries describe the present holder SBA reports and imply nothing about how any bank lends to producers. Hennepin County has 59 loans, Ramsey County 17, Saint Louis County 12 and Dakota County 11, with Sherburne and Washington counties at 6 each.

A producer's feasibility test

The code identifies a borrower who makes beer, wine or spirits, but nothing in it shows whether a taproom, tasting room or event use exists, so this page cannot split sales between the brewhouse floor and the bar. A study should test production capacity and equipment, state and federal licensing, distribution and self-distribution rules, the taproom economics and the local competition among craft producers. Water, wastewater and zoning for production and public use are practical gates. Barrel or tank inventory ties up cash, so working capital belongs in the loan sizing. Debt service coverage must hold if sales grow more slowly than planned, and an appraiser will value the equipment and the business separately.