Beer, TX

Blogging brew with Ronnie Crocker

Texas Legislature to consider brewpub bill




















Categories: Uncategorized
Ronnie Crocker | Assistant Business Editor

14 Responses

  1. Lee Nichols says:

    Thanks for the post, but I would offer one slight correction: There’s no guarantee that the Lege will “consider” these bills at all. They will only get considered if the chairman of the committee to which they’re assigned allows them to get a hearing. At this point, they’ve simply been filed, nothing more. And if the chair is a friend of Mike McKinney (of Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas) there’s a good chance they’ll die a quiet death.

  2. Stillwater says:

    It’s about time! If you support these bills ( and if you read this blog, my beer gut tells me you do), then contact your local state rep to tell them to support this bill for crying out loud. You can email or call them and it only takes a minute. Here is a really cool website that helps you find out who your rep is, because I had no clue who was mine.

  3. Bill says:

    GOP D-Bags will never let this happen…. It’s a shame for Texas

  4. Jeremy says:

    Why in the world are these activities banned in the first place? I thought we pride ourselves on business freedom in this state? If so then why is it so hard to break the regulatory chains of the large distributors?

  5. C Palmquist says:

    Now this is the Hope and Change I could vote for….

  6. DirkDaddy says:

    The distributors are monopolies that are still in existence due to LARGE campaign contributions and powerful friends. Breweries get very litter per six pack. Allowing them to sell to people out the front door would be wonderful for them, and you, as they could if they wanted to give you a super deal and still double their profit margin per six pack. But Distributors likely have GOP in their hip pocket with the millions of dollars that are flowing each month with all the beer sales in Texas.

    And we pride ourselves on being such a business friendly state and yet allow these arcane laws exist to allow status-quo for a few very very rich people who have inherited family business of alcohol distributorship.

  7. Dave says:

    for the sake of clarity.. is that 48 12 once beers per person??

  8. JayBee says:

    Bill and DirkDaddy: It’s not just the GOP, it’s all members. We have the finest government that money can buy.

  9. Ronnie Crocker says:

    Dave -

    Yes, up to 2 cases per tour ticketholder.

  10. Steve says:

    There are no good reasons for these bills to not only be considered, but pass. The only reasons against these bills are the entrenched financial interests of a few (not all) beer distributors. If HB602 passes, Texans would be able to take a limited amount of beer home after a brewery tour. Taste the beer and, if you like it, take a small amount home. Sound like a winery tour and tasting? Yes, exactly. And wineries in Texas are permitted to do essentially the same thing. Know what is the second most visited wine region in the US (after Napa)? Texas Hill Country. Meanwhile, Texas has one of the lowest ratios of craft breweries to population in the US. Think allowing these small businesses (Texas craft brewers) the opportunity to grow their business would be a good idea? Yes. Would it increase Texas tourism? Yes. Would it lead to increased job growth in Texas? Yes. Would it lead to increased revenue for the State of Texas (in a time of need, no less)? Yes. Would it allow beer aficianados greater freedom of choice in seeking new or unusual beer? Yes. Would it help Texas to catch up in a growth industry (craft brewing) in which it has fallen far behind the lead of other states such as Colorado and Oregon? Yes.

    Contact your legislator. Let them know you support these bills.

  11. Brazos says:

    Not sure if the GOP can shoulder all the blame for this. The system was set up when the Dem’s had all the power in Texas. One problem is campaign contributions. Who owns most of the wineries? Retired doctors, lawyers, etc who can afford to give large contributions to their buddies in Austin so the they can get the laws written the way they want. We’re going to have to step up if we want these laws to go through this session. You’d think the Tea Party people would be all for laws to help small business.

  12. Billy says:

    So why wouldnt a craft brewery just apply for the Brewpub license and change their licenses out?

    It seems with this revised Brew Pub license you could do everything you want with the 75,000 BBL limit that a Brewers Permit can do.

    The only difference would be the craft breweries would have to start serving food at their place.

  13. Billy says:

    HB 602 makes no sense. St Arnolds already charges for tours so this would only allow them to give away two cases of beer without charging. Doesnt sound to good to me. They would loose alot of money this way.

  14. Ronnie Crocker says:

    Billy -

    The price of the tour would vary depending on how much beer you wanted to take home.