Tag Archives: brewpubs

One good thing that may come out of all this

We may get to keep booze to go sales. On Twitter Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott suggested to-go alcohol sales should be made available in Texas past the coronavirus pandemic. Texas restaurants will be allowed to open for dine-in Friday under … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Crowler conundrum concluded

Finally. Mike McKim held an empty aluminum can under a tap and pulled the handle, filling the can with Real Ale Brewery’s Helles beer. He fitted a pull tab lid on top, slotted the can into his “crowler” machine, and … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Crowler conundrum concluded

A win for beer

Hooray! All you want for Christmas is a crowler to go? It probably won’t happen that quickly, but an administrative judge’s recommendation could move the state a step closer to letting bars and restaurants sell takeaway beer in the sealed, … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A win for beer

The latest example of how nuts our beer laws are

Ridiculous. The latest flashpoint between Texas beer lovers and state beer law is a 32-ounce aluminum can that bars and restaurants fill with beer and sell to be consumed off-site. The can, called a crowler, is praised for its convenience … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The latest example of how nuts our beer laws are

A brewpub comes back to Houston

In my ‘hood, no less. A new brewpub will open in the Heights with an accomplished veteran of the Texas craft-beer scene at the helm. Delicious Concepts Restaurant Group, which owns Lola, Shepherd Park Draught House, Witchcraft Tavern and seven … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A brewpub comes back to Houston

Beer legislation 2.0

Just because craft brewers succeeded in passing a bill allowing them to sell beer for consumption on their premises last session doesn’t mean there isn’t more that can be done to advance the cause of beer freedom. Twinned bills introduced … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food, That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The microbreweries aren’t done with the Legislature

Microbreweries took a big step forward in 2013, but there’s still more to be done. The 2013 legislative session, which featured the largest overhaul of the beer industry since 1993, was viewed by many observers as a watershed moment for … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on The microbreweries aren’t done with the Legislature

A preview of the next beer battle

Texas microbreweries are now officially selling their wares on premise. Woo hoo! In business for nearly 19 years, Saint Arnold Brewing Co. sold its first cold one directly to a customer [in June], thanks to a new law liberalizing the … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on A preview of the next beer battle

Craft beer bills now officially the law

Whatever you think of the vetoes or the special session action, this is unequivocally good news. Happy hour started Friday afternoon for Texas brewers. Gov. Rick Perry signed five bills representing the most comprehensive overhaul in two decades of how … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Craft beer bills now officially the law

Craft beer bills pass the House

Hallelujah! A raft of bills that would dramatically alter the way beer is sold and consumed in Texas sailed through tentative approval from the House on Friday after a lengthy and disputatious process between brewers and beer distributors. If finally … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Craft beer bills pass out of House committee

From Open The Taps. After waiting in a long queue of bills that were sent from the Senate to the House, the Craft Beer Bills (SBs 515-518 and 639) should see some movement again this week. Our team in Austin … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Craft beer bills pass out of the Senate

A good day indeed. The Texas Senate voted Monday to give craft brewers and brewpubs new opportunities to sell their beer. “To see that happen was amazing,” said Scott Metzger, a San Antonio brewpub owner who worked with other brewers, … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Craft beer legislation advances

Moving forward. Legislation authorizing the most significant changes in 20 years to the way beer is bought and sold in Texas passed a key Senate committee Tuesday with broad support. Under terms of the bills, Houston’s Saint Arnold and other … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Craft beer bills get their hearing

From the Trib: The Senate Business and Commerce Committee on Tuesday acted as legislative referee over bills that would allow craft breweries to sell on their premises and self-distribute in Texas, but critics said the legislation would hurt the state’s … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I knew all this beer harmony couldn’t last forever

We have some legislative beer controversy on our hands. Texas brewers would lose a potential source of capital and some flexibility in negotiating sales under a bill before the state Senate. The Texas Craft Brewers Guild immediately opposed the legislation, … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Here come the craft beer bills

From Brewed and Never Battered. Senator Kevin Eltife (R-District 1) introduced bi-partisan legislation along with Co-Authors, Senators Brian Birdwell (R-District 22), John Carona (R-District 16), Eddie Lucio (D-District 27), Leticia Van de Putte (D-District 26), Kirk Watson (D-District 14), and … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Our stupid beer laws in action

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Owners of the popular Eatsie Boys food truck will open their first stand-alone restaurant later this year on Montrose Boulevard, serving everything from breakfast items to sandwiches to house-made gelato. Closer to … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , | 9 Comments

Open The Taps voters’ guide for 2012

Want to know how your preferred legislative candidates stand on the important issue of beer freedom in Texas? Then the Open The Taps Voters Guide for 2012 is for you. As a reminder, Open The Taps is about the following: … Continue reading

Posted in Election 2012 | Tagged , , , , , | 5 Comments

Freetail expansion on hold

Bummer. Having previously announced expansion into the Houston market, Freetail Brewing Co. will announce the indefinite suspension of plans for a second location — citing concerns over access to capital. “As I moved forward with the Freetail Houston project, I … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Freetail expansion on hold

Open The Taps

Better late than never. “The fourth tier wants to speak up,” said Ted Duchesne, a Clear Lake-area beer blogger and president of a nascent nonprofit organization that pledges to work on behalf of consumers to increase the availability of craft … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

RIP, HB602

Dammit. Texans won’t be buying liquor on Sunday and the state’s 29 brewpubs won’t be competing with their out-of-state rivals on local grocery shelves. And Texas breweries or liquor distillers still can’t sell a 12-pack of beer or a souvenir … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Freetail to come to Houston

Cool! After months of professional evaluation and fan speculation, Freetail Brewing Co. is happy to announce it has chosen downtown Houston as the site of its second location. On November 2, 2010, Freetail Founder & CEO Scott Metzger announced the … Continue reading

Posted in Food, glorious food | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A win for the microbrewers

Woo hoo! Craft beer brewers came to the Capitol this session with a number of bills giving them greater latitude in getting their beers to customers. [Thursday], the House gave an early OK to one of those bills, allowing breweries … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Compromise microbrew bill voted out of committee

From Brewed and Never Battered: Congrats to Brock Wagner, the folks at St. Arnold, and all the other Texas brewers, distributors and retailers supporting HB 602 which today passed the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee by a vote of … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Compromise microbrew bill voted out of committee

From the “Capitalism is scary!” files

If you’ve been following the brewpubs’ efforts to get a bill passed that would allow them to sell their wares elsewhere in Texas then this Statesman story doesn’t bring much new to you. What it does do is cleanly capture … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

More on the microbrew compromise

Brewed And Never Battered gives its report from the House Licensing and Administrative Procedures Committee hearing yesterday. Briefly on HB 602: No one expressed opposition, not even the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, who have opposed the bill in the … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on More on the microbrew compromise

Compromise on microbrew bills

As Brewed and Never Battered noted, HB660 and HB602 were scheduled for a public hearing in committee today. I’m delighted to say that it looks like there was progress achieved on them. Rep. Mike Villarreal, D-San Antonio, laid out HB660 … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Brewery bills get referred to committee

It’s a first step. State Rep. Jessica Farrar, D-Houston, has introduced House Bill 602, which would allow breweries to distribute up to 48 12-ounce beers at the conclusion of tours of the respective facilities. Brewers would cover the cost of … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Brewery bills get referred to committee

The Trib on the brewpubs’ efforts

I’ve written before about the efforts by brewpubs to pass a bill that would allow them to distribute their product outside their own doors. That effort is being led by Scott Metzger of San Antonio’s Freetail Brewing Company, who has … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Legislative beer news

There’s a new player on the beer legislation scene this session. The owner of one of San Antonio’s largest brewpubs, Freetail Brewing Co., is spearheading an effort to change state law to allow it and other brewpubs to distribute their … Continue reading

Posted in That's our Lege | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments