Tag Archives: beer

Craft beer legislation advances

Posted on March 15, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Craft beer bills get their hearing

Posted on March 8, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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I knew all this beer harmony couldn’t last forever

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Here come the craft beer bills

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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What does it mean to be a “craft” beer?

Posted on January 12, 2013 by Charles Kuffner

The Chron has a Q&A with beer aficionado Jenn Litz that raises an interesting question. Q: How are the major breweries responding to the craft beer trend? A: Mostly through the acquisition route. They know the milliennials are drinking craft, … Continue reading →

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Craft versus crafty

Posted on December 21, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Just because that beer you’re drinking has a quirky name and a whimsical label on the bottle doesn’t mean it came from a microbrewery. In a biting opening salvo, a trade group for the nation’s craft brewers on Thursday accused … Continue reading →

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Craft beer is good for Texas

Posted on December 16, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Because it can’t be said too often, am I right? Here’s a brief Q&A with Charles Valhonrat, the executive director of the Texas Craft Brewer’s Guild. Q: What are your goals for the 2013 legislative session, and how do you … Continue reading →

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Beer is still a job creator

Posted on November 18, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

We really owe a debt of gratitude to beer, in particular to microbrewers. Saint Arnold Brewing Co., the city’s oldest craft, has 43 employees and is in the midst of hiring at least three more, founder Brock Wagner said. That … Continue reading →

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More on the microbrewers’ legislative strategy

Posted on October 23, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

The Statesman returns to our favorite subject. The small brewers, generally a young and passionate group, always have been better at creating hoppy and original brews than navigating the Legislature and the network of big-money lobbyists who are experts at … Continue reading →

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What the microbreweries want from the next legislative session

Posted on September 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Scott Metzger of Freetail Brewing has an update on what he and his craft-brewing colleagues have been working on. Brock Wagner (of Saint Arnold of course) and I have been Co-Chairing the Texas Craft Brewers Guild Legislative Committee and have … Continue reading →

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Fort Bend Brewing

Posted on September 2, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Microbreweries sure are a growth industry around here. Chris Leonard came to Houston and was struck by the similarity with his hometown of Philadelphia. It was enough to convince him to move to Missouri City from the City of Brotherly … Continue reading →

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What does it mean to be a beer?

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Boy, is that a deep question or what? Until recently, beer drinkers who took their time to read the labels on their bottles or cans may have encountered some head-scratching fine print concerning Texas. Underneath the name of Brooklyn Brewery’s … Continue reading →

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Beer is a job creator

Posted on July 29, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Microbreweries are, anyway. Craft brewing in Texas could add 52,000 jobs and mushroom into a $5.6 billion industry by 2020 if state lawmakers next year ease restrictions on breweries and restaurants that make beer on-site, a study prepared by the … Continue reading →

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Our stupid beer laws in action

Posted on June 24, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Open The Taps voters’ guide for 2012

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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The year in beer

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Charles Kuffner

Scott Metzger offers a look back on beer news from 2011, and makes some predictions for this year. Of the most interest to me is this:

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Brewers win one in court

Posted on December 24, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

From CultureMap: A small but significant victory was had for craft beermakers and drinkers Monday when a federal judge ruled (partially) in favor of Austin’s Jester King Brewery in a lawsuit against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Jester King filed … Continue reading →

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The macrobrewers are expanding, too

Posted on October 9, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

In addition to all the new microbrewers that are sprouting up, giant international conglomerate Anheuser-Busch InBev will be spending a bunch of money to improve and expand its operations. The local Anheuser-Busch InBev brewery is using a major capital infusion … Continue reading →

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Still more microbrew options

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Our flagons runneth over, as new microbreweries keep springing up. If each opens as planned, Buffalo Bayou, 8th Wonder and Yard Sale Brewing companies would bring to eight the number of plants making beer within an hour’s drive of downtown … Continue reading →

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Freetail expansion on hold

Posted on July 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Open The Taps

Posted on July 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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713 ™

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

WTF? Anheuser-Busch is counting on civic pride to make its next product a smash seller: beer named after America’s various beer-drinking cities, based on their area codes. To that end, AB has already applied for a federal trademark for “713” … Continue reading →

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Yet another new microbrewery to open

Posted on July 1, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Not far from my house, as it happens. Startup Buffalo Bayou Brewing Co. will be located much closer to I-10 than to its namesake waterway, but founder Rassul Zarinfar says that’s by design. […] The company has leased a 7,800 … Continue reading →

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Beer solidarity

Posted on June 12, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

Good for them. Small businesses like Ziggy’s Bar & Grill and Kata Robata have scratched Bud Light from their menus and have spread the word through social media, as response to HB 602’s recent death at the hands of Anheuser-Busch. … Continue reading →

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Another microbrewer comes to town

Posted on May 28, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

The beer scene in Houston keeps getting better. Eric Warner was at the well-regarded Flying Dog Brewery in Colorado for a decade, as brewmaster and then as chief executive. While there, the brewery came out with such beers as Snake … Continue reading →

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RIP, HB602

Posted on May 27, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Freetail to come to Houston

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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HB602 clears Senate committee

Posted on May 19, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

One more step forward for microbreweries and their ability to let customers bring their product home after a tour, as HB602 gets voted out of the Senate Business & Commerce Committee. HB 602 is a compromise – it still bans … Continue reading →

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A night with the Skeeters

Posted on April 29, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

I learned a couple of interesting things from this Richard Justice column about the forthcoming Sugar Land Skeeters minor league baseball team. Among them: You may think you know what a Skeeter is, but you don’t. If you’re wondering what … Continue reading →

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A win for the microbrewers

Posted on April 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Compromise microbrew bill voted out of committee

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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From the “Capitalism is scary!” files

Posted on April 5, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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More on the microbrew compromise

Posted on March 23, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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Compromise on microbrew bills

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Charles Kuffner

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 →

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