House Gives Initial OK to Craft Beer Bill

Craft beer brewers came to the Capitol this session with a number of bills giving them greater latitude in getting their beers to customers. Today, the House gave an early OK to one of those bills, allowing breweries to charge admission for tours, and include up to two six-packs of beers to give to tourists at the end.

“Tours of our brewery are the single most important marketing item,” Brock Wagner, founder of Saint Arnold brewery in Houston, told the House committee that took up the bill last month. Other states have that ability, he said, and those breweries and their beers are out-competing Texas beers.

The bill was placed on the Local and Consent Calender and sailed through the House today. It now heads to the upper chamber.  

Other bills that would allow brewpubs to sell their beer to distributors, and a bill that would allow breweries to sell beer on-site without tying it to a tour, have not made it out of committee.