Buckingham files brewery beer-to-go bill with tourism in mind
New kegs at Bear King Brewing Co. in Marble Falls are ready to be filled with beer. For now, the beer that goes in those kegs can only be consumed at the brewery. State Sen. Dawn Buckingham (R-Lakeway) authored Senate Bill 312, which could alter beer-to-go laws in the state if passed. Staff photo by Jared Fields
STAFF WRITER JARED FIELDS
State Sen. Dawn Buckingham opened a media conference at the Texas Capitol on Feb. 19 to announce an agreement between two groups that could allow brewers to sell beer to customers for off-premise consumption.
Buckingham is the author of Senate Bill 312, which she filed Jan. 7 and has been referred to the Business and Commerce committee.
For years, distilleries, wineries, and brew pubs could sell their products directly to customers at their business.
In Marble Falls, Double Horn Brewing Co. and Save the World Brewing Co. have licenses that allow them to sell bottles or growler refills to be taken home.
One local brewery that will be affected by the possible legislation is Bear King Brewing Co. in Marble Falls. The brewery held a soft opening in early February and plans a grand opening celebration Feb. 22-24. Bear King’s license, under current law, does not allow it to sell beer to go at its 207 Avenue G location.
“(The bill) definitely affects us but in a positive way,” marketing director Grant Guidry said.
Buckingham (R-Lakeway) said Feb. 19 that the bill is common sense for businesses and consumers but also tourism.
“People come to Texas to try our wines, beers, and spirits. They take them home and spread a lot of what is so great about Texas all over the country,” Buckingham said.
The media conference included the Texas Craft Brewers Guild and Beer Alliance of Texas, which, until then, had not agreed over beer sales for off-premise consumption.
State Rep. Eddie Rodriguez (D-Austin) introduced House Bill 672, which has bipartisan support in the House.
Buckingham represents Senate District 24, which includes Burnet, Llano, Blanco, and Gillespie counties and stretches from west Austin to Temple and north to Abilene.
2 thoughts on “Buckingham files brewery beer-to-go bill with tourism in mind”
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The proposal is to allow beer to be purchased for off-site (at home) consumption, rendering you’re argument baseless. Currently you can only purchase for on-site comsumption, which equates to more impaired drivers.
What this law is really about is distributorship. It is moronic that the law requires a middle-man. A producer of consumer goods should be able to market and sell their own product. This particular law only serves to increase the price of a product at the expense of the consumer.
More beer, more drunk drivers, more deaths, but hey, I made another dollar.