This week in, The Brew! We are gearing up for our first trip to Denver next week for the Great American Beer Festival to cheer on all of the Texas breweries competing so we will not have an article next week but be sure to follow us on Twitter @TexasBeerGuide because we will be Periscoping live from the festival. Once we return we will have a full recap of the festival including a rundown of all the Texas breweries bringing home medals. Until then we have a lot of great news coming from Texas. This week, we talk about Texas’ only beer festival dedicated solely to Texas craft beer, we talk about a couple of north Texas breweries suing the TABC and we talk about an Austin bar that is defying the TACB and their ban on Crowlers. Check it out now in this week’s edition of, The Brew!
Austin – This Saturday the Texas Craft Brewers Festival returns to Austin. It is the only festival dedicated solely to Texas craft beer and is organized by the Texas Craft Brewers Guild which promotes Texas craft beer, educating the public about the qualities and attributes of craft beer and advancing the common interest of Texas craft brewers. The festival will bring together over Texas 60 breweries from all across the state and for many, this will be their first time showcasing their beers in Austin. This will be a great chance to meet the brewers and owners of your favorite breweries and wish them the best as many of them get ready for the Great American Beer Festival. Tickets are still on sell but they will not be available so get them now. If you can’t make it out to the festival or want a few beers before heading to the festival, be sure to stop in at Craft Pride which will also be hosting the official festival after party and will be tapping special releases starting at 1pm. For tickets and more information, please click here.
Texas – While it might seem like a battle between David and Goliath, a couple Texas breweries are ready to take on the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission. Don’t underestimate the little guy, if you will remember it has only been a little more than a year since the laws were changed to allow Texas breweries to sell beer for on premise consumption. This time north Texas brewers Deep Ellum and Grapevine Brewing are suing the TABC because they want the right to sell beers to go directly from the brewery. Many agree that it is unfair that wineries and distilleries are allowed to sell directly to the public but breweries are only limited to selling pints to be consumed on location. While the breweries are ready to battle, this fight is not going to be cheap. Yesterday, Deep Ellum launched an IndieGoGo campaign to help them raise the funds for legal costs which they have dubbed Operation Six-Pack. They are looking to raise $100K and so far they have raised almost $23k. This is expected to be a long fight but the breweries and confident as the lawsuit gains exposure. As you may recall we reported earlier in the year a group of Texas breweries sued the TABC over their laws for Distribution Rights. This lawsuit is still ongoing but hopefully many will take notice to the archaic laws that the TABC enforce and join Texas breweries as they fight to change the laws.
Austin – While breweries are battling against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission over rights to sell beer directly to the public and distribution rights, Austin’s Cuvee Coffee is staring down the TABC over their ban on crowlers. Crowlers are 32 ounce cans of beer that is sealed at bars with the Crowler canning machine. This is a great alternative to glass growlers as it allows consumers to take their beers to places where glass is not welcome and it is also better at keeping beers fresh longer. In July, the TABC ruled that Crowlers were banned because it was considered repackaging beer and only breweries can package their products. To Mike McKim, owner of Cuvee Coffee, TABC’s interpretation of the law. He has vowed to refuse TABC orders and has even made t-shirts that read “Come and Take It” with and image of a Crowler machine. McKim is ready to be taken to court because he believes there is no difference between growlers and crowlers. Many are standing behind Cuvee and they have seen an increase in customers getting crowlers filled. We will be watching for any updates and hope that TABC comes to their senses to life the ban on crowlers. Click here to order your t-shirt and stand with Cuvee.
As always, if you’re looking to get out this weekend we suggest you visit a local brewery, don’t forget that we have a list of all of the breweries near you so head over to the Breweries and Brewpubs page and go support your local brewers.
