The Official Beer of the 81st Texas Legislature

(This was originally published on The Austin Chronicle's "Newsdesk" blog. If you're not from Texas and/or you don't follow Texas politics, you're probably not going to get the joke.)

If we were to have an official brew for the 81st session of the Texas Legislature, I'd nominate Old Chub Scottish Ale, for obvious reasons. Somehow, though, I suspect it wouldn't gain passage – aside from the fact that this beer comes from Colorado's Oskar Blues Brewery, and not a Texas beermaker, there's the additional problem that it might leave a bitter taste in Republicans' mouths. Too bad, it's a mighty tasty beer.

But be careful with this stuff: It's 8% alcohol, strong enough to knock out an entire session's worth of bills.

You'll need photo ID to buy it. Or two forms of non-photo ID.

Beer bill dead

Sorry, I should have posted this earlier: The on-site sales bill is 99.99% dead. It didn't really have a chance anyway, but this fight over voter ID has definitely killed it. Sorry. Maybe in 2011.

The On-Site "Sales" Bill Explained

Update to the previous post: The substitute bill that passed out of committee yesterday technically doesn't allow on-site sales, contrary to the original intention. What got the bill out was by changing it to allow breweries to let participants in brewery tours to take home two cases of beer, but specifically disallowing the sale of "ale to an ultimate consumer."

The language of the committee substitute, which is markedly different from the original:

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT relating to authorizing certain brewers and manufacturers to conduct tours of their premises after which beer or ale is provided to ultimate consumers for off-premises consumption.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1 Chapter 12, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is amended by adding Section 12.07 to read as follows:

Sec. 2.07 TOUR OF PERMITTED PREMISES.

(a) The holder of a brewer 's permit may give tours of the brewery premises and may charge an admission fee for the tour.

(b) The holder of a brewer 's permit whose annual production of ale in this state does not exceed, together with the annual production of beer by the holder of a manufacturer 's license under Section 62.15 at the same premises, a total of 250,000 barrels may, at the end of a tour of the brewery premises, give ale to tour participants in unbroken packages for off-premises consumption without an additional charge.

(c) The total amount of ale a tour participant may receive in a single day under this section, together with the amount of beer the tour participant receives under Section 62.15 at the same premises, may not exceed 48 12-ounce bottles.

(d) This section does not authorize the holder of a brewer 's permit to sell ale to an ultimate consumer.

SECTION 2. Chapter 62, Alcoholic Beverage Code, is amended by adding Section 62.15 to read as follows:

Sec. 62.15 TOUR OF LICENSED PREMISES.

(a) The holder of a manufacturer 's license may give tours of the manufacturer 's premises and may charge an admission fee for the tour.

(b)The holder of a manufacturer 's license whose annual
production of beer in this state does not exceed, together with the annual production of ale by the holder of a brewer 's permit under Section 12.07 at the same premises, a total of 250,000 barrels may, at the end of a tour of the manufacturer 's premises, give beer to tour participants in unbroken packages for off-premises
consumption without an additional charge.

(c)The total amount of beer a tour participant may receive in a single day under this section, together with the amount of ale the tour participant receives under Section 12.07 at the same premises, may not exceed 48 12-ounce bottles.

(d) This section does not authorize the holder of a brewer 's permit to sell ale to an ultimate consumer.

SECTION A3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2009.

On-site Sales Bills Alive Again!

Unfortunately I missed the meeting, but I see on the Capitol website that state Rep. Jessica Farrar (pictured) made another, and this time successful, push for her bill allowing on-site sales for Texas microbreweries. Her House Bill 2094 was reported out of the Licensing & Administrative Procedures committee yesterday on a 5-2 vote. The bill was amended, but I haven't learned what the changes are yet.

UPDATE: Even though the bill's out of committee, don't get your hopes up. Now it has to get through the Calendars committee, onto the House floor, and then repeat the process through the Senate, and ultimately get the approval of Gov. Perry. This late in the session (the Legislature adjourns June 1, and doesn't return to regular session until 2011), that's a pretty tall order. I just spoke with Farrar on the House floor, and she said, "It's on life support." As she noted, "Sometimes it takes several sessions to get a law passed."

Now That's What I Call Public Service

Yes Austinites, that's a picture of me receiving a beer from my City Council member (and former Rockdale High School Cross Country teammate) Mike Martinez. My newspaper, The Austin Chronicle, recently hosted a mayoral candidate forum, and Mike — who is not one of the candidates — served as a "guest bartender."

Yes, he worked his way up through the ranks of the firefighters union and fought his way into Austin politics … just so he could get me a brew. But hey, how many of you can say you get that kind of service from your elected representatives?

Except that all he would serve me is Lone Star. I dunno, Mike — I think if you want my vote in future elections, you'd better learn to pour me a Live Oak Big Bark. (Actually, there's a story behind his only serving Lone Stars — we had a dollar-beer "vote with your liver" contest, where you showed support for your candidate with either Miller Lite or Lone Star, and Mike supports the Lone Star candidate.)

(Photo originally appeared in The Austin Chronicle; copyright John Anderson, do not republish without his permission.)