A Historic Day for Texas Brewpubs

Today was a historic day in Texas. A brewpub loaded some of its beer onto a truck and delivered it to another bar.

That beer delivery might not seem like a big deal to those of y'all reading this from a state like California or Oregon, but it's a new thing for us Texans. Brewpubs were legalized in Texas in 1993, but they were forbidden from selling their products anywhere but the brewpub itself.

This created a really maddening situation where we Texas craft beer lovers would walk into our local stores and see brewpub beers from other states — like, say, California's Bear Republic — but not from the brewpub that was mere blocks away. It almost felt insulting.

Multiple attempts to change this law met failure until last year, during the 83rd Texas Legislature. I'm very proud that my boss, state Senator Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, was one of the key players in getting this law changed. (She's running for Lieutenant Governor this year — if you're a Texas beer lover, she's definitely the candidate for whom you should vote. Also deserving a huge tip of the hat is Senator Kevin Eltife, the lead author on the bill.)

The Texas Tribune has an article about today's historic beer delivery, and of the great economic boon that the package of brewery laws passed last session could bring to our state. Give it a read here.