Press release from Hops & Grain below. When I find time, I'll make a little additional comment about the new Texas laws that the press release refers to. Now that I work for the Texas Legislature, I got an inside view of these laws moving through the legislative process. My boss, State Senator Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio played a key role in making this happen, and I'm very proud of her.

Great Things to Come for Hops & Grain Brewery
New Craft Beer Laws Pave Way for Expansion

(Austin, TX) – In response to Texas’ new craft brew laws, Austin-based brewery Hops & Grain has successfully applied for a Brewpub license and proudly announces an enhanced experience and expanded set of hours in its tap room beginning the first week of July. 

 
Governor Rick Perry graciously signed the bills into law last week, which went into effect immediately. Hops & Grain, among other breweries in the area, will officially become a brewpub, which owner Josh Hare applied for this past April.

With a brewpub license, Hops & Grain will be able to sell its beer on-premise, which will begin this weekend, giving customers the chance to drink and buy beer from the source. That means that visitors to the tap room can now purchase a beer or two from the tap wall, plus cans and growler fills to take home. Starting the first week of July, tap room hours will also be expanded to Thursday and Friday from 2 - 8PM and Saturday and Sunday from noon – 6PM. However, the first Thursday, July 4, Hops & Grain will be closed in observation of the holiday and will open its first Thursday tap room day on July 11. 

 
This means great things for Hops & Grain, as well as for the consumer. Allowing the brewery to provide reasonably priced beer directly to the consumer from the brewery as well as allowing direct distribution to local retail establishments, these new laws open the door for Hops & Grain to grow to its full potential and to give the people what they want – great craft beer! 

 
“We are stoked to be able to continue to offer the experience that our customers have come to expect with the added benefit of being able to purchase beer from our tap room to take home with you,” says Hare. “It’s a better, more sustainable experience for everyone.” 

 
About Hops & Grain: Specializing in craft beer and sustainability, Hops & Grain Brewery is located in East Austin (literally at the end of East Sixth Street) at 507 Calles, Austin, TX 78702. Hops & Grain Tap Room is currently open every Friday from 2 – 6PM, and every Saturday from Noon – 4PM with tours of the brewery given on Saturdays at 1 and 3PM. Tours are approximately 45 minutes and include special samples not available in the tap room. Beginning July 1 the Tap Room will expand its hours to Thursday and Friday from 2 - 8PM and Saturday and Sunday from noon – 6PM. For further information please visit www.hopsandgrain.com or call 512.914.2467. ‘Like’ us on Facebook at Facebook.com/hopsandgrain and follow us on Twitter @HopsandGrain.

Founders Brewing Coming to Texas

UPDATE TO THIS POST: Here's where you can get delicious Founders Brewing products on tap when they launch in Texas next week: http://foundersbrewing.com/latest-news/2013/founders-texas-launch-locations/?av-submitted=true

I get press releases all the time announcing the introduction of this or that brewery into the Texas market, and I usually ignore them, because I just don't think yet another out-of-state brewery squeezing onto our store shelves is that big a deal, even if they make decent beer.

But I'm making an exception for this one. I think Michigan's Founders Brewing makes excellent beer. Heretofore, I've only been able to taste their magnificent work when I travel to Kansas City to visit my in-laws. I've mostly had their heavier beers during my Christmas visits, and I especially loved the Porter and the Breakfast Stout. Seriously, the crappiest beer I've ever had by them was great. I'm really looking forward to this.

FOUNDERS BREWING CO. EXPANDS DISTRIBUTION INTO TEXAS 

Founders’ Beers Will Be Available in the Lone Star State in April 2013

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich., Mar. 5, 2012 - Founders Brewing Co. has partnered with Ben E. Keith Beverage Distributors to offer their unique beers across the Lone Star State beginning April 2013. Founders Brewing Co., established in 1997, has evolved into one of the highest recognized breweries in the United States. Texans will now have the opportunity to enjoy their products without having to leave the state. 

“Texas is an up-and-coming market, and we’re impressed with what we’re seeing there,” said Co-Founder & CEO Mike Stevens. “We’ve been getting more and more inquiries from Founders fans in Texas over the past couple of years. The Ben E. Keith team is dedicated to the craft beer market and is helping introduce complex brands like ours to eager consumers who are hungry for them. Besides, we’ve always wanted to get Founders beer to Willie Nelson’s home state. Now the time is right.”

"We are delighted to partner with Founders,” said Specialty Division Manager at Ben E. Keith Kevin Nettleton, “and are eager to distribute their esteemed beers in Texas."

Founders plans to include all of its year-round and seasonal ales as draft product in the first shipment for an April 8 release. Bottled beers will be released in May, and specialty releases will be available following the release schedule from there.

For a list of all the states in which Founders is available, as well as information on their new 2013 lineup and release calendar, visit www.foundersbrewing.com. 

###

About Founders Brewing Co.

Established in 1997 by two craft beer enthusiasts with day jobs and a dream, Founders Brewing Co. has made a distinctive mark on the craft beer community by brewing complex, in-your-face ales, with huge aromatics and tons of flavor. Founders is one of the fastest-growing craft breweries in the nation, currently ranking among the top 50 largest craft breweries in the U.S. The brewery has received numerous awards from the World Beer Cup and the Great American Beer Festival, and its beers are often rated among the best in the world by RateBeer and BeerAdvocate users. Located in downtown Grand Rapids, Michigan, Founders is a proud member of the Michigan Brewers Guild and the Brewers Association. For more information, visit www.foundersbrewing.com. 

About Ben E. Keith Beverages

Ben E. Keith Company, established in 1906, began selling Anheuser-Busch products in 1933. Today, Ben E. Keith Company’s Beverage division is the third largest independent beer wholesaler in the country. The company also distributes import beers, craft beers, wine products and nonalcoholic beverages. With fourteen Sales & Distribution Centers in Texas including Abilene, Austin, Brownwood, Commerce, Dallas, Denton, El Paso, Ft. Worth, Houston, Kerrville, Llano, Palestine, San Antonio, and Waco, the company operates throughout the state of Texas. For more information, please visit www.BenEKeith.com/beverage.

Texas Craft Brewing Legislation Being Discussed RIGHT NOW

As I post this, the Texas craft brewing legislation is being discussed right now in the Senate Business & Commerce Committee. (8am, March 5). If you want to watch, go to http://www.senate.state.tx.us/bin/live.php and click on the Business and Commerce channel.

Beer Bills at the Texas Legislature

Hey, remember me? I used to write a beer blog.

And I used to be a reporter for The Austin Chronicle. And 2011 really kicked butt, because I kind of became the go-to guy in Texas for reporting on beer-related legislation, because I was the only beer writer in the state who just happened to also be a Capitol reporter and could live-blog directly from committee meetings in Austin. My blog traffic went nuts every time I broke news on the bills.

That was fun, but I can't be that guy anymore, because now I'm working inside the legislature, rather than reporting on it. And because my boss, state Senator Leticia Van de Putte of San Antonio, is one of the coauthors of this year's beer legislation.

So I'll just step aside and offer you, without commentary, links to the reporting of others. Here's what happened yesterday: After months of discussions between various stakeholders, bills were filed that would benefit craft brewers in Texas. Here's a sampling of the reporting:

Houston Chronicle

Dallas Observer

KXAN-TV

Brewed and Never Battered (Freetail Brewing)

Austin Chronicle

If you'd like to keep track of these bills yourself (and read the text, and get other details), go to these links and set up e-mail alerts that will notify you whenever the bills advance through the legislative process:

Senate Bill 515

SB 516

SB 517

SB 518

PRESS RELEASE: Austin Beer Guide Winter 2012 Release Party

AUSTIN, TX DECEMBER 20, 2012 - Austin Beer Guide are more than appropriately excited to announce the release of their eighth issue, Winter 2012, AKA the "Business as Usual" issue. 

This bout the boys venture to Colorado to "cover" the Great American Beer Festival and live to tell about it, pick the brain of Real Ale head brewer Erik Ogershok, explore the relatively new winter beer style  "the Beer Jacket", share a pint and conversation with former Uncle Billy's on the Lake brewer Spencer Tielkemeier, and spill the beans on the Best of 2012 Readers' and Editors' picks. 

Yup, business as usual.

And speaking of business, an issue this grand deserves a party of equal grandness. Come join the Austin Beer Guide at Draught House on Thursday, December 20 at 6pm for their Winter Release/Best of 2012 Readers’ Poll Awards/Too Many Beers/Apocalypse Eve/Die Hard/Holiday Party!

The short list: 

• First look at the Winter 2012 Austin Beer Guide 
• Awarding the Best of 2012 Readers’ and Editors’ picks 
• 17 + rare, one-off, hard to get, blah blah blah beers from Austin and beyond 
• Free Foreign & Domestic Bake Sale Fruit Cakes 
• Family Christmas photo booth 
• Draught House’s own DJ JBL 
• Special Seedling truck “End of the World” menu 
• Buy the beer keep the ABG glass 
• ABG Stocking stuffers for the first 100 guests 
• Best Santa/John McClane costume contest 

Go here for more details and see the attached flyer. 

Cheers! 

PRESS RELEASE: Ranger Creek Releases First Beer Aged in Their Own Bourbon Barrels as Small Batch Series No. 4

SAN ANTONIO, TX, December 18, 2012 – As a combined brewery/distillery, Ranger Creek Brewing & Distilling can make products that no one else can.  They have just released their most exciting beer to date – the first one to be aged in their own bourbon barrels - and they intend to brag about it pretty loudly.  The beer is the 4^th release in the brewery’s Small Batch series – a line of seasonal, single batch brews designed to be unique, interesting, and often experimental. 

  

Small Batch Series No. 4 is an Imperial Mesquite Smoked Porter aged in Ranger Creek Bourbon Barrels.  The brewery took one of their year-round releases, their Mesquite Smoked Porter, and brewed it to 10% ABV.  It was then aged for 10 months in their own Texas bourbon barrels,

Rob Landerman, head brewer at Ranger Creek, describes Small Batch Series No. 4 as “carrying a sumptuous nose of sweet oak, mesquite smoke, dark chocolate, toasted marshmallow and vanilla, along with flavors of dark bittersweet cocoa laced with sea salt, smoke, vanilla, and caramel.  Its  a warming winter release that is heavenly to sip now, but it will also age and mellow nicely for up to 10 years if stored carefully.”

Beer aged in bourbon barrels is nothing new to the craft industry.  However, Ranger Creek is the first brewery to use their own bourbon barrels instead of purchasing used barrels from a bourbon distillery.  The barrels were first used by the brewstillery to age their Ranger Creek .36 Texas Bourbon, then kept in-house to age their beer.  Small Batch Series No. 4 allows Ranger Creek to focus on their goal of showcasing the relationship between beer and whiskey.  

Small Batch Series No. 4 is available now at fine Texas craft beer retailers in San Antonio, Austin, Houston, and Dallas/Ft. Worth.  The Small Batch series has received critical acclaim since its release in April.  Small Batch Series No. 2 was recognized by DRAFT Magazine as a top 25 beer of 2012.

What's Brewing in San Antonio

Today's San Antonio Express-News has a good round-up of what's happening and what's about to happen in that city's brewery scene. Give it a read: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/article/Small-breweries-being-crafted-to-quench-beer-4058202.php