Today the results of the most recent update of the Texas Craft Brewing Industry Economic Impact Study has gone live. Below is a copy of the story, and a link to additional materials. I’d like to thank all my colleagues in the Texas Craft Brewers Guild for helping me with this study, and a special … Continued
I get occasional questions via email and comments here in regards to if Craft Brewers will once again be active in the 2013 Texas Legislative Session. The answer is absolutely, and I believe we are more focused, driven and organized than ever. If you hadn’t heard, Senate Business and Commerce Committee chairman, Senator John Carona, (Rep-D16-Dallas County) asked fellow … Continued
We are Texas, and our Star shines bright. As of December 31, 2011, Texas was home to 71 licensed small craft breweries (which, for the purposes of my analysis, include breweries less than 75,000 barrels of annual production, up from 47 just a year earlier. That number includes 34 brewpubs (up from 28 at year … Continued
One item lost in the shuffle following the Authentic Beverage v. TABC ruling is a telling statement from Senator John Carona, Chairman of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, which hears alcohol-related bills. “A Federal Court has ruled that Texas’ laws regarding the advertising and labeling of beer are flawed. In the case of Authentic … Continued
And now for the lighter side. As I alluded to previously, Judge Sparks’ judgement is full of all kinds of funny lines. If this whole judging thing ever gets old to him, he’s got a career in comedy. Judge Sparks wastes no time getting into the humor (and a little jab), and offers this in … Continued
As seen in the post immediately preceding this one, Judge Sparks has sided with the plaintiffs, Authentic Beverage, on the 1st Ammendment claims of their lawsuit filed in Federal Court. To summarize, the ruling has the following effects: TABC cannot prohibit you from telling customers or advertising where they can buy your products TABC cannot … Continued
I’m going to post a quick summary, and follow up later with interesting tidbits from Judge Sparks’ ruling. But in the interest of getting information out there quickly, the Judge has ruled Sec. 108.01(a)(4) of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Code unconstitutional as a violation of the First Amendment. . Additionally, he has ruled Texas Administrative … Continued
It was a Who’s Who of the Texas Beer Industry at the Federal Courthouse in Austin today, enough so to give me flashbacks of our failed efforts to affect change in Texas beer laws in the last legislative session (a high-level recap: we brewers want 1) the ability to sell our products to consumers and … Continued
Wait… WHAT? No, you read the title of this post correctly, The Case For Three-Tier. Disclaimer for those who are pregnant, may soon become pregnant, or suffer from a heart condition: you are about to read me make a case for the three-tier system and not in a “devil’s advocate” sort of way, but in a real … Continued
So, it’s been awhile – and even before the last update, posts had been sporadic at best. Don’t stop me if you’ve heard this one before – but I’m going to make a real effort to update at least once a week. Some updates will attempt to be poignant and tackle serious issues, other might be … Continued
