Texas Craft Brewers Guild
Craft beer bills are brewing at the Capitol. This photo shows a Texas Craft Brewers Guild legislative happy hour.
After a landmark year for the craft brew industry in Texas in 2013 that allowed breweries to sell beer to guests visiting taprooms, two legislators are looking to build off of that momentum.
Texas Senator Kevin Eltife, R-Tyler, was responsible for the 2013 law that gave a much needed boost to breweries and this year he is looking to pass a bill that would allow visitors the right to take home cans, bottles and growlers they buy from breweries.
If it passes, consumers will be able to take home two cases of beer, each month, from a Lone Star State brewery.
"Texas craft brewers continue to bring economic growth, jobs, and national recognition to the state," Eltife said in a press release. "This legislation is designed to finish what we started last session and bring people from around the country to this state which is rapidly becoming the epicenter of craft brewing quality."
And then there's Texas Representative Jim Keffer, of Eastland, who filed a companion bill in the House.
"This gives Texas breweries the same rights already enjoyed by wineries, distilleries and many of their out-of-state competitors," Keffer said in a press release. "Most important, it gives consumers greater access to Texas-made beer."
According to the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, the Texas craft beer industry is experiencing 44 percent more production from breweries as a result of the 2013 legislation, which resulted in a $2.3 billion economic impact.
