St. Arnold's, other microbrewers press for direct sales

Yesterday, the San Antonio Express-News posted a story on an effort spearheaded by Houston's St. Arnold's brewery and supported by other microbreweries in Texas to ease state laws that restrict direct distribution of their brews. Here's an excerpt:

Texas' five microbreweries have teamed up to lobby the Legislature next year to make their beer more available to the consumer and ensure the survival of their businesses.

They want the same privilege that lawmakers gave to Texas wineries in 2005: selling directly to consumers where the beverage is made. If they get their wish, the breweries would be able to sell up to 5,000 barrels of their lagers and ales a year, such as at the end of tours or keg sales from their docks.

"It would be so great at the end of a brewery tour to sell them a six-pack," said St. Arnold Brewing Co. founder Brock Wagner. The Saturday tours of St. Arnold's Houston brewery routinely draw 100 to 200 people.

"The end result would be a huge boon for microbreweries," said Wagner, who is preparing to spend a lot of time in Austin to make the small brewers' voices heard. "It creates a connection between the customer and the brewery."

The Houston Chronicle chose to run a condensed version of the story from their sister Hearst daily. Perhaps there were just no local reporters who could be spared to cover Houston's own St. Arnold's.

The Express-News version of the story also links to the St. Arnold Goes to Austin blog, which is documenting the group's efforts to press its case in Austin. Houston and Texas blog readers may recognize one of their bloggers, Evan (of Perry vs World), who is assisting the St. Arnold's people.

Posted by Kevin Whited @ 12/17/06 08:58 PM | Houston Miscellany | Technorati | Sphere | Comments (0)

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