On site sales bill is dead!

I know it isn't really news, but there has been so little publicity about this bill that I just found out (only because I did a thorough search).

HB1062 and HB2094 are dead. Both were to allow changes that would allow texas microbreweries to sell their product on-site. The major opponent is the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, and boy are they powerful. They are major contributors to congressmen on both sides of the issue.

Why did it die? A number of reasons, to be sure. Not the least of which is the death of 14 microbreweries in Texas. Certainly if we needed more than our fingers to count the number of microbreweries still operating, Texas brewers could bring more resources to bear on the issue. Another is the lack of media coverage. If one wanted to follow this issue, one would have a hard time finding anything written about it. The Houston Press did a cover story, but I'm not entirely sure anyone reads the stories in the Press. At least nobody I know does.

Over on my sidebar is a link to a book by Sam Calagione called "Brewing Up a Business". It is very useful and inspiring to those who fancy starting a business. One of the obstacles Mr. Calagione had to overcome was the legislature in Delaware. You see, it wasn't legal to open a brewpub in Delaware. What did Sam do? Well, he changed the law, that's what. Obviously, he had fewer representatives to convince than we do. But now Sam Calagione can brew beer in his pub in Delaware and sell it right here in Texas. Texas brewpub owners can't sell package beer in Texas!

I know this all seems like too little, too late. But the next time this will come up is in 2011. There are only 2 years to get things rolling to the point that this is a topic that the average Texans is, at the very least, aware of.

Why Should you care? Well I'll tell you. Texas drinks more beer per capita than any other state. The craft beer market is the fastest growing segment of the industry. Search on Google and you will find blogs from hundreds of homebrewers in Texas. Each of these homebrewers fancies himself a budding microbrewer. As it stands now, the capital needed to start even the smallest of breweries is staggering. A huge chunk of each beer sold goes to the middlemen at WBDT. What if these small time brewers were able to start a small business with minimal capital? What if they were able to put more of the money for each beer sold into their pockets? What would happen?

Perhaps the answer lies in laws that we have already passed. Wine producers are allowed to sell their product on site. Small wine producers are popping up all over the state. They're not breaking the bank by any means. But the laws allow a small time producer to open a business and make a living.

Now would have been the perfect time for the passing of these bills. I wonder how many Texas homebrewers are either out of work or in fear of losing their jobs. It would be really cool to see each community have their own little nanobrewery that served to a small market. As it stands, a microbrewery needs to sell at least 10,000 barrels of beer a year to survive. Selling on-site nets the brewery a much greater profit. If these laws were passed, smaller breweries could open, and survive on half the production.

It just seems odd that Texans spend more on beer than any other state, and the majority of that money goes to brewers in other states. Wouldn't the state as a whole benefit from more breweries paying taxes?