By Anita Miller
It’s only natural to want to share a good thing, and that became possible for beer lovers on Sept. 1.
That’s when a new law went into effect allowing Texas breweries to sell beer to go, meaning aficionados of craft beers can take a six-pack home for themselves, for friends or both.
But many Hays County breweries operate as brewpubs and already had the option of sending their brews out the door — though some have said they believe it may benefit them in the future.
House Bill 1545 allows Texas breweries to sell beer to go, meaning aficionados of craft beers can take a six-pack home direct from the brewery.
One of those is Hops & Grains, a brewpub that opened not too long ago in San Marcos on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. “We are classified as a brewpub, we’ve actually always been able to sell beer to go; however, looking forward we do plan to expand our distribution to become a regular brewery.”
That, he said, is “a key to keeping the tap room profitable and able to sell six-packs and growlers and help the tap room make more income.” Because the new law impacts such operations, Garcia said company representatives were in Austin to lobby legislators for passage of the bill, HB 1545. “It’s more of a classification game,” he said. “You have to have a certain amount of barrels to be classified as a brewery … That’s why we moved to San Marcos, to be able to distribute at a higher rate.”
Middleton Brewery, also located in San Marcos, is in a similar situation, said employee Rodney Lively. “It really doesn’t affect us. The new law is strictly for breweries that just distribute.” He added, though, that the move was “something that should have happened.”
Hays County currently has a number of brewpubs including:
• Twisted X Brewing Company, 23455 RM 150, Dripping Springs, 512-829-5323
• Two Wheel Brewing Company, 535 S. Loop 4, Buda, 512-361-3401
• Roughhouse Brewing, 680 Oakwood Loop, San Marcos, 512-667-7000
• Middleton Brewing, 101 Oakwood Loop, San Marcos, 512-847-3435
• Hops & Grains Brewing Company, 110 E. Martin Luther King Drive, San Marcos, 51-216-6997
• AquaBrew, 150 S. LBJ Drive, San Marcos, 512-353-2739.
