Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

in what has been dubbed a “dock bump” tax, meaning the distributor would drive up, bump the brewery loading dock, and leave, says Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.

Texas has had a great love affair with craft beer for the past 10 years, but it's one that doesn't extend to the Texas Legislature, who recently passed a bill that limits how much beer brewers can produce and sell onsite.

House Bill 3287, aka the "taproom bill," says that if a brewer with a taproom produces more than 175,000 barrels of beer, they must sell their beer to a distributor at a wholesale price, then buy it back from that distributor at a retail price — even though the distributor would never take possession of the beer.

Texas Craft BreeCharles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild, which is running the online petition. The distributor never would take possession of the beer.

"Ultimately this sets a limit on the overall growth of craft brewers in the state of Texas and it scares off any investor and sends them to another state," says Vallhonrat, who’s group represents 227 brewers in Texas. "Even if the governor decides to veto this bill, outsiders are seeing how unpredictable the legislature is in Texas. If they're looking to invest they're going elsewhere."

The bill passed overwhelmingly in both the House and Senate, leaving the craft brewers in Texas feeling flat. With 15 different sponsors backing the bill, it was approved in the House May 8 and
Senate May 22.

The bill has been backed by the trade groups representing the distributors, or wholesalers, in Texas. Last year Beer Alliance of Texas donated at least $65,926 to senators and Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas made contributions of at least $68,350, according to the public records Schwab has been tracking.

“The distributor will get paid for doing nothing and the brewer does all of the work. I find it insulting,” says Peticolas, who opened a tap room in January, which has contributed to a 35 percent increase in total revenue over last year. The brewery will produce 5,000 barrels this year. One barrel of beer is about two kegs.

“Hats off to distributors. They’ve got a business to run and they are using their deep pockets and the ear of the legislature to protect their business,” he says. “This is further proof that the distributors and their lobbyists run the legislature. The distributors have so much more weight and can give so much more money than the craft brewers. We’re not even in the same ballpark.”

Craft brewers in the state also lament the lack of action taken by the legislature to fuel their industry by allowing breweries to sell beer to-go. Texas is the only state in the country where brewers can’t sell prepacked beer to leave the premise.

The final bill sent to the governor’s desk gives exemptions to this law for the ABInBev-owned Karbach Brewing and MillerCoors-owned Revolver Brewing by grandfathering them in, says Vallhonrat,

Governor Greg Abbott has until Father’s Day to take action on Abbott received at least $437,000 in political contributions last year from those the bill will help based on numbers from Andrew Schwab of Craft Beer Austin. He has been tracking the political contributions made by distributors, their owners and board members.

Abbott can sign the bill into law or take no action, which also forces the bill into law. Craft brewers are urging the governor to use his third option -- veto the bill – to prevent it from becoming law. Supporters statewide have collected more than 14,000 signatures in an online petition urging Abbott to kill the legislation, which they believe only helps distributors and hurts craft brewers.

“On the day this bill becomes law, there won’t be an immediate change in my business, but it will remove massive amounts of value from the company and will hurt the overall valuation,” says
Michael Peticolas of Peticolas Brewing in Dallas. “Even if I wanted to go to a bank and take out a loan to open another tap room, this bill hurts the value of my business and the loan terms I could receive because the future revenue from the tap room is limited.”

Craft brewers view the bill as a way for distributors – the wholesale businesses that pick up beer from the producers and transport it where it is then for sale at retailers, like bars and liquor stores – will make money doing nothing while increasing costs for the brewers.

During a hearing on the bill, Rick Donley of the Beer Alliance of Texas represented distributors and argued that the bill prevents large multinational breweries from “gobbling up” Texas’ craft breweries and having “access to multiple taprooms across the state.” Keith Strama, counsel for the Wholesale Beer Distributors of Texas, has said while representing the distributors that the bill is critical to prevent large breweries from becoming too powerful.