Beer to Go Law Opens the Door to Craft Beer Candidates
The passing of the beer-to-go law is one of many positive legislative changes the industry has seen in recent years, which will increase awareness, competition and sales of Texas craft beer.
HOUSTON—National overall beer sales declined in 2018, while both volume sales and retail dollar sales of craft beer increased. Texas now has more than six times the number of active beer production licenses than at the beginning of the decade, signaling one of the biggest trends in food and beverage.
However, the state continues to rank 30th in economic impact per capita and 46th in number of breweries per capita in the US, hindered by restrictive laws surrounding alcohol sales. With the recent passage of the “Beer-to-Go” law, House Bill 1545, Texas is finally joining the other 49 states in allowing off-premise beer sales from craft breweries.
This long-awaited victory opens new avenues for Texas brewery success. As a result, more entrants to the craft beer scene are expected, increasing competition and revenue for craft breweries across the state.
“The number of breweries in Texas has surged over the last decade and the number of planned breweries illustrates a healthy future for craft beer in Texas,” Rachel Alexander, JLL vice president of research, tells GlobeSt.com. “Texas breweries are also seeing greater exposure nationally, thanks to the production of quality product, acquisitions and partnerships. The passing of the beer-to-go bill is one of many positive legislative changes the industry has seen in recent years, increasing awareness, competition and sales of Texas craft beer.”
Despite the sheer size of Houston and its population, the region features only 54 craft breweries, far less than the Austin and Dallas-Fort Worth metro areas. But the local scene has been upping its game, doubling the number of craft brewers in the last three years and currently has the largest pipeline of breweries in the works. Given strict zoning ordinances outside of Houston, other major Texas cities have shown a stronger affinity for brewpubs and restaurant breweries generally located in retail-dense areas. As these restrictions don’t exist in Houston, craft brewers have trended to industrial land uses. In fact, more than 70% of Houston’s breweries are situated in converted or repurposed warehouse buildings.
More prevalent in Houston is the taproom, which is like a brewpub in that the beer is primarily sold on site, often directly from the brewery’s storage tanks, but without a restaurant component. Nine taprooms have opened since 2016, the most recent of which include True Anomaly Brewing in East downtown and Astral Brewing north of the Heights outside Loop 610.
One of Houston’s most well-known craft breweries is Saint Arnold Brewing Co. with a 2018 production of 66,784 barrels. It is most known for Fancy Lawnmower. A second brewery is Southern Star Brewing with a 2018 production of 11,913 barrels. It is known for Bombshell Blonde. The third brewery is 8th Wonder Brewery with a 2018 production of 9,016 barrels. It is known for Dome Faux’m.