Whew!

I just spent an hour emailing all the members of the House calendar committee and my state rep about the direct sales bill. Here's what I wrote:

I am writing you to ask you to support HB 2094, which would allow a microbrewer to charge an admission fee for a brewery tour and give me up to 48 bottles of their product at the end of the tour.

Two weeks ago, I was in Fort Worth and visited the Rahr & Sons Brewery. I had heard good things about their product. Let me tell you, it's true. The beer I sampled at the brewery was outstanding! Next time you are in Fort Worth on a Saturday, I encourage you to stop by. I wanted to take some Rahr beer home. However, the brewery staff were not able to tell me where I could purchase the beer. They are prohibited by law from doing so. Nor could I purchase any at the brewery. I tried a few convenience stores in the area, but couldn't find any to buy. I could find Bud, Miller, Coors, and a handful of Colorado craft beers, but nothing from Fort Worth!

Rahr beer is not distributed in my area. However, I can get Saint Arnold, Real Ale (from Blanco) and microbrews from California, Oregon, New Mexico, and Colorado. But not Rahr beer. I'm sure there's a reason the distributors in my area choose to carry Colorado beers over Texas beers. I suppose they think Colorado, Oregon and California deserve their beer taxes, and the employment, more than Texas does. I don't know, you'd have to ask them.

A few years ago, the State of Texas allowed wineries to sell their product direct to the consumer, and today the Texas wine industry is huge. And no distributor closed their doors as a result. I believe that if the State allows brewers to sell their product, Texas could have a beer industry that rivals Colorado's as one of the biggest in the country.

Please vote to send HB 2094 to the House floor.

Thank you.

Your turn!