Saturday, September 5, 2015

TABC's latest asininity....


"A ruler who lacks understanding is a great oppressor,
But he who hates covetousness will prolong his days."
Proverbs 28:16

We DESPISE TABC:
Many craft beer fans are well acquainted with growlers, reusable bottles — normally made of amber glass — that bars, grocery stores and beer specialty shops fill with beer on draft for patrons to take home. Crowlers (short for “can growlers”) serve exactly the same purpose except they are 32-ounce aluminum cans (the same size as a standard growler). Just as Texas consumers were starting to fall in love with the lighter, more durable transport method, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC) has ruled that crowler use by retailers is illegal.

Instead of having a removable cap, crowlers are sealed one by one with a countertop machine. They do a better job than growlers of protecting beer from air and light. Once opened, a crowler is not reusable. However, like other types of aluminum cans, they are recyclable.

....

On a one-to-one basis, crowlers are cheaper than growlers, adding only a dollar or two to the overall cost of taking beer to go. The Petrol Station was actually giving away the crowlers for free with beer purchases. Thirty-two-ounce glass growlers usually cost between $4 and $7. Of course, growler costs can be defrayed over time, provided they’re not shattered in some mishap.

The TABC has decided the use of crowlers constitutes “packaging” beer.

....

Other bars losing their investments of $5,000 and up on crowler machines, crowlers and labels are Hughie’s, Nobi Public House and Hop Scholar.

Hughie’s may have been hit hardest by the TABC decision. The bar had previously held a mixed beverage license. In order to be able to offer crowlers, it had to opt out of that license and get a beer and wine permit instead, which owner Phillip Pham said cost an additional $5,600. (Establishments that sell liquor are not allowed to also sell growlers.)

Pham estimates that selling crowlers could have generated $100,000 in revenue the first year. Now he can’t sell them, and thanks to the fact that he no longer has a mixed beverage license, he’s also missing out on an estimated $40,000 in cocktail and spirits sales. Because of the loss of investment, he’s not planning on spending even more cash to get the mixed beverage license back anytime soon.
The worst part is that the only way to fix this would be an act of the legislature, and we all know that's an EASY process!!!

Bottom Line: TABC deserves a big, fat, date with the Sunset Commission....

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