Texas Brewvolution Beer Fest - DFW 11/9

I didn't pay for it. I paid for a festival.

 

So they what they give you (again, at a paid-for event) is free as long as they tell you up front that it's free? So strange.

 

You paid for the festival which included the beer samples. In the eyes of TABC, you paid for that beer sample.

Their loophole (that they are probably going with) is that it was a special ticket that go that beer that was a "free" ticket and not part of the festival. Meaning, you could not buy more of that special blue ticket for a sample of the beer. I am guessing that is the loophole that they are going to try to get away with. But it is definitely a gray area because you had to pay for entrance into the festival to be able to get that blue ticket, and you could not just get that blue ticket for free, so they were technically charging for that beer which is against TABC rules.

 

The way it works is this. You can not sell or get any money for any beer that is not TABC approved. You can give it away for free without any issue if there is no charge for the event. For example, Meddlesome Moth gave away a bunch of free samples of Prairie Bomb last weekend in DFW. There was no charge for it. If you went there, and got there in time, you could have gotten a sample. It is not approved by TABC yet, so they could not charge anything. If they charged an entry charge, required you to buy a ticket, required another beer to be bought to get the free samples, etc, then it would be against TABC rules.

 

That was my point. Couldn't buy the blue tickets extra so it was a "freebie".

Also, any Firkin (Cask) with added ingredients of a beer sold or double dry hopped kegs sold do so without TABC approval. I would think this would be part of the gray area.

 

The difference being is that you paid to get into the event. You could not just walk up and get a blue ticket. To get the blue ticket, you had to pay to be in the event.

For example: The basic event cost $32 bucks. That included 12 sampler tickets (not including the blue one). The individual tickets were $1.50 each - so you had $18 worth of tickets. That leaves $14 unaccounted for. This means that you were not just paying for the tickets to get in - you were paying to be there. Not that it matters to the TABC - all it comes down to is that you paid to be in that event. The only way to get that blue ticket was to pay to be there. It was not free. That is pretty damn black and white.

As for them serving firkins/casks at their own brewpub - there is nothing in the TABC rulebooks saying they cannot do that. If they were selling it off site, then yes, TABC has some control over that. But, they do not need to get label approvals for something they sell on site at a brewpub if they made it. As for a brewery doing (not a brewpub which JK is considered), that is a different story and is most definitely a gray area.

 

I buy cask beers like that all the time at local bars. It's commonplace.

512 Pecan Porter with Raspberries
DDH Rodeo Clown
Elissa with hop additions

Stuff like that. They are different from the approved beers per TABC's eyes I would think.

 

Glassware

 

TABC has said it is a gray area and may not be technically legal. They have never really busted anyone for it, but by the letter of the law, they probably could. It is doubtful that any of this will stop until the TABC actually does bust someone.

 

Yes, glassware. But, it is still charging for an event. And we all know the glassware is not $14 for the glass we got.

 

I paid $10 for a 5oz snifter at H&G. Same theory.

Agreed. I hope they never do!

 

Did that snifter come with beer?

 

Yup. It was the "way to get around the Austin zoning laws so we can sell beer that can't be sold until it's fixed loophole".

Granted it was their beer. I was just saying that the price of the glass isn't always the full picture.

 

That is what I was getting at anyways. They charge that much due to the beer, not the glass. Pretty much every brewery I have been to that sells glassware, they are between the $3-6 range ($5-6 for more Belgian glasses).

 

Red tape man, red tape...

 

The difference with the glassware issue, aside from the Austin zoning issue, is that the TABC regs permit breweries to sell the glass and give away the beer with it. Very different from a pay to play event that has "free bonus" items.

Interesting debate on the prior page. Wonder if it is the beginning of a TCT vs. Moth turf war...

 

I picture the scenes from Anchor Man...

 

I never come to BA anymore, but decided to swing by to see how the old message board was going. Quite surprised to see how heated this thread became. After reading this thread, I can safely say I will not drink at the Moth anymore. I realize the Moth gets plenty of business and won't miss me one bit, but if the person in charge of their beer acts this immaturely, it doesn't seem like a place I need to spend my money.

 

And the fact that the next day he had at least a case of Bomb to give out at his bar and could easily get a sample, I find his rant even more humorous.

 

We should re-rant his rant!