Comal Can Ban, Advice on Selling Non Disposable Beers in the River (Howe: fit in)

[LilLadyPilgrim]

I'm just starting the research on this, and thought someone out there might be able to help me out...

-I brew my own beer at home in small pony kegs, the size that I could fit within the legal sized ice chest for the comal river. These are re-usable kegs... aka not disposable.

- I have a cheap source for buskets, which are fun to drink out of, and are definitely not disposable.

- I have a canoe and a soft raft that meet the length requirements for the Comal River.

- I also have a private river access that would allow me to restock kegs and buskets throughout the day

However, the one little piece of information I can't find is if it is legal to sell anything from a boat on the river. The city's website couldn't help me out, so the only other thing I can think of is to go down to city hall and start asking around.

Any advice would greatly appreciated.

[texasdreamin]

I would not think you would be able to sell any kind of alcoholic beverage from anywhere without a liquor license...especially out of a boat on the river. I think you have to be in an approved establishment and with a license. You could get into big, big trouble with the Bureau of ATF (Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms).

[Zembonez]

Selling unlicensed alcohol anywhere is basically equivalent to a moonshiner selling his wares. You are looking at Federal charges.

I'd keep brewing for your own use and forget selling it on the river.

[LilLadyPilgrim]

i thought it was obvious, but i guess i should have mentioned that i do intend to get a liquor license.

anyone with some non-obvious advice?

i just don't see any laws saying that goods can or cannot be sold on the river. There are not any "no solicitors" signs, which is what i would be, a solicitor, or a vendor with no stationary location.

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by LilLadyPilgrim

i thought it was obvious, but i guess i should have mentioned that i do intend to get a liquor license.

anyone with some non-obvious advice?

i just don't see any laws saying that goods can or cannot be sold on the river. There are not any "no solicitors" signs, which is what i would be, a solicitor, or a vendor with no stationary location.

I think you need to do more research into your license requirements. Breweries cannot sell their product on premises in Texas. If you are considered a brewpub, you can sell for consumption on premises. Because you will be the "brewer" you are not a retailer. So you will be subject to brewery laws, not just the laws that regulate selling a packaged product. I also do not believe breweries can sell their product without the use of a distributor. Otherwise almost all craft brewers would sell their product at their own storefront. You may also be subject to silly labeling laws that control what you can call an ale vs. a lager vs. a malt liquor.

Alcohol laws are convoluted so be thorough in your analysis.

And on a lighter note, if you normally brew tasty flavorful beers, that is probably a waste of time. Better get good at brewing "blonde ales" since river tubers that drink are typically college kids that drink for alcohol, not taste.

[LilLadyPilgrim]

Originally Posted by hoffdano

I think you need to do more research into your license requirements. Breweries cannot sell their product on premises in Texas. If you are considered a brewpub, you can sell for consumption on premises. Because you will be the "brewer" you are not a retailer. So you will be subject to brewery laws, not just the laws that regulate selling a packaged product. I also do not believe breweries can sell their product without the use of a distributor. Otherwise almost all craft brewers would sell their product at their own storefront. You may also be subject to silly labeling laws that control what you can call an ale vs. a lager vs. a malt liquor.

Alcohol laws are convoluted so be thorough in your analysis.

And on a lighter note, if you normally brew tasty flavorful beers, that is probably a waste of time. Better get good at brewing "blonde ales" since river tubers that drink are typically college kids that drink for alcohol, not taste.

Thanks so much. Now I have at least a basic starting point for part of my research, the brewing, packaging, and basic distributing side.

Still searching for any laws against selling goods, especially beer, from a boat on the river. Haven't found anything so far, aside from the normal restrictions on boat size, ice chest size, solicitors impeding traffic flow, etc.... so i guess that's good.

[Backspace]

If you haven't spoken face to face with someone at your local TABC office you need to before you waste any more time or effort on this idea. TABC permits for one off events are very difficult to acquire but they're very restricted and come with lots of regulations. For a permanent alcohol permit you're looking at a lot more paperwork, regulations, and requirements on top of a possible local referendum vote by the community. Add in the issues you're going to run into about security, how to ID people floating on a river, how to control the passing of your alcohol to minors on floating on the river, the sanitation aspect of selling a consumable item from a boat which is going to be very hard to keep sanitary while it's floating in a river filled with urine.

In order to get a temp TABC permit you're required to have "event" insurance which lists alcohol sales in the terms. I don't even want to think about the premium on an insurance policy to cover a guy selling beer that he brewed to people while floating down a river.

[LilLadyPilgrim]

ha. yea, definitely not thinking of selling my own brew anymore. that idea just popped into my head because i carbonate my beer in the bottle, so if it was a nondisposable bottle, then that would be a great way to drink from nondisposable containers without losing any carbonation.

maybe i should just pitch this idea to some local riverside businesses, selling nondisposable buskets that could be refilled from kegs at various locations... unless those little pony kegs aren't considered disposable, as they are the only size keg that would be able to fit in the legal-sized ice chest. I would think Texas Tubes might be interested. Not sure if Schlitterbahn sells alcohol (they own that restaurant that's never open below the tube shoot)... but they seem to have a disdain for the river floaters, since we can't even sit on the banks of the river on that side of the tube shoot anymore, despite them never being open to begin with anyways.

On the other hand, maybe this can ban won't even last once they see how drunk everyone gets floating down the river with camelbacks full of wine and liquor. I think a certain Valentine's yard is danger of getting puked on instead of pissed on. hehe.