Texas Licensing Question

[Gometz]

I am in the planning stages and have recently been reading about the licensing requirements for Texas, which seem strange all around. But the part that has me wondering right now is the difference between a Brewer's License, and Brewpub License. I read about the differences (10k BBL limit for Brewpub, but can sell beers to go on site), but then a note about not being able to hold both had me wondering if it is possible to start on a Brewpub license, and then convert to Brewer's license later on (once production ramps up enough).

Is this possible, or do you basically get locked into your business model from the very beginning, losing all flexibility? I thought I read something about Freetail Brewing in San Antonio converting, but some of the sites I saw said that you can't do it, so I am a little confused. Any help is appreciated!

(Also I apologize if this is in the wrong section, I wasn't sure where it belongs)

[HuggyBear]

Yes you can switch

You can switch licenses, you just have to pay the fee. Jester King, No Label and 11 Below (and more) have switched their licenses. I don't remember if you have to post your 30day notice for objections again when applying.

The 2 different licenses are in different tiers, though (Brewpub is retail, versus production), so you have those considerations in terms of how the laws and local ordinances affect you. And if you're too close to a church or school(or in a restrictive area), you may not be able to sell to-go.

Currently, the advantages of the brewpub license (beer to-go, able to serve other breweries beer from the taproom, able to serve wine) vastly outweigh the advantages of a production license. 10,000 bbl is a lot of beer, and only a handful of breweries in Texas currently produce over 10,000bbl.

[swright83]

From my understanding, you can switch between licenses, but check with TABC to make sure you can switch back and forth. Brewpub is definitely the way to go to start, unless you're planning on hitting 10K bbl in a year or two. One thing to consider if you want to go from brewpub to brewery is that once you switch, you lose the ability to sell beer to go, which might confuse or anger your customers if they can buy a six pack one day, but can't the next.

That being said, hitting 10K bbl annually is fairly rare, especially for a new brewery in this market. Hope this helps.

[Gometz]

Thank you to both of you for the information. 10k BBL does sound like a lot, but I was still wondering about how businesses would make their decision early on, and the lack on onsite to go sales could impact profitability especially in the early stages. But knowing that a switch is possible, looks like a brewpub license is the way to go.