Bill filed in Texas to legalize Home Hobby Distilling

First, we apologize for having been so silent on this development.  As you know, we met several months ago with our state representative about legalizing hobby distilling in Texas (link to blog article).  While we mentioned that the meeting went well, and our representative, Rep. Capriglione, was very receptive, we needed to keep the continued discussions with them close to the chest.  Rep. Capriglione and his aides worked very hard on this, gathering input from industry and government agencies to ensure a solid bill that all were happy with.  On January 30, 2025, that proposed bill was filed.  This is a tremendous step toward legalizing home hobby distilling and giving it equal acceptance alongside home hobby beer and wine making.

In addition to our provisions, the bill also updates the law to be more respective of today.  The current law does not allow for such things as hobby mead making due to the restriction on ingredients.  Another issue with the existing law is the mention of fortification being illegal.  As Rep. Capriglione noted, mixing a low-alcohol legally made home brewed beer with a higher alcohol commercial one, such as making a Black and Tan, was technically illegal.  While it is highly unlikely that anyone would risk legal consequences, this was a good time to clean up the law and update it.

This is obviously still not over.  It is even more important at this point that all those in Texas who would like to distill at home as a hobby reach out to their representatives and tell them that you want them to back this bill.  There is still work to be done to see this pass the finish line, so it is not a time to be complacent and just watch how things progress.  If you would like to see the right to distill as a hobby become legal, please get involved.  While the hard work is done, our representatives need to know where we stand.  Our representative, Representative Capriglione, has shown that we have elected officials that listen to their constituents and truly work to represent them, so reach out to your own local representative.  If Rep. Capriglione is your representative, reach out to his office to thank them for the work they have done.

Thank you to Representative Capriglione, Mr. McCaslin, and all of the staf who have worked to get this to the point it is.

You can watch progress on this bill (HB 2278) here.