Craft brewers across Texas celebrated the passage of several new laws during the 2013 legislative session that made it easier for brewpubs to distribute their products and for craft breweries to gain a bigger foothold in the market.

Old laws prohibited any direct sales by a brewery—requiring that beer samples be given out for free—and restricted brewpubs to only selling their beers on-site. As of January 2014, Texas breweries can now sell up to 5,000 barrels at in-house bars and beer gardens, and brewpubs can sell to distributors.

Charles Vallhonrat, executive director of the Texas Craft Brewer's Guild, said the new laws modernize the alcoholic beverage code in Texas, making the state more competitive in attracting other brewers. Previously, an out-of-state brewpub owner could sell more beer in Texas than an owner who was actually located in the state, he said.

"We wanted to basically open markets up for breweries," Vallhonrat said. "We see a number of breweries already taking advantage of the new laws, particularly the redefinition of brewpub and a brewery's ability to sell pints in their taprooms."

The guild is a trade association working with most of the craft breweries in Texas. The organization's legislative committee worked with legislators and other brewing industry stakeholders to craft the wording in the 2013 legislation and helped get the bills submitted, Vallhonrat said.

The new legislation enables breweries to sell pints in their taprooms, which a number of breweries have capitalized on. However, some smaller craft breweries, such as Lone Pint Brewery in Magnolia, were hoping for more freedom under the new laws.

"The new legislation has not really changed anything for us," said Trevor Brown, owner and co-founder of Lone Pint Brewery. "Yes, it gives us the ability to sell pints, but we did not get into this business to be a bar, we got into it to be a brewery. "

Brown said he hoped the legislation would have allowed breweries to sell packages, which means the brewery could sell growlers (half-gallon glass jug), bottles, kegs and cases to its customers. However, that language was left off the bill and the result was only the ability to sell pints, he said.

"When people come tour the brewery, they want to be able to take something home with them such as a case or a few bottles or growler, but the new laws still don't allow for that," Brown said. "Texas' alcohol laws are really lagging behind the rest of the nation. Wineries have these freedoms so why don't breweries have the same freedoms? It just doesn't make sense."

Establishments classified as brewpubs benefit most from the new legislation and some breweries have changed their license from a brewers license to a brewpub license, Brown said.

The change in classification allows these breweries more advantages such as selling growlers to customers, but also requires a lengthy and complex application process, he said. Brown said he has no interest in applying for a brewpub license and will hold out in the hopes that future legislation will allow breweries to offer package sales.

Texas ranks in the 40s among states in terms of breweries per capita but second in terms of economic impact of the craft beer industry, Vallhonrat said. The TCBG estimates the industry brought in $608 million in 2011 and projects that number could reach $5.6 billion within the decade if more restrictions are lifted.

"We have a lot of room to grow and room for opportunity," Vallhonrat said. "If we can balance that more, we can get more competitive."

Although the recently passed laws are a boon for craft brewers, Vallhonrat said the TCBG has more work to do.

"The laws they have today were written in the 1970s to protect the distributors from breweries that were very few and very large," he said. "The dynamic of the market has shifted considerably since then—there are a lot more small brewers and a lot fewer distributors—but the distributors still have the power. We'd like to see that become more modernized as well."