What the hell is going in Maryland and Texas? You may have caught a bunch of coverage of these two states on GBH over the past year. Their state politicians are creating—depending on who you ask—all sorts of good, bad, and ugly situations for their respective craft beer industries.
In Maryland, infighting about how beer is sold and regulated has led to the legislature’s attempts to strip oversight from comptroller Peter Franchot, who has led efforts to boost the state's craft-beer economy and earned enemies along the way. In Texas, it's a similar story, where wholesalers and lobbyists have long thumbed their noses at small beer producers. Despite a recent breakthrough that could finally allow breweries to sell beer to-go from their taprooms, there are still shenanigans to work through as some wholesalers clap back.
For this episode of the Good Beer Hunting Sightlines podcast, we're checking in on the latest from these two states. First, with Liz Murphy, a reporter and columnist who writes about Maryland beer for the Annapolis Capital Gazette, then with Josh Hare, founder and president of Austin's Hops & Grain Brewing, as well as board chairman of the Texas Craft Brewers Guild. Both will offer some insight into the quirky bitterness and political games at play.
What the hell is going on? Listen in.
[Editor’s note: the Maryland portion of this podcast begins at 1:28, and the Texas portion begins at 30:50.]