Beer-to-go is on the cusp of becoming law. The Texas Senate unanimously passed the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission Sunset Bill Wednesday night, just hours before the time ran out to ratify new legislation.

Brewers are confident the legislation will skate through the governor's office, meaning that beginning Sept. 1, Texans will be able to purchase growlers, crowlers and cans at their neighborhood breweries, to consume at home.

"Oh man, I feel so much better this morning than I did yesterday morning," John Holler, who owns Holler Brewing along with his wife Kathryn, said early Thursday morning.

"Now it looks kind of silly, but I have to admit I was getting a little doubt creeping in," said Holler, a board member of the Craft Brewers Guild, and a key part of the push to help Texas become the nation's 50th state to allow beer-to-go sales. "We had all the assurances it would happen, but you just never know, and it was really coming down to the wire there."

In Texas, sunset bills require that the Legislature vote to extend policies or programs every few years, lest the programs expire. It's also a natural point in time during which the Legislature will review the way the program or policy does things. In addition to beer to go, the changes ratified in the TABC Sunset bill this time around include increasing the number of liquor permits any liquor outlet can hold to 250, while a move to legalize the sale of alcohol before noon on Sundays fell flat.

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Legislators hailed the passage as a win for consumers and business, who faced off with the massive alcohol distributor lobby on the road to legislation.

"At last, Texas craft brewers have a clear path toward being allowed to sell Beer-to-Go," Rep. Eddie Rodriguez said in a statement released late Wednesday night after the senate bill's passage. Rodriguez had been instrumental in adding the beer-to-go legislation as an amendment in the House one month prior.

"Beer-to-Go is one of the most widely popular policies that the Texas Legislature has ever seen, but the journey that it took to get here was difficult and uncertain," Rodriguez continued. "Beer-to-Go's passage is a huge win for Texas small businesses and consumers over politically powerful special interest groups."

Before the amendment, TABC code states that customers can buy to-go beer at brew pubs, but not breweries. And that can be confusing. Brewpubs are capped at producing 10,000 barrels a year, while breweries can manufacture up to 250,000 barrels (a huge number, consider that Houston's largest brewery, Saint Arnold, only produces 70,000 a year). As such, the taprooms at Saint Arnold, and other major players like 8th Wonder have never been able to sell beer for off-site consumption.

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And there are other breweries on the smaller side of the spectrum that are also limited for different reasons. At his brewery in Sawyer Yards, John Holler was unable to get a brewpub license due to zoning laws and their proximity to an HISD building. As such, Holler operates under a brewery license, which means Holler beer is never allowed to leave the brewery site.

"That's a challenge," Eureka Heights Brewing founder Casey Motes said last week. "I can tell you that we couldn't have paid our rent the first few months if we didn't sell beer on site. It made us viable to get to the point where we could grow a little bit."

Sen. Dawn Buckingham, who introduced the Beer-to-Go amendment in the Senate on Wednesday, said that its passage will strengthen the state's economy in a wide range of sectors.

"For the first time in Texas, you will be able to take a little bit of your favorite craft beer home to share with friends," Buckingham said in a statement released Wednesday evening. "This is a huge win for craft beer enthusiasts and also a win for the tourism it brings and helps Texans celebrate our great products and share them with the world."