Texas brewers are holding their breath this week, as they await a verdict on legislation that would legalize selling beer to go from their taprooms.

The "Beer To Go" bill cleared the Texas House late last month, and passed through the Senate's Business and Commerce Committee last Tuesday, prompting speculation that the widely supported bill would make it through the Senate by last Friday. But it still hasn't reached the floor.

Currently, breweries are allowed to sell beer on site, but it is against the law for them to sell crowlers, growlers, six-packs, or any other form of beer to be taken off premises. And in Houston, this can get confusing, since some of the establishments commonly referred to as breweries operate under brewpub licenses, making beer-to-go legal there.

"It's confusing to consumers," said Casey Motes, the founder of Eureka Heights Brewing in the Heights, which is already able to sell beer to go because it is technically licensed as a brewpub rather than a brewery.

"We get this all the time, like 'You can sell beer.' And then that person goes to 8th Wonder, and they're annoyed because they got a crowler from us last weekend, and then they go to 8th Wonder and try to buy one, and the people at 8th Wonder say they can't sell that," Motes said. "But the customer's like, 'Well Eureka Heights did it. Why can't you?'"

As a brewpub, Eureka Heights is capped at producing 10,000 barrels a year, which is not currently an issue for the brewery. But for larger operations, like Saint Arnold, which produces 70,000 barrels a year, or 8th Wonder, the 10,000 barrel cap means they have to be legally licensed as brewers, and as such cannot currently sell beer to-go.

And there are other breweries on the smaller side of the spectrum that are also limited for different reasons. At Holler Brewing in Sawyer Yards, owners John and Kathryn Holler were 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," said Motes. "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."

John Holler has become a key part of the push to help Texas become the 50th state in the nation to allow beer-to-go sales. He has joined the board of the Craft Brewers Guild, and has taken an active role in negotiating for changes in the Texas alcohol code that would put the state on equal footing with the rest of the nation. And beer-to-go isn't the only item up for passage here. The TABC sunset bill, to which beer-to-go is attached as an amendment, would also make it legal for retailers to sell beer before noon on Sundays.

At Southern Star Brewing in Conroe, founder Dave Fougeron said being able to sell takeaway beer will help his bottom line.

"I'm expecting that if we can sell beer-to-go here, it will raise our taproom revenue by 15 percent, maybe. And that will be a bump," he said. "It won't be huge. But I'd love to see it because it will open up a toolbox for me to do other things."

Now, with less than a week remaining until the legislative session ends, it's a waiting game.