Cuvee Coffee’s Crowler Machine Seized by TABC

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission took Cuvee Coffee Bar’s crowler machines today after deeming the canned products illegal earlier this summer. The machine packaged local beers that were available from the cafe’s tap, such as Austin Beerworks, into single-use, recyclable aluminium 32-ounce cans for sale. The TABC dubbed the gadget illegal because it said only producing breweries are allowed to sell canned goods of its own beers. The agency also charged the cafe with violating the Alcoholic Beverage Code by keeping the machine beyond the 30 day warning that was issued in late June.

Cuvee can either pay a fine and stop using the crowler all together, or fight the charge. Owner Mike McKim told Eater he’s planning to appeal. He said, "It’s a little bit of minor discomfort that we have to go through the proper judicial and legal process, but I’ll be glad to get this to the final resolution." In the meantime, crowlers are no longer available at Cuvee, which puts a dent in the coffee shop’s Oktoberfest crowler competition on Thursday, October 1.

And here is TABC packing up all things #Crowler (no one was hurt, not physically anyway). pic.twitter.com/JZqVqX3VGE

— Mike McKim (@MikeMckim) September 29, 2015