Aw-rOHNE:Y DENER*L 

April 17, 1968 

Honorable 0. N. Humphreys, Jr. 

Acting Administrator 

Texas Liquor Control Board 

Capitol Station 

Austin, Texas 78711 

Opinion No. M-218 

Re: May beer be legally 

possessed by an employee 

of a beer retailer on the 

latter's licensed premises 

in a 2 5/8 gallon container bearing the beer 

brand name and which has 

been filled from a tax 

Dear 

this 

paid legal-sized l/2 barrel of beer purchased by 

the beer retailer from a 

Mr. Humphreys: beer distributor. 

The letter from your department requesting an opinion of 

office reads, in part, as follows: 

"There has been created a beverage serving 

apparatus which would contain 2 5/E gallons of 

draft beer when full. It is filled by receiving 

a sanitary transfer of draft beer from a legalsized, tax-paid l/2 barrel of draft beer. It 

contains equipment to keep the beer cold. It 

may be strapped on the back of a person and has 

an outlet hose for dispensing beer into a paper 

cup which may be delivered to the consumer. The 

brand name of the beer may be placed on the apparatus. 

"The manufacturer of this apparatus contends 

that it would provide a beer, retailer with a 

method of serving beer to huge crowds such as 

appear at the Astrodome in a sanitary and safe 

manner. . . . 

"It does appear to us that the apparatus would 

facilitate the serving of cold draft beer in a 

safe and sanitary manner to a large crowd - - 

particularly so since only paper cups which are 

not harmful when thrown or dropped would be used. 

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Honorable 0. N. Humphreys, Jr., Page 2 (M-218) 

"However, we wonder whether this apparatus 

may be used for dispensing beer by a beer retailer under the terms of the Texas Liquor Control Act. 

"The term 'container' as used in Article II 

of the Texas Liquor Control Act is defined in 

Section 1, (d) of Article II of the Texas Liquor 

Control Act (Article 667-1, (d) of Vernon's Texas 

Penal Code) as follows: 

"'The term "container" means any 

container holding beer in quantities 

of one (1) barrel, one-half (l/2) 

barrel, one-quarter (l/4) barrel, 

one-eighth (l/8) barrel, or any bottle or can having a capacity of twelve 

(12) fluid ounces, twenty-four (24) 

fluid ounces, and thirty-two (32) 

fluid ounces, and no container of any 

other capacity shall be authorized.' 

"In Section 8 of Article II of the Texas 

Liquor Control Act (Article 667-8 of Vernon's 

Texas Penal Code) it is provided as follows: 

"'It shall be unlawful for any person 

to sell, store, possess, or transport 

in this State, any beer unless it be 

in a container as defined in Section 1 

of this Article, and every such container shall bear a brand, imprint, or 

label showing the full name and address 

of the brewer or manufacturer of such 

beer, or the name and address of any 

distributor for whom a special brand 

is manufactured; and in the event such 

beer is sold or transported in containers packed in any box, crate, carton, 

or similar device, the same information 

shall appear upon the outside of such 

package.' 

"In Section 3, (e) of Article II of the Texas 

Liquor Control Act (Article 667-3, (e) of Vernon's 

Texas Penal Code) it is provided as follows: (the 

underlining is ours) 

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Honorable 0. N. Humphreys, Jr., Page. 3 (M-218) 

"'A Retail Dealer's On-Premise 

License shall authorize the holder 

thereof to sell beer for consumption on or off the premises where 

sold, in or from any lawful container to the ultimate consumer, 

but not for resale. . . .' 

"In Section 24, (2) of Article II of the 

Texas Liquor Control Act (Article 667-24 (,2) 

of Vernon's Texas Penal Code) it is provided 

as follows: (the underlining is ours) 

"'It shall be unlawful for any retail dealer to dispense any draught 

beer unless each faucet or other 

dispensing apparatus is equipped with 

a sign clearly indicating the name or 

brand of the particular product being 

at the time dispensed through each 

faucet or other a 

. .+sg&;ydsg shall be in legib e 

full sight of the purchaser.' 

"As far as we know the above provisions of 

law are the only provisions relevant to our question. 

"This is our question: May beer be legally 

possessed by an employee of a beer retailer on 

the licensed premises of such beer retailer in 

a 2 5/E gallon container which bears the brand 

name of the beer and which has been filled from 

a tax-paid, legal-sized l/2 barrel of beer purchased by the beer retailer from a beer distributor? If so, may such beer be served and sold 

from such 2 5/8 gallon container to customers 

on the licensed premises?" 

The Texas Liquor Control Act is to be liberally construed 

to accomplish the express and implicit intent of the Legislature, 

i.e., the "exercise of the police power of the State for the protection of the welfare, health, peace, temperance and safety of 

the people of the State." Vernon's Penal Code, Article,666-2; 

Texas Liquor Control Board v. Floyd, 117 S.W.Zd 530 '(Tex.Civ.App: 

1938, no writ); Texas Liquor ControlBoard v. 'Super Saving Stamps 

Company, 303 S.W.Zd 536 (Tex.Civ.App. 1957, no writ). 

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Honorable 0. N. Humphreys, Jr., Page 4 (M-218) 

It is the opinion of this office that Article II, Section 

1, (d) of the Texas Liquor Control Act was passed to standardize 

the containers in which beer could be merchandised and sold by 

the brewery to the retail outlet. This standardization provides 

a method whereby the tax that is to be levied on the beer and the 

appropriate standardized tax stamp may be affixed upon the container when a first sale is made within this State. The legislative intent appears to be to regulate the containers that may 

be sold, stored, passed or transported by the brewery or wholesaler of beer. We find no legislative intent to prohibit a Retail 

Dealer's On-Premise licensee from using an ~apparatus such as you 

describe to assist him as an intermediate step in dispensing and 

serving beer from a legal container purchased from the distributor. 

Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that beer may 

be legally possessed for the purpose of dispensing by an employee 

of a Retail Dealer's On-Premise licensee on the licensed premises 

of the licensee in a 2 5/8 gallon container which bears the 

brand name of the beer and which has been filled on the licensed 

premises by the licensee or his agent from a tax-paid, legalsized container of beer purchased by the licensee from a beer 

distributor. It is the'further opinion of this office that such 

beer may be served and sold by the Retail Dealer's On-Premise licensee or his agent from the 2 S/8 gallon container to customers 

on the licensed premises under the aforesaid circumstances. 

SUMMARY~. 

Beer may be legally possessed forthe purpose 

of dispensing by an employee of a Retail Dealer's 

On-Premise Licensee on the licensed premises of the 

licensee in a 2 5/E gallon container which bears 

the brand name of the beer and which has been 

filled on the licensed premises by the licensee 

or his agent from a tax-paid, legal-sized~l/2 barrel 

of beer purchased by the licensee from a beer distributor. Beer may be served and sold by the Retail Dealer's On-Premise licensee or his agent from 

the 2 5/E gallon container to customers on the litensed premises. 

truly yours, 

neral,of:Tsxas 
Honorable 0. N. Humphreys, Jr., Page 5 (M-218) 

Prepared by Douglas H. Chilton 

Assistant Attorney General 

DHC/dt 

APPROVED: 

OPINION COMMITTEE 

Hawthorne Phillips, Chairman 

Kerns Taylor, Co-Chairman 

W. V. Geppert 

Monroe Clayton 

Harold Kennedy 

Pat Bailey 

A. J. CARUBBI, JR. 

Executive Assistant 

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