Cuvee Coffee in East Austin Posts Spoof Video in Response to TABC Raid

Crowler Coffee is fighting back against the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission after the agency confiscated its crowler machine.

Cuvee Coffee was charged with possession of equipment or material for manufacture of unauthorized beverages after TABC auditors witnessed employees illegally canning beer without the proper permit on multiple occasions, TABC officials said in a statement.

They said they gave Cuvee a written warning on June 25 and gave them 30 days to cease canning operations.”

“Cuvee Coffee was one of a handful of Texas retailers illegally filling, sealing and selling beer in aluminum cans, also called ‘crowlers.’ Under current state law, only businesses with a permit to manufacture or brew beer, ale or malt liquor on-site may can their products for resale. After the original warning’s 30-day deadline had expired, representatives from Cuvee claimed on social media and in the press they would continue filling and selling crowlers in spite of TABC’s directive. These claims led to an undercover investigation in which TABC witnessed repeated sales of crowlers well after the 30-day deadline,” TABC said.

Cuvee Coffee, which is located at 2000 E. 6th St., isn’t backing down. The owners posted a video on its Facebook and Twitter accounts on Wednesday purporting to be exclusive video of the TABC sting operation.

“ Cuvee’s position has been, and continues to be, that the practice of filling and selling crowlers does not violate its TABC permit nor any provision of the alcoholic beverage code,” Cuvee Coffee said in a statement on its website.

”Cuvee is a law-abiding business, with good relations with TABC representatives. We simply disagree with TABC’s interpretation of the beverage code as it relates to our crowler machine. Our decision to continue using the crowler was driven by our desire to obtain a judicial ruling on our use of the crowler — a decision not uninvited by TABC representatives,” the company said.

“We were simply exercising our right to petition the courts for a ruling. That can’t happen until a court obtains jurisdiction over this issue. The violation formally issued by TABC today begins that process. Importantly, it has always been our intention to cease use of the crowler once we received the notice of violation. Now that we have that, we’ll pursue a resolution of the matter with TABC, and the courts, as necessary.”

Cuvee Coffee also said it’s still going ahead with their Crowler Cup Competition on Thursday. It starts at 6 p.m.

[PHOTO: Cuvee Coffee]