What Is a Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer’s Permit, and How Does It Differ From a Mixed Beverage Permit?

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The Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer’s Permit (BG) lets a business sell wine and beer of up to 17 percent alcohol for customers to drink on the premises or take with them. It does not authorize distilled spirits; serving cocktails or liquor requires a Mixed Beverage Permit (MB). That is the main difference, but not the only one: the BG allows to-go sales of wine and beer on its own terms, while the MB’s authority is centered on drinks served on site.

What the BG authorizes

Section 25.01 of the Alcoholic Beverage Code lets a BG holder sell:

  1. wine and malt beverages containing more than 0.5 percent and not more than 17 percent alcohol by volume, for consumption on or off the premises, but not for resale; and
  2. for consumption on the premises only, three stronger products of up to 24 percent alcohol: traditional port or sherry, dessert-flavored wine, and rice wine.

A BG holder may also sell at picnics, celebrations, and similar events away from its premises under Section 25.16, following TABC’s procedures for temporary events.

The name

Older documents and some online sources call this the “Wine and Beer Retailer’s Permit.” Section 1.09 of the Code now provides that a reference to a “wine and beer retailer’s permit” means a wine and malt beverage retailer’s permit. It is the same permit under its current name.

BG and MB compared

Wine and Malt Beverage Retailer's Permit (BG) Mixed Beverage Permit (MB)
Chapter of the Code 25 28
Distilled spirits no yes, by the drink
Wine and beer on premises yes, up to 17 percent, plus port, sherry, dessert-flavored wine, and rice wine up to 24 percent yes, wine and malt beverages up to 24 percent
Wine and beer to go yes, for off-premises consumption with a Food and Beverage Certificate, with food, under separate rules; without one, only narrow exceptions such as wine ordered with a meal
Local option needed wine and beer legal for sale, including for on-premises consumption mixed beverages legal

The permits also differ in cost and in the obligations attached to them, such as mixed beverage taxes, which apply to MB holders’ drink sales.

Choosing between them

A restaurant or bar that will never pour spirits can operate on a BG, and it gains the ability to sell sealed wine and beer to go. A concept that includes cocktails, even a short list, needs an MB. A business that serves only beer can use a Retail Dealer’s On-Premise License instead. The alcohol-to-food mix and the Food and Beverage Certificate affect which structure fits a restaurant, but they do not change what each permit allows.

Obligations that come with a BG

A BG carries its own set of duties: a conduct surety bond unless the business holds a Food and Beverage Certificate or qualifies for another exemption, a performance bond in counties of 1.4 million people or more unless the business holds an FB and is primarily a food-service business, the 51% firearms sign when on-premises alcohol sales reach that share of income, unless the business holds an FB, the human trafficking notice unless the business holds an FB, and TABC’s annual compliance report.

Add-ons available to a BG

  • a Food and Beverage Certificate, for a business that qualifies;
  • a Brewpub License, for a business brewing its own beer on the premises; and
  • a Late Hours Certificate, subject to the difference between TABC’s list of eligible permits and the statute’s.

This article is general information about Texas alcoholic beverage law, not legal advice, and reading it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Statutes and TABC rules change; confirm current requirements with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the relevant city or county, or a licensed Texas attorney before acting.

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