Alabama Breweries: Local taps and chill vibes

Avondale Brewing Company was opened by Coby and Hunter Lake and strives to reflect the folklore of the Birmingham region with its creatively-titled brews.The brewery was voted as the city’s best local brewery in 2015 by Birmingham Mag. Its taproom, which is housed within a historic downtown building that formerly housed a historic post office, firehouse, bordello, and the popular Long Branch Saloon, is open daily for tastings and to-go sales, including drafts of the taproom-exclusive Train Hopper Pale Ale and Streetcar Kolsch. Other year-round offerings include the brewery’s Spring Street Saison, Miss Fancy’s Tripel, Battlefield IPA, Vanillaphant Porter, and Mill City White Belgian Wheat.

Avondale Brewing Company, 201 41st St S, Birmingham, AL 35222, Phone: 205-777-5456

Back Forty Beer Company is named for the agricultural term referring to farm backlots, a reference to the state of Alabama’s underutilized potential as a craft beer mecca. The company was founded by Jason Wilson and Jamie Ray and released its first brew in the summer of 2009. Today, it offers a taproom and brewpub restaurant located within a historic renovated 27,000-square-foot warehouse in Gadsden and is renowned for its handcrafted ales, including its Truck Stop Honey Brown, which received the silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival in 2010. Other year-round offerings include the brewery’s Naked Pig Pale Ale, Freckle Belly IPA, Paw Paw’s Peach Wheat, and Cart Barn Light. Food menus are changed weekly and highlight contemporary American gastropub fare with a Southern twist. In summer of 2018, a second location was opened at the Sloss Docks in Birmingham.

Back Forty Beer Company, 200 North 6th Street, Gadsden, Alabama 35901, Phone: 256-467-4912

Big Beach Brewing was opened by Jim and Julie Shamburger and is Alabama’s southernmost brewery today, operating an open-air taproom at Orange Beach within the heart of Gulf Shores. 12 beers are tapped at any given time, including the brewery’s year-round Hundred Daze IPA, Rod's Reel Cream Ale, Dixie's Heart Irish Red Ale, and Small Town Brown Ale.

Handcrafted in-house lemonade is also available as a non-alcoholic beverage option. Fireplace seating is offered, along with a large family-friendly front yard area. Though the brewery does not serve food, delivery service from several local restaurants is available, and visitors may bring their own food to the taproom. Live music is presented several nights a week, and brewery tours are available at the top of each hour.

Big Beach Brewing, 300 E. 24th Ave, Gulf Shores, AL 36542, Phone: 251-948-2337

Black Warrior Brewing Company was opened in November of 2013 by Joe Fuller, Eric Hull, Wayne Yarbrough, and Jason Spikes. The Tuscaloosa brewery is housed within a renovated former barbershop facility on University Boulevard and offers open taproom hours seven days a week, with extended hours on Fridays and Saturdays.

Brews include the company’s Apricot Wheat Pale Wheat Ale, Bama Blonde Ale, Crimson Ale Red Ale, and Broad Street Brown Brown Ale, with rotating seasonal and limited edition brews offered periodically. Brewery tours are available on Saturday afternoons, with private group tours available by appointment depending on brewing schedules. Game tables and flat screen televisions are offered at the taproom, and weekly special events include team trivia events.

Black Warrior Brewing Company, 2216 University Blvd, Tuscaloosa, AL 35401, Phone: 205-248-7841

Cahaba Brewing Company was founded in 2011 and opened to the public the following September at a location on Birmingham’s Third Avenue South. In 2016, the brewery moved to a new 51,000-square-foot location within the Historical Continental Gin, which features a 30 bbl brewhouse and a taproom with a covered patio.

The brewery’s classic year-round styles include its Liquidambar American-style amber ale, its Ryezome rye stout, its Oka Uba IPA, and its Fraxinus Maximus double IPA. Seasonal offerings include a Kiwi Kolsch, an Oktoberfest, and an Irish stout, while specialty brews include an American brown ale, a barrel-aged IPA, and a Single Hop Series. Brewery tours are available during the taproom’s normal operation hours, and private special events such as weddings, reunions, and corporate events may be booked by contacting the brewery directly. In June, the brewery presents its CahaBAZAAR artisan market event, which showcases local artisan vendors, food trucks, live music, and an annual limited release beer brewed specially for the event.

Cahaba Brewing Company, 4500 5th Ave South Building C , Birmingham, Alabama 35222, Phone: 205-578-2616

Fairhope Brewing Company was the vision of Michele and Brian Kane, who first envisioned opening a local craft brewery to service the Lower Alabama region while living in Alaska. The pair recruited Mobile homebrewer and beer columnist Dan Murphy and Free the Hops president Gabe Harris and opened the brewery in December of 2012, making it the region’s first production craft brewery since the Prohibition era. Its taproom, which opened to the public in 2013, now serves six year-round brews, including the brewery’s (Take The) Causeway IPA, Cheap Sunglasses Kolsch, Everyday Blonde Ale, Fairhope 51 Pale Ale, I Drink Therefore I Amber, and Judge Roy Bean American stout. Tours of the brewery are offered on Saturday afternoons, and periodic public special events include Trivia in the Taproom and Bluegrass Jam events.

f="https://www.fairhopebrewing.com/" target="_blank">Fairhope Brewing Company, 914 Nichols Avenue, Fairhope, AL 36532, Phone: 251-279-7517