The best Alabama Beers and Breweries

I know a guy from Huntsville that is the brewer at Yellowhammer, makes some good German style beers.

Huntsville has more than a few breweries, the rest of the state has some catching up to do - or so I have been told.

 

Good People makes some good beer. Only tried their IPA and Coffee Oatmeal Stout, but a fan of both.

 

Every time I have been down in Nashville to buy beer, I have been on the lookout for Snake Handler. Unfortunately, I have yet to come across it. When I do, I will be sure to grab it.

 

In Birmingham, my favorite breweries are TrimTab and Good People. I've done a number of growler swap trades and I've had repeat requests for SnakeHandler by Good People. TrimTab is failrly new but is making some solid beers (imho). As far as a bottle shop, I really like HopCity mainly because they have 60 beers on tap and I can drink a beer while shopping.

In Huntsville, my favorites are Blue Pants and Straight To Ale. Weedys DIPA by Blue Pants to me is actually better than SnakeHandler. I've sent a few bottles of those in trades as well and the guys really liked it. Its best to get it really fresh because it falls off really fast. As far as a bottle shop in Huntsville, I like Wish You Were Beer. They have a nice selection for a small shop and you can get a beer to drink while you shop like HopCity.

In south Alabama, Fairhope is really good. They were even featured in a small article in BA about a year ago. I have yet to find a bottle shop down there that I like. When we go down to the coast I usually just bring my own beer.

 

Personally, I'm a huge fan of Good People and Avondale. Snake Handler is my single favorite beer brewed in the state (see my avatar) and Michael and the other guys there are awesome. I really think that Avondale is also doing some amazing things. Their IPA isn't the best out there, but I love the No Joka Mocha stout and you can get some awesome barrel aged and sour beers if you go to the brewery. I also enjoy Straight to Ale and Rocket City, but not living in Huntsville has made it difficult to try a ton of their stuff.

All things considered, the state has really started to boom both in what's made here and what's available here. I'd love to see the ABV cap pushed even higher so that we had a shot at some of the really big beers out there (BCBS comes to mind as it is about to release), but ultimately can't really complain with the progress so far.

 

tough question. my answer is always changing and definitely depends on the season (probably gp coffee oatmeal stout right now), but every brewery in the state is going to be at fall festivale on friday at regions field, so it will be a great place to do some research. hopefully i will see some of you there. it's always a really great event.

 

Thanks for the kind words! I agree that the DIPA is best fresh and does drop off very quickly. I'm trying to remedy that, but it is proving to be quite a challenge to do so while retaining the intensely hoppy flavor that it is known for.

-Weedy

 

Straight to Ale and Good People are my favorites. If I had to choose one, I'd take Straight to Ale. Their two DIPAs are really good and their barrel aged beers are great!

 

Have lived here for 11 years. The Cain's Piggly Wiggly in Foley has a tremendous selection of high gravity beers. Mellow Mushroom Pizza in Foley has over 60 taps of awesome beers. Try the 21 flight paddle. It's built for two!

Stuart is spot on. Fairhope Brewery is a must stop. The Painted Black IPA is my favorite.

 

Good People & STA are head and shoulders above everyone in the state. They both do certain beers very well. Good People with hop forward styles and STA with all the barrel aged beers. BA seems to agree given that the top 3 beers are from GP, including el Gordo which will be at Fall Festiveale tomorrow night.

http://www.beeradvocate.com/lists/state/al/

HopCity is the best bottle shop, we are lucky to have it. Some of the newer breweries have potential, but there is also a lot more competition now..

 

I want to mention 2 other breweries that are a bit out of the way but I was well pleased with the beer I had there.

First, Chattahoochee Brewing in Phenix City. I've been there twice and have not had any of their beer. They didn't even have any of their beer on tap. This brewery is right across the river bridge from Columbus, GA and according to the owner they get limited availability beers because they are so close to Columbus. I've had Hopslam KBS, and one of the Game of Thrones beers.

Second, Back Forty in Gadsden. Their packaged beers are good but what I really like are the one offs you can only get at the brewery. Their Cuban Coffee Stout and Hogchocker DIPA are to me their best beers. I've even had a Belgian Naked Pig that I like even better than the standard Naked Pig pale ale.

 

I am from and live in Huntsville. In my opinion Good People and Straight to Ale are easily the best breweries in Alabama. Good People has Snakehandler which is great, but there Hitchhiker IPA may be better. Plus their coffee oatmeal stout and fatso stout are pretty solid too.

Straight to Ale has some good brews as well. Their Laika RIS is good and their Bourbon and Cabernet Barrel aged versions of Laika are great. Straight to ale has a lot of barrel aged beers that are pretty decent, such as, Unobtanium, Illudium, Velvet Evil, and their International Space Saison variants. Their standard beers are decent as well. STA is in the process of moving to a bigger facility. I honestly think they will turn the corner and eventually become the best brewery in Bama.

 

In my opinion, the best Alabama beers are Hitchhiker IPA and Bourbon BA Laika.

 

Trim Tab in Birmingham is killing it. They haven't even been open for a year and they consistently make some of the best stuff from top to bottom. Their Four Roses BA Rye Brown is great (Although it's usually in Bulleit barrels) and the Raspberry Berlinerweiss is really good.

 

Blue Pants is my favorite. I enjoyed the heck out of the Chocolate Oatmeal Porter and the Tuxedo from this year. And they are right around the corner from me.

 

Good People, Trim Tab, and Back Forty are my favorite AL breweries. Honorable mentioning goes to Railyard Brewing in Montgomery. Decent beer but great food and atmosphere.

As for bars and stores, J. Clyde and Hop City are the best.