Today in 1819, Alabama became the 22nd state.
Alabama
Alabama Breweries
- Avondale Brewing
- Back Forty Beer Co.
- Chattahoochee Brewing
- Crazy Dane Brewing
- Blue Pants Brewery
- Emerald Coast Beer Company
- Folklore Brewing and Meadery
- Good People Brewing
- Old Black Bear Brewing
- Olde Auburn Ale House
- Southern Farmhouse Ales
- Straight to Ale
- Yellowhammer Brewery
Alabama Brewery Guides
Guild: Alabama Brewers Guild
State Agency: Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board
- Capital: Montgomery
- Largest Cities: Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa
- Population: 4,447,100; 23rd
- Area: 52,423 sq.mi., 30th
- Nickname: Yellowhammer State
- Statehood: 22nd, December 14, 1819
- Alcohol Legalized: March 22, 1937
- Number of Breweries: 6
- Rank: 43rd
- Beer Production: 3,459,772
- Production Rank: 23rd
- Beer Per Capita: 23 Gallons
Package Mix:
- Bottles: 35.2%
- Cans: 61.61%
- Kegs: 3.6%
Beer Taxes:
- Per Gallon: $1.05
- Per Case: $2.37
- Tax Per Barrel (24/12 Case): $32.65
- Draught Tax Per Barrel (in Kegs): $32.65
Economic Impact (2010):
- From Brewing: $4,057,400
- Direct Impact: $685,281,037
- Supplier Impact: $239,545,560
- Induced Economic Impact: $417,394,346
- Total Impact: $1,342,220,943
Legal Restrictions:
- Control State: No
- Sale Hours: No later than 2 a.m. on Sundays in some counties.
- Grocery Store Sales: Yes
- Notes: 13.9% ABV cap on beer
Beer containers may not exceed 16 ounces (0.47 l)
ABV > 14.9% wine sold in state stores
Alcohol may be served 24 hours unless restricted by local ordinances. Twenty-six of Alabama’s 67 counties do not allow the sale of alcohol. However, possession and consumption remains legal within those twenty-six counties. Cities with populations greater than 1000 within dry counties can “go wet” if passed by 50% of voters.
Data complied, in part, from the Beer Institute’s Brewer’s Almanac 2010, Beer Serves America, the Brewers Association, Wikipedia and my World Factbook. If you see I’m missing a brewery link, please be so kind as to drop me a note or simply comment on this post. Thanks.
For the remaining states, see Brewing Links: United States.
No discussion of Alabama beer is complete without kudos to our friends at Free the Hops, the nonprofit that has created real positive change fighting antiquated beer laws in the state…
http://freethehops.org/
Current breweries with existing facilities in the state only include:
Avondale Brewing
Back Forty Beer Co.
Blue Pants Brewery
Good People Brewing
Straight to Ale
Yellowhammer Brewery
Breweries in planning that I’m familiar with include:
Chattahoochee Brewing
Southern Farmhouse Ales
Old Black Bear Brewing
Crazy Dane Brewing
And you left off the newest one in planning: Cahaba Brewing, which has a building and equipment and is working on getting everything installed.
Emerald Coast Beer Company contract brews in Florida and has no plans to open a facility in Alabama, to the best of my knowledge.
And I don’t know anything about these folks: Folklore Brewing and Meadery. They are perhaps in planning, but I’m almost positive they don’t currently sell product.
The Olde Auburn Ale House stopped brewing a year or so ago.