October offers beautiful views. Fantastic beer. Low humidity. Tolerable temperatures.
We headed to Point Clear and the Grand Hotel Golf Resort & Spa, Autograph Collection, with an early morning start to soak up the beauty of this southern treasure built more than 170 years ago.
Coastal Alabama and the surrounding areas are a natural treasure.
This is the place to be if you want to experience the deep south and first-class accommodations. It’s a hidden oasis with privacy and second-to-none amenities.
We’ve been here for weddings, romantic getaways, and girls’ trips and have never been disappointed with the service or experience.
From here, we explored the scenic two-lane roads past old businesses and homes overlooking the bay before arriving at the Fairhope Municipal Pier and Park for a photo shoot. This landmark is just a short run, bike ride, or car ride through the tree-lined streets of downtown Fairhope.
At Fairhope Brewing Company, we settle in and chatted with the locals. We came here for the Strawberry Starburst Sour that Fairhope’s Instagram posts effectively tempted. Yep, you had us at Strawberry Starburst Sour!
Here’s what you need to know.
Fairhope Brewing Company is South Alabama’s first production brewery since prohibition. It’s a comfortable block of buildings with room to hang out in the taproom or move outside to the Oak-shaded areas. We did notice a courtyard sign that suggests a daycare center adjoins the pub, but we didn’t want to interrupt naptime by exploring. Cornhole boxes lean against the building, and ample gathering space suggests fun gatherings happen often.
We arrived on a weekday when people were sipping beer while working on laptops and conducting business on their iPhones—what a great way to spend a workday.
The story of the brewery is a good one.
Michele Kane had the idea to bring the first craft brewery to Lower Alabama while living in Alaska. She and her husband, Brian, agreed to bring the craft brewing scene back home while sitting in the Alaskan Brewing Company taproom.
The couple brought in local home brewer Dan Murphy, along with Dan Harris, president of Free the Hops, and a law school friend, Jim Foley, to build what is now a popular taproom and brewery.
The first batch of beer was created on December 21, 2012, to coincide with the date the Mayans predicted the end of the world.
As the story goes, these brewers decided that if the world were going to end, they would have the first batch of beer in a fermenter when it happened. That first batch became Everyday Ale.
What started with just two beers – Everyday Ale and Section Street – has grown into a selection of six year-round offerings and some seasonal beers, cider, and wine.
Fairhope Brewing Company always keeps about 14 beers and cider on tap.
The Brewery features a stainless brewhouse, 30-barrel, and three-vessel (mash tun, lauter tun, brew kettle), while the cellar has seven 60-barrel fermenters and two 60-barrel bright beer tanks.
We ordered ‘I Drink therefore I Amber’ and the ‘Strawberry Starburst Sour.’ Oktoberfest was the natural following selection as we celebrated craft beers in October.
When we asked about the brewing process to achieve the sweet, sour strawberry, the bearded beer tender deferred to the brewers behind the glass in the adjoining room, smiled, and said, “I have the beard of a brewer, but I’m not the brewer.”
The ‘to-go’ fridge is packed with local favorites, recent launches, and some seasonal brews such as the Oktoberfest that we ordered. We also bought a couple of the Strawberry Starburst Sours to share with friends because we feared this beer might tap out before our next visit.
We’ll be back at Fairhope soon to see what else they are brewing.
After hanging out in the courtyard and bar, we headed downtown to play games at Pins & Pints.
They have more than half a dozen games, a couple of picnic tables outside, and a nice bar with an assortment of brews on tap. I love this tiny little bar and would love it more if it was more easily accessible for anyone but locals. Parking is a pain, and directions to the bar are few and far between.
We’ll return to Pins & Pints because we love old-time pinball and video gaming while drinking a good craft beer. We don’t mind feeding quarters into pinball machines if the breeze is blowing and beer is flowing.
We’d planned to visit Ferus on the Bay for lunch but couldn’t access it because of construction and traffic. (We’ll stop here on another trip, and we plan to try Ferus’ Trussville, Alabama, location on our next visit to Birmingham).
From downtown Fairhope, we headed to Old 31 Brewery Company in nearby Spanish Fort.
Being somewhat familiar with boating, shopping, and dining in this area, we felt confident that we would find this brewery without using driving apps. We were wrong.
If you are familiar with this area, you may have no problem finding Old 31.
On a day of discovery, keep going when you don’t first find what you’re seeking.
After some exploring, we found ourselves on the Causeway and knew we had gone much too far.
Since one of our Brews Traveling Women had never been on this coastal byway to Mobile, we continued to explore. If you travel far enough, you’ll pass some fantastic restaurants such as the Original Oyster Bar, Ralph & Kacoos, and Felix’s Fish Camp. They all offer fantastic seafood and good vibes with waterfront views or access.
At the end of the road, you’ll see the USS Alabama. It’s worth a stop if maritime history, World War II, and Alabama’s past interests you.
Sometimes mistakes lead to good fortune, and Mobile’s breweries certainly don’t disappoint. In an upcoming blog, we’ll highlight our adventures in Alabama’s third-largest city.
We did find Old 31 on this adventure and snapped a few exterior pictures before heading toward our ultimate road trip to Birmingham and points north.
Look for upcoming blogs to read all about our brewery visits.
Which breweries would you like to hear about next? We are always interested to learn about your favorite destinations, breweries, beers, and adventures. Email us at Editor@BrewsTravelingWomen.com
Cheers!