The Rotary Trail Magic City sign in Birmingham is a familiar sight downtown. / BrewsTravelingWomen.Com
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham.
We’ve known for a long time that something special is brewing. Outsiders say Birmingham has been keeping a little secret. The secret is out. Birmingham’s craft breweries are making a name for themselves.
Many other online sites and publications praise the craft brewing scenes.
Birmingham has always had a way of getting attention for recreating itself.
Birmingham has been known as a destination for delicious food for a long time. First, it was steel manufacturing. And college football. Food. Steel. Beer. Now it’s all those things and craft beer.
Frank Stitt’s Highlands Bar & Grill was named Most Outstanding Restaurant in America in 2018.
And Chef Chris Hastings was recognized as the best chef in the south at Hot and Hot Fish Club. Now the craft brewing scene is what everyone is talking about. That’s part of the magic of The Magic City.
The beer Scene Keeps Growing
In the early days, Back Forty, Good People, Ghost Train, and TrimTab caught the attention of craft beer enthusiasts. And now other local brewers are making headlines and moving to ‘The Ham’ to get in on the action.
Uproot Brewing recently opened. We’ll visit on our next trip to Birmingham.
With almost a dozen breweries operating downtown, there’s enough good beer to occupy even the most dedicated craft beer lover.
Most of Birmingham’s breweries are on the Southside of the city’s metro area. It might be possible to visit each one in a single day.
Birmingham’s City Brew Tours is one way to leave the driving to someone else.
The touring company offers packages that include stops at multiple breweries. Avondale Brewing, Birmingham District, and Cahaba Brewing are among the packages. Ghost Train, Good People, Monday Night Social Club, and TrimTab are on the tour list. The company offers tickets for regular tours, or the service can be booked for private parties.
Ride sharing is an option for those who wish to complete the entire brewery circuit in a day or two.
And breweries are notorious for having unusual schedules…closed on Monday or Tuesday for some. Open only on Friday and Saturday for others. Open at 4 p.m. or 11 a.m. Sometimes you’ll arrive and discover the entire brewery is filled with patrons at a private event.
Google away and be willing to change course if your plan goes to hell like it sometimes does for us.
Join us as we recap our tour of Birmingham’s craft breweries.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham:
Good People Brewing Company
114 14th St. South
Opened in 2008, Good People is Alabama’s oldest and largest craft brewery. And it has had the top-selling IPAs in Alabama for almost a decade.
The brewery is in the Parkside neighborhood, directly across the street from Region’s Field.
“Drink Great Beer. Be Good People.” The slogan sets the tone for this microbrewery.
As mentioned, they make great IPAs and various stouts, lagers, ales, and seasonal beers.
In 2015, Good people started the Funk Farm series of mixed fermentation sour bottle beers that are barrel aged and exposed to wild yeast. They have about 70 barrels of wine and bourbon barrels that take years to ferment, creating unique beers available for purchase for at-home enjoyment.
Good People has a large taproom, plenty of outdoor space, an on-site food truck, and a popular location. The Brewery is near Railroad Park and the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Regions Field is across the street. And crowds gather here for pre-game and post-game festivities.
We tried the Muchacho (4.8%) Mexican-style lager. And the Coffee Oatmeal Stout (5.7% ABV) is delicious.
The Berry Fruity Kettle Funk Farm Sour Milkshake (5.5% ABV). This sour ale features lots of tart berries with a hint of vanilla. Most days in the heat and humidity in Alabama, the Good People Pale Ale at 5.8% ABV is a good choice, and the flagship IPA at 7.1% ABV delivers what hop lovers want with an earthy flavor and light caramel notes.
Monday Night Brewing
14 12th Street South
Birmingham’s Monday Night Brewing – Social Club was the brewer’s first taproom outside of Atlanta.
In Birmingham, Social Club has more than 25 beers on tap, with everything from small-batch IPAs to barrel-aged sours.
This experimental brewpub is focused on collaboration and experimentation to create fruited sours and hoppy beers in its five-barrel production facility. And it features beers from its Atlanta breweries.
We’ve tried Come As You Are, a 2X fruited sour IPA, 8% ABV, the Taco Tuesday 4% ABV Mexican-style lager, the Dr. Robot berry lemon sour 5% ABV, and the Oktoberfest, 5% German-style Märzen.
Other beers include limited releases, seasonal pours, an experimental brews.
Monday Night Brewing has two locations in Atlanta, one in Nashville and one in Charlotte, N.C.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham:
Birmingham District Brewing
Birmingham District Brewing Co.
2201 2nd Ave. South
Birmingham District is in The Battery, a redeveloped project in an old battery building in the heart of downtown.
We had an (8% ABV) imperial winter stout called You’ll Shoot Your Eye Out. We were there over the winter holiday, and this rich milk stout with vanilla beans, nutmeg, and cinnamon was perfect for a Christmas-time beer.
We’ve tried a (5.4% ABV) Schwarzbier called Eat My Schwarz. And Iron, a red ale American amber (5.8% ABV). And Harvest Punch ( 8.5% ABV). Plus Shallow Grave (6.3% ABV).
Ghost Train Brewing
3501 1st Ave. South
Ghost Train’s slogan is “Beer for the People.”
Founded in 2014, Ghost Train recently moved from its original location at 2616 3rd Ave. South (now the new home of Uproot Brewing). The new brewery is a state-of-the-art production facility and taproom with outdoor spaces overlooking Birmingham’s Hugh Kaul trail.
They have 96 beers on tap. And they keep adding new experimental small batches and seasonal beers to keep people returning for more.
We’ve tried the Judge Juicy, a 7.2% India Pale Ale, a Kaleidoscope kettle sour 4.9% ABV made with raspberry and blackberry; the Standard Porter, a 5.5% ABV made with malts for notes of coffee, vanilla, and chocolate; and the Allurium, a West Coast meets East Coast hybrid double IPA at 7.5% ABV.
And we picked up a bottle of Unholy Saison. This specialty (6.1% ABV) classic has notes of allspice, pepper, yeast, Brettanomyces, and crisp apple. This beer had been barrel aged for two years.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham:
Avondale Brewing Company
201 41st St. South
Miss Fancy’s Tripel (9.2% ABV) is one of the most popular beers at the brewery among local beer lovers. The brewery honors Avondale and the Avondale Zoo, where Miss Fancy, the alcohol-loving elephant, resided. The slogan “Stay Fancy” and other references to Avondale and Birmingham’s past are prominent in the names of the beers created here.
We tried the Spring Street Saison, a 7.2% ABV farmhouse ale, a brunch punch shandy, 3.7%, Sour Pash, 4.3%, and Mosey, a 4.6% ABV amber lager. All of Avondale’s beers are reminiscent of Belgian-style brewing. Avondale’s brick building has event space in The Upstairs, Cinderella Story with its own golf simulator, outdoor space for concerts and events, and The Sour Room, where they pour brewed sour beers, specialty cocktails, and other beverages.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham:
Back Forty Beer Company
3201 1st Ave. North
There’s always something going on at this award-winning brewery.
This is a large brewing campus with an expansive beer garden, a covered porch with rocking chairs, event space for private parties, and plenty of indoor seating in the taproom.
Back Forty brews about 50 beers each year and as many as 25 options are always on tap.
Four of us stopped for lunch on a busy day of visiting breweries in town. We had the Hike Out Hefe, a 4.8% ABV traditional German wheat beer with banana clove esters, a BamaMosa 7.5% ABV brut ale with orange juice, a Moonbark sessionable porter (6% ABV), Cycological Imbalance, a 5.8% ABV American IPA, Mandarin Chief, (11% ABV) Imperial Black IPA, and an I Shaved My Legs For This 5.5% fruited Witbier made with pink guava, coriander, and fresh orange peel.
We’ve had Naked Pig Pale Ale, Daily Gose, Puck Kettle Sour, Truck Stop Honey Brown Ale, and Crow Point, Birmingham’s flagship New England hazy IPA, at other locations.
Back Forty has two locations, the original 27,000-square-foot space in Gadsden and this Birmingham location near the National Historic Landmark Sloss Furnaces and Sloss Docks.
The food was just as good as the beer. The menu includes salads and bowls, sandwiches, hotdogs, pizza, and a kid’s menu. We recommend the Back Forty Cheeseburger with fries or the grilled chicken sandwich. Next time we’ll try one of the Neapolitan-style pizzas.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham:
Hi-Wire Brewing
2901 4th Ave. South
Hi-Wire opened its Birmingham location this fall in the Lakeview District. The mixed-use development includes condos and room for retail or dining options. The brewery is light and airy, with windows overlooking a natural green space.
Hi-Wire started in Asheville, N.C., and has expanded across the southeast. They now have locations in North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, and a new location in Ohio.
The Birmingham Hi-Wire features boldly painted murals, interactive games, and outdoor seating along a lazy river. And it has green space and access to the city’s biking and bus routes.
Year-round beers include IPAs, an easy-drinking ale, and a session sour ale. Seasonals rotate each quarter and are distributed throughout the southeast.
Specialty beers include the 10W-40 Imperial Stout Series, and the brewery offers limited bottle releases and barrel-aged sours throughout the year that can only be found in the company’s taprooms. For those who want to rent space for their friends, Hi-Wire offers plenty of room to move around and fun interactive games to keep friends busy. From interactive floor billiards and soccer to table tennis, foosball, and shuffleboard.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham:
Cahaba Brewing Company
4500 5th Ave. South
The brewery and taproom are named for the Cahaba River, the longest free-flowing body of water in Alabama.
The brewery and taproom are now in the Avondale / Woodlawn area in the former Continental Gin building.
Cahaba Brewing was originally located in Birmingham’s Pepper Place / Lakeview District. The brewery quickly expanded and now occupies a 51,000-square-foot building with over 26 beers on tap from fermenter tanks, and it continues to use a 3.5-barrel system for experimental brews.
The main taproom is open and airy, with an industrial feeling respecting its factory origins. Heavy rafters, skylights, and polished concrete floors set the tone with views of the brewing process through a floor-to-ceiling glass wall.
The Barrel Room can host private events. And a small arcade with pinball machines is near the taproom. The Patio offers a relaxing place to drink a beer in the shade.
We’ve been drinking Cahaba’s beers for years. On our most recent visit to the taproom, we had the Hometown Hefeweizen (5% ABV), Breakfast of Champions, an American wheat at 4.4% ABV, a 7.1% Oktoberfest seasonal ale, and Local Berry, a raspberry and lemon lager (3.8%).
Cahaba brews its spirits, which include bourbon whiskey, single malt whiskey, vodka, gin, and rum. And Cahaba beers can be found in over 570 retail stores and over 400 bars.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham:
TrimTab Brewing Company
2721 5th Ave. South
Founded in 2013, TrimTab is known for its IPAs, fruited sours, and Stouts.
TrimTab offers its beer as collections. They offer Beach Club, Light Visions, Cellar Reserve, Gallery Series, and Year-round core brews.
The Gallery Series includes small batches where the brewers experimented with new ingredients and process.
We tried the Candy Shop (6.9% ABV) from the cellar reserve collection of sours and a Martin Denny Complex (7.6% ABV) from the Beach Club Series. Mighty tart.
The taproom has large windows where patrons can glimpse the brewing process. Merchandise is for sale in the corner, and local artwork decorates the walls. Outside, large picnic tables – some under cover and some in the open air – give groups plenty of room to gather.
Every beer drinker we know in Birmingham loves TrimTab.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham: Ferus on 41st
430 41st Street South
Ferus Artisan Ales’ original location is in Trussville, about a 30-minute drive away, and a third location, Ferus by the Bay, is along the Gulf Coast in downtown Fairhope, Alabama.
Members of our group raved about the Trussville and 41st Street locations.
An outside bar off the beer garden leads to the cozy indoor bar.
The chef-inspired Eatery menu sounded delicious.
We settled in at the bar and ordered a Baggie (10% ABV) Imperial Stout aged in port wine barrels, an Ursa Imperial Milk Stout (8%) with toasted coconut and coffee, Fallen Black Currant (5.5%), a sour ale with sea salt, black current, and lactose, and a Blackberry Farm Brewing Belgian Saison (6.3%) from the guest tap.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham: True Story Brewing Company
5510 Crestwood Boulevard
The owner, Craig Shaw, the original brewmaster at Avondale Brewing, was tapping a Saison and asking if I’d like to try it.
The Sacre Bru Saison (6.8% ABV) is one of the best Saison I’ve ever had.
The Prescription Porter – a porter and vanilla ice cream float that can be ordered with chocolate chip cookie chunks is highly recommended. I stuck with the porter without the float, and it was good.
True Story is Birmingham’s first brewpub in a retail setting. The brewery has a small batch operation, a kitchen with a brew pub menu, a larger room for events, and outdoor space at the back.
And the brewery has a beer bank where people can pay a beer forward to neighbors or receive a beer if they want.
Now, this is a True Story. I referred this brewpub to a relative who lives in the area and thought he had been to all the breweries in and around Birmingham.
Hop City
2924 3rd Ave. South
A story about beer and breweries in Birmingham wouldn’t be complete without mentioning Hop City.
Hop City has a bar known as Growlertown, with over 60 beers on tap. They have 1,200 beers and 1,000 wines.
Beer and wine events are held frequently, and a food truck is often on-site.
The Grocery Brew Pub
2823 Central Ave.
Homewood, AL
Just over the mountain and not too far from downtown Birmingham, the Grocery features 24 beers on tap, including a few of its brews.
The Grocery is considered a one-stop shop for beers and wine and has an on-site food truck with a good selection of items on the menu.
As you’ve seen, Birmingham has a lot to offer.
The Alabama Theater, Morris Avenue, and Sloss Furnaces are great places to snap pictures downtown. Our final stop was at the iconic Vulcan Park and Museum for views of the downtown skyline and Vulcan’s bare ass.
The Vulcan statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world at 56 feet on a 124-foot pedestal and sits at the top of Red Mountain – 600 feet above the city.
As children, we’d watch for the Roman God of the Forge on night trips through town. The torch in his right hand would shine green or red.
South of town, there are several other breweries and beer shops to visit.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham: Brock’s Gap Brewing Company
500 Mineral Trace, Suite 100
Hoover, AL
Hoover’s first brewery is nestled behind the Hoover Metropolitan Complex.
This brewery pays tribute to Birmingham’s growth as a steel capital and the railways that brought minerals to town.
Brock’s Gap has a large indoor taproom, great proximity to the baseball stadium and Finley Center, an expansive outdoor beer garden built for entertainment and live music, and unique beers.
We counted 20 beers on tap and tried several flights and pints on multiple trips. The Sugar Cat, 4.6% ABV raspberry Weissbier is named for the owner’s wife, who must be fruity and sweet with a sour finish.
Miss B Haven (4.6%). We had Pandemic Born, The Marriage Counselor, a Belgian Triple; Elvira, a vanilla milk stout; Station 459, a Czech Pilsner; and the Shuffler, a double hazy IPA.
According to Brock’s Gap information, the brewmaster has won around 100 medals in international competitions.
Craft breweries are bringing the magic to Birmingham: Oak Mountain Brewing Company
110 Cahaba Valley Road
Pelham, AL
The location near Oak Mountain State Park and the Oak Mountain Amphitheater draws crowds year-round.
Today the brewery features a busy taproom and patio that draws locals and visitors who aren’t interested in driving downtown.
The 15-barrel brewhouse officially opened in early 2021 and featured its own beers by October.
Up to 24 beers are on tap anytime, with the menu always available on the UNTAPPED app.
This summer, we tried the Stober Vienna Lager (5.5% ABV), a Passionfruit Gose (5%), and various sours, ales, and unique brews.
Oak Mountain encourages sampling and will let you try almost anything. We ended up ordering pints of our favorite samples along with flights.
Food trucks are on the regular schedule, and we’ve been here for live music.
Diplomat Deli
1425 Montgomery Hwy
Vestavia Hills, AL
The Deli opened in 1982 and is popular with locals for its various hot and cold sandwiches, fast and friendly service, and available beers and wines.
And more than 200 beer types are stocked in the wall of refrigerator cases.
The addition and expansion of the spacious outdoor patio let people enjoy their food and drinks outside, weather permitting.
The Diplomat (known as The Deli by locals) consistently ranks among the top delis in Birmingham.
The Casual Pint – at the Grove
5541 Grove Boulevard, Suite 111
Hoover, AL
With 20+ beers on tap at any time, it’s a great way to try craft beers that aren’t locally produced. The cooler is behind the tap wall for a fresh beer each time, and the pint glasses are designed for a perfect taste.
Bottles and cans of craft beer line the shelves and refrigerators. If you don’t like what’s available on tap, grab a single can from the cooler and have the beer tender pour a glass.
Casual Pint holds trivia nights and other entertainment that keeps people coming in for local entertainment. Take a six-pack or two home or a bottle of wine. The food is good, and the bartenders are friendly.
The Beer Hog
2408 Pelham Parkway
Pelham, AL
With 64 craft beers on tap and over 300 craft brews in bottles and cans, Beer Hog offers a great way to explore craft beers.
With 50-inch flatscreens, large indoor and outdoor seating areas, a great food menu, and knowledgeable staff, this popular place south of Birmingham has a changing selection of beers that changes with the seasons.
This is a great place to buy several flights and share with friends. We’ve found beers brewed in Belgium and Germany on tap.
Represented craft beers on tap recently include a barrel-aged German chocolate stout from Wicked Weed Brewing, Tiam’s Apricot Sour from Hutton & Smith Brewing, Ghost in the Machine IPA from Parish Brewing Co., and a Chimay Grande Réserve Belgian strong dark ale from Bières de Chimay.
Oversoul Brewing
4161 Helena Road
Helena, AL
Oversoul Brewing, in nearby Helena, is a locally owned small-batch brewery. We’ve tried to visit several times and haven’t been successful.
The brewer’s Facebook page said they recently had a Belgian Tripel called Nothin’ Fancy and a stout, a summer hut, a pale ale, and Double Vision II – its 7.5% ABV IPA.
Siluria Brewing Company
145 1st Ave. West
Alabaster, AL
The core beers include stouts, reds, American and Irish ales, and IPAs with Märzen, hefeweizen, Saison’s, sours and stouts, ciders, and IPAs rotating.
We visited Siluria Brewing Company as part of our brews tour of Birmingham. We tried Berry Nekkid, a kettle sour wheat ale brewed with strawberries and German hops, and an American wheat ale brewed with Magnum hops and blood orange.
Locals love the brewery in the old Alabaster post office.
You can head to Birmingham and the surrounding areas to taste local craft beers.
You can click here if you want information about other Alabama Craft Breweries.