A Craft Beer Boom is Brewing in Alabama

Brewer Stefano Daneri holds up a beer at Good People Brewing in Birmingham, Ala. Alabama drinkers can still grab some Buds, and many do. But there's also Truck Stop Honey ale, brewed by the Gadsden-based Back Forty Beer Co.; Monkeynaut IPA by Huntsville's Straight to Ale LLC; Vanillaphant Porter by Avondale Brewing Co. of Birmingham; and Section Street Wheat by Fairhope Brewing Co., located on the scenic eastern shore of Mobile Bay. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Shoppers search for their favorite beers at Hop City Craft Beer and Wine in Birmingham, Ala. And unlike before, hobbyists can now legally make their own beer after purchasing supplies at stores like Hop City Craft Beer & Wine, a Birmingham retailer that state agents raided in 2012 before the law changed. Auburn University is even starting a brewing program next year for anyone who needs lessons. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

A row of beer taps stand ready to serve at Hop City Craft Beer and Wine in Birmingham, Ala. Jason Wilson, founder of Back Forty Beer and president of the Alabama Brewers Guild, said Alabama-brewed beer still accounts for only a tiny fraction all the beer sold in the state. But Alabama's current beer scene would have been impossible to imagine just a few years ago. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Head brewer Adam Klein draws a taste of Russian Stout being brewed at Good People Brewing in Birmingham, Ala. Small breweries were common before the United States outlawed alcohol production and sales in 1920 during Prohibition, but large brewers have dominated the industry in the decades since legalized alcohol production resumed 80 years ago. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Brewer Stefano Daneri cleans a tank at Good People Brewing in Birmingham, Ala. Small, craft brewers gained popularity in parts of the nation in the 1980s and '90s, but Alabama was all but left out partly because of strict alcohol laws tied to Prohibition and religious opposition to alcohol use. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Michael Sellers, a founder and co-owner of Good People Brewing Co. in Birmingham, said legislation allowing breweries to sell beer on-site in tap rooms — tasting areas with seating where beer is virtually the only item on the menu — was critical. Good People Brewing began operations in 2008 under the old laws that limited everything from alcohol content to bottle size. Then, in 2009, a grassroots group called Free The Hops got legislators to pass a law that allowed higher-alcohol brews, which are typical for craft breweries. Another law allowed the sale of beer in bottles larger than 16 ounces. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Brewer Stefano Daneri takes a break to read a paper at Good People Brewing in Birmingham, Ala. Twenty different brewers now operate in Alabama, including four restaurant-style brew pubs with full menus, and total employment is estimated to be at least 250 people. Huntsville has the biggest concentration with seven brewers, and other brewers or pubs are located in Anniston, Birmingham, Dothan, Fairhope, Montgomery, Phenix City, and Tuscaloosa, Wilson said. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Josh Terrell holds a handfull of hops used to brew beer at Hop City Craft Beer and Wine in Birmingham, Ala. The Brewers Guild projects 40,000 barrels of beer will be brewed in Alabama this year compared to just 1,000 barrels in 2009. The numbers are still tiny in comparison to some states — the city of Ashville, N.C., advertises 18 craft breweries alone, and Atlanta's SweetWater Brewing Co. this year expects to produce 147,000 barrels, or 107,000 more barrels than every Alabama brewer combined. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

A list of the beers produced at Good People Brewing in Birmingham, Ala. Good People Brewing sell in a few other Southern states, but founder Michael Sellers said Alabama's craft beer industry can only grow so much inside the state's borders because of market realities. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Josh Terrell organizes beer making supplies at Hop City Craft Beer and Wine in Birmingham, Ala. A law passed this year allows people to make beer and wine at home, and basement operations conceivably siphon some business away from commercial brewers. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Josh Terrell checks his selection of wines at Hop City Craft Beer and Wine in Birmingham, Ala. Craft beer generally sells at premium prices in stores — almost $9 a six-pack isn't unusual — and Alabama is a relatively poor state with a population of only 4.8 million people. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Randy Posey of Jasper, Ala., shops for beer at Hop City Craft Beer and Wine in Birmingham, Ala. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)