Craft beer drinkers don’t usually think of visiting cities in the Southern United States, aside from Asheville, N.C., for a craft beer vacation, but recent changes in alcohol laws have led to a growth of breweries in Birmingham, Ala. So with an extended break, my wife Katie and I decided to visit the Magic City for our own beercation over a two-day period.
We’ll start our trip on Friday, March 30, by visiting the five breweries around downtown Birmingham (Avondale Brewing Co., Cahaba Brewing Co., Ghost Train Brewing Co., Good People Brewing Co., and TrimTab Brewing Co. ). On Saturday, March 31, we will head to the suburbs to visit breweries in Homewood (Red Hills Brewing Co.) and Alabaster (Interstellar Ginger Beer & Exploration Co.). There are other breweries in the works around metro Birmingham, but none have announced definitive opening dates. So we will have to make another trip to check out these breweries.
If you’ve never thought about doing a beercation in Birmingham, it’s a great spot because the downtown breweries are within five miles of each other. The especially ambitious beer explorer could visit the five downtown breweries and visit Homewood and Alabaster in one day, but because our goal is to enjoy and explore the taprooms we are visiting the outer breweries on Saturday afternoon.
[googlemaps https://www.google.com/maps/d/embed?mid=1Bzkn0_p8659GsJ4tgotTkeEG_TtRGnBg&w=640&h=480]
If you’ve yet to make the trek to Birmingham, I hope you’ll follow along this weekend on social media. I’ll be posting updates to Twitter (@StevenOnTheMove) and Instagram (@stevenonthemove). If you want to see the beers I’m drinking you should add me as a friend on Untappd (@StevenOnTheMove). I will also write up my taproom visits, so be sure to check back for a more detailed look into each of the breweries and their taprooms.
