Photo by David Garrett.
Spencer Overton knows what he’s talking about. The homebrew manager at Hop City Birmingham is a walking encyclopedia of beer knowledge who can speak authoritatively on every topic in his demesne, whether it’s when and why hops are necessary in the brewing process, figuring out the science behind what temperature to store your brew at, or how to jury rig a cooling mechanism out of a t-shirt and a fan.
When Governor Bentley signed legislation to legalize homebrewing in Alabama, it wasn’t just the final step in freeing Alabama’s craft beer culture from restrictive Prohibition-era laws. It was also the final step in helping Overton, and many more like him, realize his dream of working with beer.
The process began in 2009, when Free the Hops’ Gourmet Beer Bill increased the limit on alcohol by volume from 6 percent to 13.9 percent, allowing for the manufacture and sale of bitter IPAs, potent imperial stouts, and generally opening up a vast new horizon for craft beer in Alabama.
“I always thought that Alabama was going to be behind the times, and I honestly never had any expectations of that changing,” Overton said. “Once that law changed, everything changed for me.” A craft beer fan since his first year in college, Overton had his parents buy beer for him from World Market to skirt around being underage. They didn’t mind, Overton added, because it was “just for research.”
In 2011, the Brewery Modernization Act allowed breweries to sell their wares on-premises, creating taprooms like those at Good People and Avondale that are now Birmingham staples. 2012’s Gourmet Bottle Bill allowed for beer bottles up to 25.4 ounces, further bolstering the market with rare, unique craft beers. And with the signing of the Alabama Homebrew Bill on May 9, the long process of modernizing Alabama’s beer laws is effectively complete.
For Overton, who followed up a 2009 internship at Good People with a stint at the craft beer distributor Birmingham Beverage and an underwhelming job in the medical sector, the relief is palpable.
“I’ve only been out of college for four years, but after this back-and-forth, back-and-forth, I finally feel like I’m where I want to be,” Overton said. “And it feels really, really good. I get to do exactly what I came here to do.”
Employees at Hop City know firsthand how difficult it can be to simply chase a dream. In September of last year, the store was raided by agents from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) board for having homebrewing equipment and literature. Whatever understanding Hop City had once held with the board evaporated when their ABC agent changed, leaving them at the mercy of the state.
“At the end of the day, they were just doing their jobs,” said Kraig Torres, who started Hop City four years ago in Atlanta before expanding to Birmingham last year. That unpleasant reminder of the ABC’s power is firmly in the rearview mirror now, according to Torres.
After joining the Coast Guard out of high school and being introduced to an entire world of beers he’d never imagined, Torres developed a lifelong passion for craft beer that’s as infectious as Overton’s. In his mind, the love of craft beer is a step toward broadening horizons and doing away with provincialism, at least in part; “You take a business trip out to the West Coast and you fall in love with Bear Republic, you fall in love with Green Flash, and the next thing you know, you want to have those beers back home in Birmingham,” he said.
During market research, Torres found that the Magic City constituted an unorthodox but “absolutely perfect” location for expansion. “First, we were really just discovering this boom in local beer, and breweries started opening up as we started doing this project about a year and a half ago,” he said. “They were opening up at a very fast rate, and there was definitely a burgeoning interest in craft beer.”
When it comes to homebrewing – now one of Hop City’s specialties – Torres’ long career with beer has lent him a historical perspective. “When homebrewing was legalized in the late ‘70s,” Torres said, “you saw dads pull their sons in and help them brew, and the next thing you know, a generation later there’s an explosion in breweries. So I think you’re going to see in Alabama a bunch of people finding an interest in the hobby, and you’re going to find those people opening breweries down the road, or certainly working in breweries.”
The facts bear him out. According to the Brewers Association, there were only 100 craft breweries in 1988. In May of 2012, there were 2000, and now there are hundreds more. Though all that growth isn’t sustainable – starting from the position of “How hard could it be to open up a brewery?” doesn’t account for the “long trail of recovering capital investment,” according to Torres – optimism in the wake of the homebrew bill is justifiable.
Homebrewing isn’t only a feeder source for providing talent to breweries; it’s also a great hobby by itself, said Overton. “It’s not easy, but if you love beer that much, it’s worth the dedication. You won’t mind the work that it takes, you won’t mind the commitment.”
It’s taken a great deal of work and commitment for both Overton and Torres to get to where they are today, and their sense of relief and enthusiasm is unmistakable. “From a beer perspective, I think we’re there,” Torres said of Alabama’s beer laws. “I think we can probably do just about everything we want to do right now.”
After a long, difficult trek, the advocates, homebrewers, manufacturers and connoisseurs who make up Alabama’s craft beer culture are finally enjoying a place in the sun.
Hop City Birmingham is located at 2924 3rd Ave. S. near Pepper Place. Spencer Overton will be teaching weekly homebrewing seminars every Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. $15 will get you entry and a bottle of beer, and all skill levels are welcome. For more information, call (205) 279-2337.