I live in the Free State of Colorado. Free hops that is. Colorado has been brewing beer since Adolph Coors turned the clear cool waters of Golden into a world-wide enterprise starting in 1873. Colorado pioneered the craft brew industry in the 1980s and 90s when John Hickenlooper began the Wynkoop Brewing Company in Denver and John Lebesch and Kim Jordan started up the New Belgium Brewing Company in Fort Collins. Sadly not everyone in the US is as free as those of us in Colorado.
I had no idea that a population could be so suppressed as to not have a choice in the kinds of beer they drink. Alabama is one such state. My New Year’s trip to Mobile took a disappointing turn when I found out Alabama beer laws are so stringent, there are only six craft breweries in the entire state. I had to help. That’s when I found an organization that is creating a movement in the great state of Alabama – an organization that working to free its citizens so their taste buds can experience the goodness that is craft beer. That organization is Free the Hops.
Free the Hops is a non-profit organization with the ambition to bring the highest quality beers from around the world to the residents of Alabama and to have the same variety of choice in their beer that they already have in wine. Started in 2004, the organization has no ties to the alcoholic beverage industry and is registered as a 501(c)(6) non-profit. The officers, board of directors and chapter heads are all volunteers.
Danner Kline is the founder and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Free the Hops. Originally from Atlanta, GA, he moved to Birmingham to attend Samford University in 1996. However, it was a trip he took to Texas in 2004 that opened his mind to the possibilities of beer. Alabama isn’t completely closed off to beer. According to Kline, he had been drinking Sierra Nevada Pale Ale, Sweetwater IPA and Anchor Steam in Birmingham since his college days. But on that trip to Texas he had the opportunity to consume his first double IPA, barleywine and American Strong Ales.
“I feel in love with those styles and when I got home and couldn’t find anything comparable, I just couldn’t wait for someone else to do something. Georgia raised the ABV limit that summer and I knew Pop the Cap in North Carolina was getting close,” he says. “I talked to folks responsible for the movements in both those states, put together a game plan and started organizing.”
What Kline is talking about is the restriction in Alabama and some other southern states that limits the alcohol by volume (ABV) in beer to only 6%. As craft brews become more popular, these limits are being raised to allow for different varieties of beer, including higher alcohol content beer, to be served. Thanks to the efforts by Kline and other Free the Hops members, Alabama signed into the law the Gourmet Beer Bill in May 2009 raising Alabama’s AVB limit to 13.9%. According to Gabe Harris, Free the Hops current President, this was great success.
“This was a huge step for beer lovers across the state and has enabled hundreds of new beers to come into the state.”
Harris joined the group in 2005 after reading an article in the Birmingham city paper, the Black & White, explaining the organization and what they were trying to do. Harris immediately joined.
“I had been a fan of craft beer for a time,” Harris says. “Sierra Nevada Pale and Sweetwater IPA were staples of mine, but didn’t know much outside of those two. A friend bought me a Rouge Shakespeare Stout one time in college and I was hooked. Shortly after Free the Hops was founded and I saw an article in the paper about FTH and what they were trying to do. I started going to meetings.”
Continuing their success, Free the Hops was involved in May 2011 when the legislature passed the Brewery Modernization Act, which allows breweries to sell beer on-premises, as in a brewpub removing “the crippling restrictions which prevented new breweries and brewpubs from opening.” According to Harris, three taprooms opened within six months of the bill’s passing; Two in Birmingham – Avondale and Good People – and one in Huntsville – Straight to Ale.
However, there are still three restrictions to overcome:
Container Size Restriction – The Code of Alabama A§28-3A23(g) states “All beer, except draft or keg beer, sold by retailers must be sold or dispensed in bottles, cans or other containers not to exceed one pint or 16 ounces.” That prevents many gourmet and European beers from being sold in Alabama as they are in larger bottles, much like wine. Dogfish Head, New Belgium, Sweetwater, and Great Divide are just a few of the beer companies with containers that exceed the 16 oz. limit. Alabama is the only state with this restriction.
Brewpub Restriction – The Code of Alabama A§28-4A-3(a-1) states 1) “The brewpub premises must be located in an historic building or site as defined in Section 40-8-1, in a wet county or wet municipality, in which county beer was brewed for public consumption prior to the ratification of the Eighteenth Amendment to the US Constitution in 1919.” That means a brewpub can only operate in an old building that brewed beer before Prohibition. Imaging finding a historic building that brewed beer back in 1919, then the renovations involved to turn it into a modern brewpub? The money and time that would take is overwhelming.
Brewpub Restriction – The Code of Alabama A§28-4A-3(a-1) 3) states “Beer brewed by the brewpub licensee shall not be possessed, sold or dispensed except on the premises where brewed and shall not be packaged or contained in other than barrels from which the beer is to be dispensed on the premises for consumption on the premises.” The beer brewed in the pub can only be consumed in the pub and not sold to outside sources. This greatly limits the marketing and profiting ability of the brewpub if they can’t sell to restaurants, other bars or private citizens.
Homebrewing Restrictions – The Code of Alabama A§28-1-1 makes it unlawful for any person, firm or corporation to possess any type of equipment used for the production of alcoholic beverages. Homebrewing, the genesis of most brewing companies around the world, is illegal. Currently two other states do not allow home brewing, Kentucky and Mississippi. Another state, Oklahoma, repealed its anti-home brewing laws in 2010.
With the repeal of Oklahoma’s law, I asked Harris if that would help Alabama.
“I hope so,” he says. “There has been a lot of progress here on this front and while FTH totally supports homebrew legalization, another group in Alabama has taken the lead on this legislation and we will help them as much as needed. They are called ‘Right to Brew’ and I encourage anyone out there who has a passion for homebrew to take a look at their website for more information.”
For Free the Hops, there is still a lot of work to do. Their next legislative step is to focus on container size and will begin the process when the session starts on February 7. But the organization isn’t just about legislation. They are also about education. They organize the three largest beer festivals in Alabama to teach people about craft beer. The Magic City Brewfest in Birmingham started in 2007 and drew 5,000 people last year. The Rocket City Brewfest in Huntsville started in 2009 and Fall FestivAle began last November. They also work with Alabama businesses, give speeches and assist with beer tastings and food pairings at local events. According to Harris, the tech-savvy group also keeps the public informed through emails, message boards, blogs, tweets and Facebook. Free the Hops has over 600 members and over 3,300 newsletter subscribers.
As Harris says, “The laws that we have been working on changing are antiquated and outdated prohibition era laws. They long ago outlived their usefulness and changing all of them is what it will take to bring Alabama in line with other great beer states. We want Alabama to be mentioned with the Colorados, Californias and Oregons of the country in regards to craft beer.”
“There are some great craft beer people in Alabama even if the rest of the country might be surprised to hear that. We have some great brewers doing some great things and if you can get your hands on some beer from Good People, Avondale, Straight to Ale, Yellowhammer, Back Forty and Blue Pants, then you should,” says Harris. “Alabama’s seventh brewery, Cahaba Brewing in Birmingham, should be up and running soon so it’s an exciting time to a craft beer drinker in Alabama.”
To learn more about Free the Hops, visit their website, or better yet, get involved by visiting their “How to Help” webpage. Beer lovers and beer makers all over the country support this organization. Check out who is involved on their Sponsors page.
Carrie Dow
Lakewood, CO
DMEblogger@yahoo.com
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