The tanks are in. The recipes are developed. The construction's complete.

Red Hills Brewing Company is waiting on the last of the many regulatory permits, but Homewood's first brewery should be open by July, according to Owner Joe Pilleteri.

Pilleteri has hired Eric Baumann, formerly the Assistant Brewmaster at Avondale Brewing Co., as his head brewer.

Red Hills is much larger than it looks nestled next to Steel City Pops in the Homewood shopping center on Central Avenue. The 10,000-square-foot space has a large taproom with garage-style doors and a 40- by 16-foot mural by local artist Missy Miles behind the bar.

"I wanted it to be different - the problem with Birmingham when you do a mural, is they've all got Vulcan, Sloss and Red Mountain," Pilleteri said.

So indeed, it's different - it's got the salamander, which is his brewery's namesake. It's got the chemistry of different components of his beers. It's got tons of inside jokes. And it's got a tribute to Homewood - Vulcan's butt.

The name "Red Hills Brewing Company" is a nod to the red hills salamander, Alabama's state amphibian. It's also appropriate for a community near Red Mountain. Pilleteri - a former sailor - was also drawn to the name because it made him think of the beach.

Red Hills is starting off with four beers - a British mild; a German hefeweizen; a session India pale ale and a seasonal India pale ale. (The seasonal IPA upon opening will be a traditional West Coast IPA)

"If we're using citrus, we're going to be back there late at night peeling that s---," Baumann said. "I'd rather to that than cut corners and do something cheap and easy. It shows through."

Pilleteri had originally planned to have the brewery open at the beginning of this year, but opening a brewery has had a lot more regulatory issues than he expected.

Prier Construction was the project's contractor. 5/th Dimension Architecture and Interior was the architect. First Partners Bank financed the project and Alliance Capital Corporation managed the Small Business Administration loan.