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photo by Brent Boyd Photography

Birmingham’s beer scene was bleak in 2007 when craft beer fan Jerry Hartley opened The J. Clyde Tavern and Alehouse.

The consumer group Free the Hops was still pushing to increase the old 6 percent legal limit on beer strength, which barred most of the world’s beers from the state. Birmingham had no breweries at the time, and the state had no true beer bars.

The J. Clyde, which celebrates its seventh anniversary on April 13, now is the epicenter of a thriving beer culture that has flourished in Birmingham since the state increased the beer-strength limit in mid-2009.

The Southside tavern hosts frequent beer dinners, many featuring brewers from across the country. The J. Clyde’s brew-dispensing yellow fire truck is a favorite at beer festivals. Among the J. Clyde’s 60 taps are 13 dedicated to Alabama breweries.

“When I put up those 13 taps in April 2012, I thought that would be enough for 20 years,” says Hartley, the co-owner, chief builder and beer visionary at the J. Clyde. “Within a year, we ran out of room. We had every brewery in Alabama. It’s amazing to see the growth.”

The J. Clyde has played a major role in fomenting the city’s beer scene, says Gabe Harris, president of Free the Hops, which also has successfully pushed for state laws allowing beer to be sold in large bottles and for breweries to be able to have tasting rooms.

Not only have Hartley and the J. Clyde crew been among the biggest supporters of Free the Hops, Hartley also proved there was a market for craft beer in Birmingham, Harris says. “I do not think we would be anywhere near where we are now without the J. Clyde’s support,” he says.

Harris also credits both Hartley and his sister/co-owner Susan Hartley with helping revitalize Cobb Lane, the block-long, brick-paved alley in Southside.

When they bought the run-down, century-old building in February 2007, only the back half was usable. Jerry and his brother/co-owner Bryan Hartley rebuilt the front room, including a bar from heart-pine wood recovered from the attic of Jerry’s Southside home.

The J. Clyde is very much a family affair. It is named for a fourth sibling, Jason Clyde Hartley, who died in 1998. Susan Hartley runs the daily operations. The recently renovated back bar honors their deceased dad, William T. Hartley. It features a T-shaped tap tower locally made with cast-iron pipe in tribute to his father’s career working at ACIPCO.

Jerry Hartley also has a thing about numbers. When the beer-strength law was about to change, he planned to install a total of 77 taps. Jason Clyde Hartley, after all, was born in 1977.

Practicality scaled back that plan. Instead while renovating the back bar in 2012, the Hartleys installed four taps in a cooler there and 13 taps on its wall. Jason Clyde’s birthday and J. Clyde’s anniversary are April 13: 4-13.

“I can’t escape doing something with numbers,” Hartley says.

Walking through the tavern is like traveling through Europe. The front patio by the narrow cobbled alley has the feel of a Paris café. The stone walls and dark wood in the front bar evoke an English pub. A tree-shrouded deck out back is reminiscent of beer gardens Jerry Hartley visited while living in Germany.

The J. Clyde is a fulcrum in Birmingham’s beer scene for several reasons. Hartley himself has made connections with many breweries to bring new products into the state. In addition to the 60 taps, the J. Clyde boasts 125 different beers in bottles, plus about 20 brands in large-bottle “bombers.”

The J. Clyde also has supported new breweries in Birmingham and Alabama. Jason Malone, co-owner and head brewer at Birmingham’s Good People Brewing Co., says the J. Clyde continues to be an invaluable partner in its success.

“When Good People opened in March 2008, the J. Clyde was the only place that used craft beer as a centerpiece,” says Malone. “It was so important to Good People, in its infancy stages, to have a place like the J. Clyde that wanted to incubate craft beer culture here in Birmingham just as much as we did.”

The J. Clyde introduced Birmingham to traditional cask beer, naturally carbonated ale stored in special kegs and dispensed through beer engines that essentially pump the brew into the glass. The J. Clyde was home to the city’s first Randall – a device to filter beer through additives like fresh hops or coffee to infuse their flavors and aromas before it is dispensed. Jerry Hartley also built versions for local breweries.

“What we have done sparked not only consumers in this town, but also entrepreneurs,” Jerry Hartley says.

The Hartleys also have emphasized educating both staff and consumers about the infinite varieties of beer that can be created from four simple ingredients: malted grain, water, hops and yeast.

“That is what sets the J. Clyde apart,” Harris says. “The owners have encouraged the staff to learn about beer and breweries, so they can talk intelligently to customers.”

With the brew side established, the Hartleys have focused on improving J. Clyde’s menu with locally sourced and seasonal food designed to pair with beer. Pizzas, for example, are made with dough from Continental Bakery that contains spent grain from Good People brews.

The Hartleys say they want the J. Clyde to be known as a pub or a tavern, not as a bar. Quality food is central to that distinction, they say.

“Birmingham has a lot of great restaurants, but not many with connoisseur beers,” Susan Hartley says. “Our goal is to offer a great meal with an awesome beer selection.”

Details

The J. Clyde’s anniversary celebration, “Tapas and Taps,” showcases food and breweries:

April 8: Tapas featuring pork; Straight to Ale (Huntsville)

April 9: Beef appetizers; Cahaba Brewing (Birmingham)

April 10: Vegetarian tapas; Good People Brewing (Birmingham)

April 11: Alabama Gulf coast fish; Avondale Brewing (Birmingham) and Fairhope Brewing (Fairhope)

April 12: Duck, chicken, turkey and emu with beers from several out-of-state breweries

April 13: Beer dinner featuring Birmingham’s newest brewery, Trim Tab

The J. Clyde

1312 Cobb Lane, Five Points South

Hours: Mon., 2 p.m.-midnight; Tues.-Sat., 2 p.m.-2 a.m.

205-939-1312