For the Love of Beer is our monthly guide to Madison County’s brewery scene. Missed the July Edition? Check it out here.

Below the Radar Brewhouse

Website | Facebook

Location: 220 Holmes Ave. N.E., Huntsville, AL

Tap Room Hours: (BTR is a full restaurant) Monday – Wednesday: 11am-10pm

Thursday: 11am-11pm

Friday-Saturday: 11am-2am

Sunday: 10am-10pm

Phone Number: 256-469-6617

Number of Taps: 32

August Events at Below the Radar:

Sweetwater Massive Tap Takeover and Curtisfest 2014

Wednesday, August 20

This event will feature live music, over 16 Sweetwater taps (some very rare and never before in AL), plus rare koozie, hat, and bandanna giveaways. Rare Sweetwater/BTR t-shirts will be sold, with proceeds benefiting the Curtis McArthur foundation,

Boulevard Flight Night

Tuesday, August 26

Join Below the Radar as they pop open over 10 different smokestack series bimbers from Boulevard Brewing Company. Lee Dickson will be in attendance from Boulevard with lots of swag to give away. Special flight rates will be available on all Boulevard beers.

Below the Radar’s 2nd Birthday Bash!!

Saturday, August 30

Help BTR celebrate with live music, special rare and one off beers from all around the world. door prizes, drink specials, and more!

What’s New at Below the Radar? For those of you that have been wondering when Below the Radar will begin brewing on site, the time is almost upon us! They have recently acquired the last remaining equipment needed for one site brewing!

Look for an update on the status of brewery operations in my September post.

Blue Pants Brewery

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Location: 500 Lanier Road, Bldg. 1, Ste. A; Madison, AL

Tap Room Hours: Monday -Wednesday: 3-10pm

Thursday -Saturday: 3pm-12am

Sunday: Closed

Phone Number: 256-325-1131

Number of Taps: 10 taps rotating through their various brews.

August Events at Blue Pants Brewery:

We Care Wednesdays

Every Wednesday, during regular taproom hours, Blue Pants partners with different local non-profit organizations to help them raise funds. They donate $1.00 from every pint purchased that day. The Neon Lilly food truck serves food and also donates $1.00 from each meal purchased. Check social media to see which non-profit is benefitting.

Patio Brew

Sunday, August 3 @ 12pm

Admission Price: $8 per person, tickets available at the taproom



Come join Blue Pants for an interactive brewing experience on their patio! This will be a chance for you to be a part of the brewing process, ask questions, learn from the brewers, and enjoy a one-of-a-kind experience at Blue Pants.

Plus – only those who attend this event will get to drink the beer when it’s ready. Your admission ticket for the Patio Brew event is redeemable at the taproom for a pint of the beer.

Sausage Fest

Saturday, August 23 – All day event (People’s Choice portion begins at 4pm)

People’s Choice Tickets = $15 per person (includes 5 voting tickets, 2 beers, and unlimited food samples)

People’s Choice Designated Driver Ticket = $5 per person (includes 5 voting tickets and unlimited samples), *Limited spots available to sign up as a cook team or a judge – please send requests to events@bluepantsbrew.com.

Sausage Fest is the 1st annual Blue Pants sausage cooking competition event! There’s something for everyone to enjoy at this inaugural event – Sausage cooking competition, People’s Choice voting, craft beer, live music, a sausage eating competition, and more!

Old Black Bear Brewing Company

Website | Facebook

Taproom: While Old Black Bear does not yet have a taproom, they are in the process of building one in Downtown Historic Madison on Maine Street. It will be located next to Bandito Burrito. They plan to be open by the end of 2014, and their hours will be 11am-10pm Monday-Saturday.

August Events featuring Old Black Bear:

VBC Craft Beer Garden

August 15

Cost: FREE

In combination with Downtown Huntsville, Inc’s Street Food Gathering, the VBC has a local beer garden offering all of your favorite craft beers. OBB will have the Cave City Lager and Speckled Trout American Wheat on tap.

What’s New from Old Black Bear? Old Black Bear is happy to announce that their Speckled Trout American Wheat, one of their seasonal best sellers, will now be available year round! Speckled Trout boasts a delicate honey flavor with just the right hint of lemon zest. This is the perfect beer to drink on those hot Alabama days. Speckled Trout is on tap at Drakes, Mellow Mushroom, and Brickhouse Sports Café.

You can also now find OBB at The Office and Breakroom (in downtown Huntsville, both Sam and Greg’s Pizzaria locations, and Logan’s Roadhouse!

Rocket Republic Brewing Company

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Rocket Republic is working hard on their own brewing/taproom space! They have secured a lease on a 9400 sq ft facility in Madison, and buildout has commenced for the production space, tap room and outdoor biergarten! It will be located at 289 Production Avenue in Madison, AL (near the big FedEx shipping center) and they hope to have it operating by the end of 2014.

Once this is up and running, they will have a taproom operating each afternoon!

Salty Nut Brewery

Website | Facebook | Twitter

Location: 4411 Evangel Circle Ste. A, Huntsville, AL

Tap Room Hours: Thursday – Friday: 5 – 9pm

Saturday: 3 – 8pm

As the smallest brewery in the state, Salty Nut provides a nice, low key, laid back atmosphere. With TV’s, couches, and plenty of seating. They have 6-8 taps of their brews, depending on the event.

What’s New from Salty Nut?

Ecru Sale Saison, 7.0% ABV, a partial sour mash saison, brewed with Lemon Peel and Grains of Paradise.

WTF IPA, 8.0% ABV, an experimental IPA with some randomly chosen hops.

Both of these beers will be available only in the Salty Nut taproom, around the 8th of August, until they run out.

You can also enjoy various Salty Nut beers at Back Alley Bistro and The Brick Deli in Decatur, Sam & Greg’s in Madison, Anaheim Chili in Jones Valley, and Mellow Mushroom in Providence and Jones Valley.

Want to enjoy Salty Nut beers at home? You can now pick up a bomber at Wish You Were Beer or Liquor Express!

Straight to Ale

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Location: 3200 Leeman Ferry Road, Huntsville, AL

Taproom Hours: Everyday, 3 – 10pm

Phone Number: 256-489-0820

Straight to Ale’s taproom pours out of 10 taps and has food trucks on site most nights.

The outdoor biergarten is open each day for your enjoyment and will play host to many events this summer and fall. The Biergarten even includes 2 disc golf baskets to entertain our disc golf fans while they sip on their favorite Straight to Ale brew.

Straight to Ale offers tours of their brewery each Saturday at 2pm. To sign up for a tour, visit their website. The Taproom will be closed for a trade show on August 9th, and there will be no tour!

August Events at Straight to Ale:

Live Music by Bret Mosley and Mike Kilpatrick (Huntsville’s drummer extraordinaire)

Friday, August 1, 8-10:30pm

Dobro-spanking yeller of poems…deep roots…handmade tribal funk/soul

Cost: $8

Food Truck: Rollin’ Lobstah

A Night Out with the Chef’s

(Huntsville/Madison County Convention and Visitor’s Bureau Kickoff to Huntsville Restaurant Week)

Thursday, August 14, 7-9pm

Southern Plate’s Christy Jordan will be hosting an evening of cooking demonstrations and tastings with some of Huntsville’s most sought-after chefs. Attendees will receive a sample portion of each demonstrated meal, paired with a Straight to Ale brew.

Tickets: $25 (available online or at the CVB) – all proceeds benefit Deep Roots.

Doctor Who Premiere Party

Saturday, August 23, 6pm (Premiere starts at 7pm)

Grab your sonic screwdriver, hop in your TARDIS, and join Straight to Ale as we get to know the 12th Doctor at a screening of the Doctor Who Season 8 premiere!

We’ll be playing the premiere on the big brewery screen starting at 7pm (complete with popcorn, of course), and we’ll have a costume contest, plenty of photo-ops from throughout space and time, and more! Check the STA FB page for updates, you don’t want to miss this party!

What’s New from Straight to Ale?

International Space Saison Rum (8.25%ABV)

The ISS series, features Straight to Ale’s newly re-formulated Belgian farmhouse ale aged for six-plus months in various barrels. The rum version is sweet and boozy, with lots of rum, vanilla and oak. It can currently be found at your favorite craft beer stores in bombers, and on draft in very limited quantities. In September, look for ISS aged in Tequila and Chardonnay barrels!

Brother Joseph’s Belgian Dubbel (8%ABV) in cans!

Bro Jo in cans has been flying off the shelves! Haven’t beefn able to find it? Check Target, Liquor Express, Wish You Were Beer, or Beverage Depot.

The Brew Stooges

Facebook | LinkedIn

Location: 109 Maple Ave, Huntsville, AL

Taproom Hours: 5 to 9pm Thursday, Friday, & Saturday

Phone Number: 256-759-7457

The Brew Stooges brewery/taproom space opens into a quaint biergarten, making it an ideal location for a summer/fall event!

Find Brew Stooges at the Following Events:

Special Beer tapping (one of a kind Firkin) at Mellow Mushroom

Jones Valley, Thursday, August 14, 6pm

Providence, Thursday, August 21, 6pm

Brew Stooges will be tapping a special Firkin at each site, and I hear they got into the HOT peppers again….

Yellowhammer Brewing

Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Location: 2406 Clinton Ave West, Huntsville, AL

Taproom Hours: Friday 4:30-9, Saturday 2-9pm

The Yellowhammer taproom has 9 taps as well as a beautiful, shady Biergarten, providing a perfect hang out on hot summer afternoons. The biergarten has tons of seating and includes corn hole and “Viking Chess” a unique yard game, fun for all ages.

August Events at Yellowhammer Brewing:

Huntsville roots musician Jim Cavender returns to the Biergarten

Friday, August 1, 6pm

Food Truck: ON ON Tacos

Old School Rock n’ Roll

Saturday, August 9, 6pm

Live Music by Tony Purdue & the Devastators

Wood-fired pizzas by Earth & Stone.

Jazz Night

Saturday, August 16, 6pm

Jazz Cryptography in the biergarten

Food Truck: ON ON Tacos

What’s New at Yellowhammer? Yellowhammer’s Miracle Worker Tripel available this month in 22 ounce bombers, so pick one up at your favorite craft beer store (only 60 cases available so don’t miss out!). They will also begin preparing six-packs of Rebellion red lager, tentatively being released around Labor Day. This is very exciting news because it will be the first time Yellowhammer is available in 12 ounce bottles, their first six packs, and the first time Rebellion has ever been bottled!

Our Valley Events Beer Guide can be found here.

All eight Madison County breweries were contacted, so a lack of information indicates a lack of response and not a bias on the part of the blogger or Our Valley Events. To ensure your brewery’s inclusion in next month’s blog, email leslie@straighttoale.com.