Salty Nut Brewery logo CROPPED.jpg

(Contributed photo)

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama – Named after world champion Benjamin Juergens' award-winning facial hair, a local beer called Imperial Moustache Red debuted in Huntsville this week, kicking off the beginning of a new chapter for its creators Salty Nut Brewery.



Salty Nut Brewery shipped out barrels of its Imperial Moustache Red on Monday. (Contributed photo)

With a rich malty taste and toasty essence on the back end, the Imperial Moustache Red is a smooth beer with just a hint of hoppy aroma. The complex, seven-grain alcohol isn't overbearing or weak – it's "right in the middle," according to the nanobrewery's website.

The Huntsville brewers released their new craft beer on Wednesday night at The Nook, and plan to have additional tasting events tonight from 5-7 p.m. at Liquor Express on 1802 University Drive and from 6-8 p.m. Friday at The Stem & Stein on 10871 County Line Road, Suite B, in Madison.

Salty Nut Brewery, located at 4411 Evangel Circle, is the smallest and newest brewery to open in Madison County. The Huntsville area, which has recently experienced a beer-brewing boom, has the highest per-capita volume of breweries than any other county in the state.

Salty Nut founders Brent Cole, Daniel Yant and Mark Ivie recently launched the business in a 2,500-square-foot brew space near UAHuntsville. Cole, also an engineer at NASA, told AL.com and The Huntsville Times last month that he and his business partners have invested at least $50,000 so far in the brewery.

"Our brewery is fully functional," said Cole, president and brewmaster of Salty Nut. "Everything's going good. It's getting hectic, but that's OK because that's what I was expecting. We're the newest brewery in town, definitely the smallest brewery, and we're here to sell some beer, so if you like craft beer, there's no reason you can't come by and shoot the bull with us."

Cole said Salty Nut will unveil a new beer each month until the brewery introduces its seasonal blends later this year. In July, craft beer connoisseurs will have an opportunity to taste the brewery's HopNaughty Imperial Pale Ale, a hoppy but smooth beer with a beautiful color, citrus undertones and 7.6 percent alcohol content.

In February, the Alabama Brewers Guild reported triple-digit brewery production growth in 2012 across the state for the third consecutive year. Salty Nut isn't the only up-and-coming beer enterprise in Madison County. Wish You Were Beer, the first-craft only beer store in north Alabama, is set to open in the coming weeks at 7407 U.S. 72 in Madison.



Rocket Republic Brewing and Huntsville Brewery will also launch this summer, joining already established local breweries Straight to Ale, Blue Pants, Yellowhammer Brewing, Brew Stooges, Below the Radar and Old Black Bear Brewing Company.

Beer production statewide grew 118 percent to 19,301 taxable barrels of beer from 8,846 barrels in 2011. The Alabama Brewers Guild estimates more than 38,000 barrels of beer will be produced this year, up 102 percent from last year.

Salty Nut Brewery has joined AlaBev's team of Alabama craft beer brewers. AlaBev, one of the top craft-beer distributors statewide, dispenses products from Auburn to Florence and handles local breweries, including Straight to Ale and Blue Pants.

AlaBev spokeswoman Alicia Rohan said Salty Nut's beers will be available in the Huntsville and Birmingham markets and distributed in limited quantities.

"We are excited to add Salty Nut Brewery to our business and continuing to satisfy the beer lovers we serve across Alabama," states Harry Kampakis, owner of AlaBev. "Our local beer community is experiencing tremendous growth. With the legislation that has been passed over the last few years, we are seeing breweries like Salty Nut enter the market and provide a wide variety of locally brewed beer."

Lucy Berry can be reached at lberry@al.com.