Straight to Ale kegs

Straight to Ale kegs. (Lucy Berry/lberry@al.com)

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Straight to Ale employees frequently vie for high score on the "Wizard of Oz," "Star Trek" and "Pirates of the Caribbean" themed pinball machines at that Huntsville brewery. On Saturday, they'll square off at something more directly related to the venture they work for: the first-ever Straight to Ale Employee Brew Off. It's part of an "Ales and Tails" event that also involves, among other things, a crawfish boil and gets started 12 p.m. at the brewery's 3200 Leeman Ferry Road location.

Around 15 STA employees are participating in the Brew Off. They include management, sales staff, packaging, brewers and taproom bartenders, head brewer Drew Stanford says. "Some of these employees had never brewed before so I got with them and brainstormed whatever ideas they had for beer and I just helped them accomplish that and taught them to brew along the way. Most of us had some recipes or some style we wanted to try. I just wanted a fun way for everyone to be able to brew something and have a little friendly competition included with it."

Styles entered in the Straight to Ale Employee Brew Off stouts, porters, pale ales, a few sours, wheat beer and Belgians. Even some prickly-pear, cucumber and peanut butter flavored and wood-aged beers.

Each competitor brewed about 10 gallon batches and some entered twice, so there will be about 17 different styles and a total of 170 gallons of beer at the event. The STA employees began working on their beers about two months ago.

A "people's choice" vote will determine the winner. Attendees drop tickets in corresponding glasses at each entry's draft station to vote for their favorite. In addition to bragging rights, the Brew Off champ will get their name engraved on a trophy made from an actual keg. The trophy will remain at STA, acquiring more engraved names over the years.

A $10 admission includes a crawfish (jambalaya is available for those who don't do crawfish), as well as a souvenir sample glass emblazoned with the crustacean-oriented "Ales and Tales" logo. Each four-ounce pour of Brew Off beers costs $1.

Huntsville food truck HotBox will be on-site, serving items such as Philly cheesesteaks and lamb sandwiches, Stanford said. A New Orleans style brass band called Coolbone - whose website says the group's toured with artists including Wyclef Jean, David Byrne and Ben Harper - will perform.

straighttoale.com