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Blue Pants Brewery recently received its distilling license. (Contributed)

MADISON, Alabama - If you're not a fan of craft beer or just like a little variety, Blue Pants Brewery will soon have an expanded drink menu to suit your tastes.

Blue Pants Brewery owner Mike Spratley draws a glass their Knickerbocker Red. (File)

The Madison brewery recently received its license to begin producing distilled spirits at its 10,000-square-foot converted cotton warehouse on Lanier Road behind Wal-Mart. Blue Pants, which plans to debut the new products Nov. 1 at the annual Pinstripe Fest, said it will be the first establishment in Alabama to make both distilled drinks and craft beer.



For owner Mike Spratley, the move was a natural transition for Blue Pants, formerly known as "Alabama's smallest brewery" before it settled into its current location more than two years ago.



"We've been interested in distilling a long time," he told AL.com Wednesday. "It's a similar passion and hobby to craft beer."

Starting small



In fact, Spratley said he wouldn't be surprised if other Huntsville-area brewers are also looking to add distilled spirits to their selections. Entrepreneur Magazine reported last November that there were more than 620 craft distilleries in the U.S. (up from 70 less than 10 years ago) and that number may rise to 750 by the end of this year.



Even Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment has been touched by the craze. IronSclad Solutions President Jeff Irons said in early September he plans to launch a 1,600-square-foot distillery at the Huntsville arts center in conjunction with Lowe Mill's massive north floor expansion.





Derek "Weedy" Weidenthal of Blue Pants Brewery. (Contributed photo)

With help from Blue Pants head brewer Derek "Weedy" Weidenthal, Spratley said they will start slowly to give themselves time to get feedback from the public and put out high-quality products, which will vary regularly.



"We're going to start small because we lack some of the experience that comes with time," he said. "Honestly, some of the spirits you produce can take a really long time to make, like some of the bourbons that are aged for seven years and there are some scotches that are 30 years old. We're going to work small and refine our craft."

Gearing up

Blue Pants, which filed the application for the distillery license more than six months ago, has acquired the needed equipment to produce the spirits. While Spratley would eventually like to add more employees to meet demand, he plans to stick with the 12 to 15 staff members he has now during the early launch of the distillery.

Spratley, a former aerospace engineer, said Weidenthal earned an advanced diploma in brewing technology at the Siebel Institute International Brewing Program in Chicago and is very "scientifically oriented." Later on, they will hire a dedicated distiller and maybe a mixologist for the taproom.



"We'd really like to have somebody like that on our staff," Spratley said. "It would be neat because then somebody who is interested in creating cocktails could actually be a part of the production of the liquor that goes into them."



Spratley said state laws prevent Blue Pants from selling distilled spirits outside of the brewery, but the drinks will be available in the taproom in the coming weeks. At the Pinstripe event in November, customers will have an opportunity to taste Blue Pants' new Limoncello and creme liquor offerings.



Pinstripe Fest, which celebrates the release of the brewery's Coffee Stout, is a heavy-drinking event that offers 10 different varieties of the stout, from bacon to mint and dry hopped. Click here for full details.

Blue Pants Brewery's inaugural Pinstripe Fest in 2012 featured this commemorative stemmed Belgian glass. (Contributed)

"The thing we are most excited about is working with Earth and Stone/Fire and Spice to do a post Pinstripe Fest Sunday brunch, complete with housemade vodka and Bloody Marys," Weidenthal said.

Lots of potential

Blue Pants currently has a beer production capacity of 7,000-8,000 barrels. Spratley said the distillery portion of the business could potentially take off because craft distilling and whiskey are so huge in the marketplace right now.



"We could theoretically do a lot of production in terms of distilled spirits because we have so much fermentation space," he said. "It's an added element of the business that could be as big as the actual brewery itself. It could even be bigger."

Last month, Australian research firm IBISWorld announced U.S. craft beer production is slated to grow 16.8 percent by the end of the year. The industry is expected to have "the most aggressive revenue growth of any alcoholic beverage" nationwide as craft beer production expands 7.4 percent annually through 2019.

In Alabama, the number of existing breweries nearly doubled last year and the number of planned breweries across the state jumped from seven to 12. The Alabama Brewers Guild said the number of taxable removal barrels (the amount of beer sold and taxed) was 28,373 in 2013, up 47 percent from 19,301 in 2012.

When the craft beer craze took off in Huntsville/Madison County, Spratley admits Blue Pants wasn't the first to set up shop, but the addition of a distillery gives "us something to stand out a little bit."

"Craft distilling I've always said is the next big thing after craft beer, and it already is out west," he said. "I think as much of an economic impact as you've seen breweries give to this area, if distilling continues, I think you'll see a similar boom."