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Old Town Beer Exchange. (Courtesy photo)

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Old Town Beer Exchange only holds about 50 people. OTBX, as the business is often referred to locally, also fits 32 taps and at least 485 bottled and canned brews into its 1,600-square-foot downtown Huntsville space.

Today, OTBX was announced as the Alabama selection for CraftBeer.com's Best Beer Bars in America list. More than 7,000 people responded to the website's survey, between November and December. Readers nominated bars and completed a survey about what separates that craft-beer bar from the herd, with variables including beer selection, atmosphere, staff and special events.

"This is truly an honor and we owe it all to our amazing customers," says OTBX general manager Chase Shelton.

OTBX opened in spring 2015 at 301 Holmes Ave. N.E. near the old Huntsville Times building. The business has cultivated dedicated regulars during that time, a clientele ranging from young professionals and tattooed 20-somethings to local business owners and even a few gray-haired grandparents. And nobody feels out of place. Shelton fells the Best Beer Bars in America recognition can help grow their numbers."On a daily basis, I'll have people walk in here and say, 'Oh this is a cool place. I've never been here before.' Oh, where do you live? 'I live in South Huntsville.'" And then there's the out-of-towner impact: travelling craft-beer aficionados using the CraftBeer.com list as a sudsy treasure map of sorts.

For a place relatively new, OTBX already exudes a warm, pleasantly worn-in vibe. The bar here was built from bricks from the old downtown Huntsville Coca-Cola plant and some 180-year-old barn-wood. Modern-day touches are also part of the aesthetic. According to a press release, OTBX was the first Alabama bar to utilize DigitalPour menu boards, which electronically reflect how much beer is left in each keg, and also the first Alabama bar to boast a machine facilitating 32-ounce canned growlers, or Crowlers.

The OTBX team includes, from left: Matt Fowler, Derek Simpson, Bill Fowler, Chase Shelton, Sierra Aldridge, Don Alan Hankins and Justin Wenz. (Courtesy photo)

Shelton says the Birmingham-made Good People Snake Handler Double IPA is OTBX's biggest selling beer on draft. The most kegs they've blown in a day is 17 - "just like on regular Friday when we were slammed," Shelton says. The business also sells wine. In terms of canned and bottled beer, which is organized on shelves geographically, sold to-go, the store moves a lot of local Huntsville and German makes.

OTBX ownership includes brothers Matt Fowler and Bill Fowler, Derek Simpson and Don Alan Hankins. In addition to Shelton, there are two full-time employees and four part-time employees.

Other regional selections in CraftBeer.com's Best Beer Bars in America list include Atlanta's Porter Beer Bar, Nashville's Blackstone Brewing and Hattiesburg, Miss.'s Keg and Barrel.

Events at OTBX have included OTBX Funk Fest, which featured more than 48 sour beers and a musical performance from the Muscle Shoals Revue, featuring members of the legendary Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section. The business also hosts recurring "bikes and brews" cycling events, pop-up dinner series and a vinyl records night.

There's also a $4 draft pours Tuesday special at Old Town Beer Exchange, which for the next few weeks is probably going to feel a little extra celebratory.