MADISON, Alabama - When Todd and Dawn Seaton lost their government contracting jobs at the same time a few years ago, the Huntsville couple turned what could have been a tragedy into a thriving business opportunity.

Old Black Bear is turning to cans for packaging of its Cave City Lager. (Courtesy photo)

Old Black Bear Brewing, which launched nearly four years ago as a contract brewery with Back Forty Beer in Gadsden, was originally a "fall back to the government contracting world." Although the Seatons would eventually return to jobs on Redstone Arsenal, the couple wanted something more concrete, and the craft beer market seemed viable at the time.

Since then, craft beer has exploded in Alabama and across the U.S. The Alabama Brewers Guild reported in April that statewide beer production grew 47 percent last year, and the number of taxable removal barrels (the amount of beer sold and taxed) was 28,373 in 2013, up 47 percent from 2012.

"It's a tough market, a tough business to be in, but we're so far into it now, we're not going back," said Todd Seaton, a software engineer.

[Related: Old Black Bear switching from bottles to cans, preparing to open downtown Madison brewery featuring taproom, food]

First brick-and-mortar spot

OBB is in the process of opening its first brick-and-mortar location with a brewery, taproom and restaurant on 212 Main St. in Madison. The 7,500-square-foot, $750,000 expansion, which includes the former Western Auto building and Bandito Burrito site, is slated for completion in March and will employ 12-15 workers.

Bandito Burrito, open in downtown Madison since August 2000, announced its decision to close in a Facebook post late last week. Seaton said Bandito had wanted to hand over the restaurant and bar for a while.

"We've enjoyed our time in the restaurant business in downtown and we're excited and enthusiastic about the changes that Old Black Bear and the city's renovations to and plans for downtown will bring," Bandito said in a statement.

The 3,000-square-foot brewery will operate in the Western Auto building and produce about 10,000 barrels of craft beer per year. The facility won't be open for tours, but will feature a small upfront landing space so beer lovers can check out the brewing process.

Chef Scott Altice, formerly of Grille 29 and Westin Huntsville, is developing a menu and will help run the restaurant and bar where Bandito is today. The space, which will begin renovations after Bandito closes Dec. 31, will serve lunch and dinner, seat about 150 customers, and offer a choice of eight OBB beers to start.

'Going to be huge'

Seaton, a former home brewer, said OBB is talking with a couple of restaurant owners about developing sites in downtown Madison, while the city is working on opening an Arts & Entertainment District.

"I think from the excitement around here that it's going to be huge," he said. "From the city's standpoint, they've always had a plan to develop downtown and grow it. That was definitely one of the driving factors for us to come down here and be the anchor part of that and make downtown Madison bigger than it is."

Building owners and brothers Larry and Walt Anderson have wanted to open a brewery at the site for a while, but Seaton said they could never get the right investors involved. A "Brewery coming soon" sign sat at the site for years, so OBB is finally building that prophecy for them, Seaton said.

Less than three miles away, Rocket Republic Brewing Company is in the process of opening a 9,400-square-foot production facility and taproom on 289 Production Ave. Co-owner Eric Crigger and Seaton have grown close in recent months as they "commiserate" over their buildouts.

Craft beer boom

"I certainly wish OBB well," Crigger said. "It's my hope that we can create Madison as a destination for craft beer fans. OBB's success helps craft beer and other breweries such as ours."

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

OBB, which is expanding its product line in south Alabama and Auburn, plans to stay small for a while. Although the craft beer boom has sparked more competition between breweries, Seaton said the area's tourism industry depends on them.

"If you look at the long-term goals and what tourism in this town could do, they need breweries around here," he said. "That's why taprooms are so important because they sustain and allow these smaller breweries to stay open."