BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Alabama's brewing industry has doubled in size in each of the last three years and is on pace to double in size again this year, according to a report by an industry trade group.

The market analysis by the Alabama Brewers Guild found that brewers paid taxes on 19,301 barrels of beer in 2012, up 118 percent from 2011. The study projects that brewers will produce 38,944 barrels this year. Ninety-four percent of the state's brewers participated in the study.

The explosive growth has followed the 2009 passage in the state legislature of the "gourmet beer bill," which made legal beers with higher alcohol content. That allowed brewers to make more popular craft and experimental beers, said Dan Roberts, executive director of the guild.

"Small breweries thrive by innovation," Roberts said in a prepared statement. "There are twelve breweries and brewpubs operating in Alabama right now. Ten of those businesses were created after the laws started changing in 2009."

The volume of beer made in Alabama is expected to double again this year. Source: Alabama Brewers Guild

The study also found that:

--Of the brewing licenses in Alabama, 62 percent are held by breweries, and 38 percent by brewpubs.

--Of the beer made in the state, 61 percent is sold in kegs or barrels, 23 percent in cans and 16 percent in bottles.

--Of Alabama-made beer, 89 percent is sold to distributors, and 11 percent is sold on-site.

--About 88 percent of the beer made in Alabama is sold in Alabama, while 12 percent is exported to other states.

--A total of 85 people work in the brewing industry in the state. That number is expected to reach 189 by the end of the year.