Small Biz Spotlight Talking local business and good brews with Straight to Ale Brewery

Small Biz Spotlight: Talking local business and good brews with Straight to Ale Brewery

The Huntsville craft beer scene wouldn’t be what it is today without Straight to Ale brewery and the group of friends who started it.

As the second oldest craft brewery in Alabama, Straight to Ale’s origins are tied to Free the Hops, a grassroots lobbying organization that led the charge for changing Alabama’s beer laws.

“There was no craft market segment at all in Alabama until 2009,” explained Bruce Weddendorf, one of the founders of Straight to Ale. “Basically you couldn’t have beer with more than five percent alcohol in Alabama, and that effectively eliminated all the great craft beer that was being made everywhere in the United States from coming into Alabama.”

The law changed in 2009, and Straight to Ale was born.

“We wanted to do two things,” Weddendorf said. “We wanted to make the best beer possible right here in Huntsville, Alabama, and we wanted to make Huntsville a more fun place to live.

“We felt like making great beer would make Huntsville a better place to live.”

IMG 2339Today, Straight to Ale is one of the largest production breweries in the state and a popular entertainment space at Campus 805. But it came from humble beginnings in a small space in Lincoln Mill in 2009 and then a slightly larger space previously occupied by Old Town Brewing in 2011.

“Back then, any beer we made, the distributor would just take it and sell it because there was an infinite demand for craft beer at that time in Alabama,” recalled Weddendorf. “It was so new and people could finally have it. It was fantastic.”

Then when Alabama passed a tap room bill in 2011, Straight to Ale opened its first bar.

“We could sell beer directly to our customers, and that was a huge boon for us,” said Weddendorf, who recalled building the first bar in just two days.

“We went to Lowe’s and bought some countertops and some two-by-sixes. I dug a hole and I chiseled out the floor, and we ran the plumbing and did everything we needed to do. We got the health department to come down and approve us so we were able to have a taproom, and that was huge.”

The tap room opened up entertainment possibilities for Straight to Ale, including live music events. At one point they were voted best music venue in Huntsville!

At the same time, distribution was continuing to grow as well, and Straight to Ale needed a larger home.

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The owners were presented an opportunity to move into the old Stone Middle School (now Campus 805) and discovered the school’s gymnasium was a perfect space for the brewery, with high ceilings and plenty of room – 45,000 square feet to be exact – for efficient manufacturing and distribution.

The relocation turned Straight to Ale into an entertainment destination, significantly increasing manufacturing but also leading to the creation of Ale’s Kitchen and unique bar spaces like the Straight to Ale speakeasy.

“We wanted to set this up as a real landmark location for Huntsville, and I think we’ve achieved that,” Weddendorf said. “A lot of people tell me this is the No. 2 place that they take people from out of town, after the Space and Rocket Center. We’re very proud of this project and what it’s done. It’s been great from a beer brewing standpoint but also as an entertainment place where people can gather.” 

Straight to Ale and Campus 805 is certainly one of the most exciting entertainment spaces in the area, close to downtown and hosting all kinds of events and festivals. The summer concert series “805 after Five” is happening  the third Thursday of each month through October, on the Butler Green. They also recently added the Straight to Ale Lipz Lounge karaoke bar, blending craft cocktails with lively karaoke, Thursday through Saturday. 

As part of its growth, Straight to Ale pioneered canned craft beer. Cans are better for the environment – “truly recyclable” Weddendorf said – easier for the consumer to pack and transport to all the places they want to drink beer, and smarter for manufacturing and shipping. Cans take up 50 percent less space in shipping, which can result in significant savings when your business is shipping out two to three trucks a week, not to mention shipping costs to bring in empty containers.

But the real winner, Weddendorf said, is the beer itself. IMG 2340

“From the beer’s perspective, which is where we beer nerds like to think, the can protects the beer better than a bottle. It protects it from light. It protects it from oxygen better. They seal better, and they are completely opaque. There’s no light coming in.”

Known for innovative flavors like Monkeynaut and Chill Pils, the brewery continues to experiment with new drink flavors. They are triple licensed as a brewery, distillery and winery, which allows them to produce and serve all different kinds of alcohol. They make their own spirits under the brand Shelta Cavern Spirits, including gin, vodka, rum, and even whiskey.

Weddendorf said he never imagined Straight to Ale would grow into all that it is today, but he’s very proud that it did. 

“We were focused on just trying to make some great beer and do what we could to make Huntsville more fun. We were very much open to possibilities, and it’s a good thing because this has not gone how I planned in any way at all, but it’s been way better.”

Straight to Ale at 2610 Clinton Avenue, is open Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Patrons can go behind the scenes on a free guided tour of the brewery every Saturday at 3 p.m.