OTBC Blog
by Don Alan Hankins
Founder/Brewmaster
April 17, 2008

Ladies and Gentlemen… I would like to make an announcement… we have walls and a roof!! As you can see by the pictures, we are at a stage of construction where major progress is being made everyday. There are days when I pull into the lot and almost tear up when I see the new brewery rising up out of what only two months ago was a muddy field. I have begun to make orders for malt, hops, fittings, new kegs and other equipment that we will need to re-open (which, after such a long, hard road, is such a surreal thing to do).

Quick update on Gourmet Beer Bill 196, which passed the House 48 to 42 -- I am sorry to say that the Bill is stuck in the Senate due to a political filibuster. I am told that this happens all of the time, but our bill is grouped in with a backlog of bills that have yet to be voted on. So my challenge is this, please pick up the phone, call your Senator and ask them to report to work and do the job in which you are paying them to do!! Get regular updates at Free the Hops.

Many things are in the works for the grand re-opening: an open house at the brewery, a special Olde Towne weekend with beer specials everywhere is in the works, and a day long grand re-opening party, complete with food, music, and plenty of fresh Olde Towne beer at Lowe Mill. I will keep you updated.

A home-brewer friend of mine, who recently had a meeting at his house, received a polite calling card from the ABC Board recently. Kudos to the ABC board for doing their job (technically, home-brewing of any kind is illegal in this state) but this is another asinine law in Alabama that must be changed. Call your legislators and show support for the Home-Brewing Bill. And dude, if they come to get you, I will bake you a loaf of bread with my spent grains and put a file in it!

Thanks for reading everyone… we are so very close… I can almost taste it!!

Cheers!!

OTBC Blog
by Don Alan Hankins
Founder/Brewmaster
March 19, 2008

I want to begin this by informing everyone of my latest title that I believe I have truly earned over the last couple of months… amateur meteorologist! I can spot a cold front coming from states away, and the effect it will have when it meets that warm, moist Gulf air. Even worse are those storms from way up in Canada that find their way down here.

As you can probably guess by now, I have been watching it rain for what, like the past 2 months. I mean, come on, it hasn’t rained in forever, but now, all of a sudden, it is raining every other day.

However, I do have good news. This past weeks' beautiful weather has allowed us to begin to make good progress at the site, and things should start moving pretty quickly soon. The opening date is still scheduled for June -- so keep your fingers crossed.

Beer enthusiasts rejoice! House Bill 196, The Gourmet Beer Bill, which will raise the alcohol limit of beer from the current 6.0% to 13.9%, passed the Alabama State House of Representatives on March 4, 2008, by a vote of 48 to 42. Go to www.freethehops.org for a lot more info on this bill and what it means to Alabama. We are one step closer to enjoying some of the finest beers in the world, most of which are currently illegal in Alabama. Next stop, the Alabama State Senate.

As a brewer, it will give Olde Towne Brewing Company the opportunity to brew styles of beer that are currently forbidden. The handcuffs are coming off, and I am looking forward to the new beers I will be able to create. And to any Representative from North Alabama that may be reading this and who looked me in the eye and told me that you would vote "Yes” or abstain, but instead voted “No.” Shame on you! You must live with your own hypocrisy.

I have so many things to talk about, especially now that construction is really starting to move. I promise to post more often. We have a change in the Olde Towne Beer line-up, a lot of state-wide beer news, plans for grand-opening parties at the new brewery and all over town, and a brewery to build.

Again, I want to thank all of you who continue to send me words of encouragement and well wishes. Your acts of kindness towards me and the brewery will never be forgotten.

Cheers!

OTBC Blog
by Don Alan Hankins
Founder/Brewmaster
January 16, 2008

It has been a long, and sometimes frustrating, road from the morning of July 5, 2007, until today. I never thought I could be so happy to see a front loader and dump truck as I was this morning. Milton and I turned onto the street that leads to our site, and there it was — a front loader moving dirt and preparing the foundation for the new Olde Towne Brewing Company. HOORAY!!! The rebuilding has begun.

I will use this blog over the next few months to keep you up-to-date on our progress. We think it will also be kind of cool to supply you with up-to-date photographs of the site.

I want to close by saying how blessed and lucky I am to have my business in the Huntsville/Madison County community. The outpouring of encouragement and well wishes from the community has been overwhelming, and I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart. What a great day it will be in May/June when we can get together at our grand opening party and knock back a few cold Olde Townes ....... ON US!!