Good morning, beer lovers! We have a lot going on, as usual … hence the delay in posting news and updates. Ironic, isn’t it? The next two weeks or so are going to be a little crazy, so here’s a handy guide for keeping up with STA!

This week, we will be saying goodbye to two of our wonderful bartenders at the taproom, Damon and Fico. Tuesday, May 7, will be Damon’s last day as he is leaving to complete the final touches on his new entrepreneurial venture, a craft-only beer store in Madison called Wish You Were Beer! Fico will also be moving on, with his last day being Thursday, May 9. He won’t tell us why … he just mutters something about “that damned gypsy woman’s prophecy” and “why do I have to be the Chosen One?” and stalks off in disgust. So come out and wish them luck and tip big! I am sure you will miss these guys as much as we will, so let them know.

Wednesday, May 8, we will be hosting local musicians Three Kings, an acoustic act made up of members of The Whiskey River Kings, so come check them out.

Friday and Saturday, May 10-11, are going to be BIG for us as Rocket City Brewfest will blast off at the Huntsville Depot for the fifth time. Tickets and info are available at www.rocketcitybrewfest.com and facebook.com/rocketcitybrewfest, so get on over and snag some passes to come enjoy STA and other great local beers this weekend!

Sunday, the taproom will be closed so that our staff and friends can enjoy Mother’s Day with their favorite mothers and such.

American Craft Beer Week starts Monday, May 13, and runs through Sunday, May 19, so we have planned a variety of events in Huntsville and other major cities to help celebrate!

Monday, May 13, we will be doing a special release at The Nook in Huntsville of our new Belgian Witbier, What’s Wrong Wit. We’ll be there alongside fellow Huntsville brewers Old Black Bear, who will be releasing something special as well. The party starts at 5 PM!

Tuesday, May 14, we will be featured at our first Commerce Kitchen beer dinner! Here’s a look at the menu, which sounds absolutely delicious. Call Commerce Kitchen at 256-382-6622 ASAP to make a reservation as these things sell out quickly!

Wednesday, May 15, we have events in Birmingham and Montgomery: The Thunda’ From Up Yunda’ Night (Huntsville Breweries Tap Takeover) from 5 Pm until 10 PM at J. Clyde in Birmingham; and a tap takeover at Leroy Lounge in Montgomery from 6 PM until 10 PM.

Thursday night, May 16, we have a Hop Head event at Mellow Mushroom in The Village of Providence in Huntsville, which will feature a special dry-hopped Monkeynaut pin as well as Monkeynaut and Gorillanaut on tap from 5:30 PM – 9:30 PM!

Friday night, May 17, we will be hosting Amy McCarley and the Kenny Vaughan Trio at the brewery for some fine tunage at 8 PM.

Saturday, May 18, we will be featured at the River Bend Brewfest from 2 PM until 5 PM in Montgomery, AL, and will also be hosting Mandolin Orange at the taproom at 8 PM.

Sunday, May 19, we will be featured at a Summer Beer Event at Mellow Mushroom Huntsville South, with a lineup including He Ain’t Heffe, Stop Work 689 Kolsch and our Saison du Roquette “Randall-ized” with some tasty goodness!

And that’s it for American Craft Beer Week, but we will be finishing off the month with a few more awesome events:

Wednesday, May 22, we will be featured at a beer dinner with our friend Chef Leo Maurelli at Central in Montgomery! Call 334.517.1155 for reservations while seats last!

Tuesday, May 28, we will be doing a tap takeover at The Tipping Point in Montgomery!

And, finishing off one of the busiest months EVER, we will be at the Magic City Brewfest in Birmingham on May 31-June 1!

So, whew. Mark your calendars, guys, and come out and support STA and local beer this month! We look forward to seeing you out and about!

Fans of STA in Tennessee, it’s time for Nashville Craft Beer Week! We will be at a variety of events beginning tomorrow and culminating in the East Nashville Beer Festival on Saturday! Here’s our schedule:

Tuesday, March 19
3 PM – 5:30 PM: High gravity tasting at Craft Brewed Nashville
6:30 PM – 9:30 PM: STA Beer Dinner at Cafe Fundamental
Wednesday, March 20
6 PM – 9 PM: STA Beer Dinner at Fido
Thursday, March 21
5 PM – 6:30 PM: STA tasting at Woodland Wine Merchant
Friday, March 22
3 PM – 5 PM: STA tasting at Red Dog Wine and Spirits
Saturday, March 23
Noon – 5 PM – East Nashville Beer Festival
1:30 PM – Meet the STA Team at the Beer Education tent at East Nashville Beer Fest

So, come out and join us for some of these events and check out the rest of what Nashville Craft Beer Week has to offer!

Friday night, March 22, we also have a tasting at The Wine Seller in Florence, AL, so if you are in that area, look us up! The event starts at 5 PM.

The following week, we have some exciting events in our hometown of Huntsville, beginning with a Tap Takeover at Barrel House downtown at 6 PM Tuesday night, March 26!

The next night, we have a Pint Night and Six Tap Takeover at Drake’s Huntsville beginning at 6 PM. The first 48 folks to buy an STA pint that night are going home with a logo glass!

Thursday night, March 28, we have a tasting of our packaged beers at Star Market on Bailey Cove from 5 PM to 7 PM.

And finally, we’ll be ending the month with a huge BANG as we’ll host the very first Right To Brewfest at Straight To Ale starting at 2 PM! We’ve invited a ton of local homebrewers to come and brew their beers legally at STA so that people can see (and taste) firsthand why the state’s prohibition on home brewing beer should end!

So, cheers, folks! Hope to see you at one or more of our upcoming events this month!

Follow us to the brewery after the 36th Annual Huntsville St. Patrick’s Day Parade for a full day of Irish fun! We’ll have Irish music all day, featuring local bands Black Market Haggis (2 till 4), Slipjig (5 till 7), and Bourbon And Shamrocks (8 till 10). Irish food (Food Fighters Bustaurant and Anaheim Chili) and Irish dancers as well. And of course the release of our traditional Irish Red Ale – Rocket City Red!

Alright, Mobile folks (Mobilians? Mobilites? Mobiliati?) … this is it. Straight To Ale is hitting town THIS WEEK with events at local fine craft beer destinations (almost) Every … Single … Day! And sometimes twice per day! Join Dan, Steven and Rich (or at least one of them) for some awesome beers and halfway intelligent conversation (mostly) at any or all of the following locations:

Tuesday March 5:
LoDa BierGarten – Pint Night w/ Firkin
Alchemy Tavern – Tap Takeover w/ Firkin
Wednesday March 6:
The Bar – Pint Night
Thursday March 7:
Mellow Mushroom Malbis – Pint Night
Friday March 8:
Cottage Hill Package Store Beer & Cheese Pairing
Haberdasher – Pint Night w/ Firkin
Saturday March 9:
Draft Picks – Pint Night

Wow. What a crazy (but awesome) month! We’ve got some more events for you in the next two weeks!

Thursday, Feb. 21 – STA Tasting at Star Market in Huntsville’s 5 Points!
Friday, Feb. 22 – STA Tasting at Vintage Wine & Cigars at Bridge Street in Huntsville!

Friday, Feb. 23 – STA Tasting at Riverside Wine & Spirits in Chattanooga AND an STA Tap Takeover at Hop City in Birmingham!

Wednesday, Feb. 27 – Tap Takeover at Broken Clock Gastropub in Huntsville!

Thursday, Feb. 28 – STA Tasting at BrewHaus Gastropub in Chattanooga!

BOOM. Take that. And the first week in March? We’re rolling out in Mobile, AL, with multiple events every day and night! More info on that soon!

Hey, guys! Here’s a little of what we have going on this month:

We will have two beers coming out this month … our slightly delayed release of Hellfire Belgian Strong Dark and our re-release of Vern’s Wheat Wine Ale!

Both beers are part of our Right To Brew series, in which we partner with local homebrewers to upscale their recipes and bring some attention to the fact that homebrewing is STILL illegal in Alabama. (Many of us in the craft beer world are hoping that this year’s legislative session will change that.) Hellfire is a big, rich, strong dark ale in the Abbey tradition. Malt-forward with lots of dark fruit notes and a candy-like nose, it weighs in at a hefty 10% ABV. Look for that to drop in 22 oz. bombers and draft formats on or around Feb. 15! We have a release party scheduled for the night of the 15th, so come join us if you can!

Right on its heels, we’ll have our second release of Vern’s Wheat Wine Ale. If you haven’t had it yet and are unfamiliar with the style, Vern’s is a wheat wine … basically a barleywine made with a high percentage of wheat. It’s potent and sweet with lots of earthy spiciness and a smooth, soft mouthfeel. A fantastic beer, and an awfully big one at 11% ABV!

Also at the brewery in February, we’ll be hosting the third Folk Mission Concert with special guest Jennifer Daniels on Feb. 9th. This concert series is absolutely fantastic, as it brings some of the most amazing performers in the singer/songwriter genre to Huntsville in an intimate, smoke-free, early-evening setting. And, naturally, the beer is fantastic, too. Learn more at folkmission.org.

We’ve got lots of beer out there in the market right now, folks, so if you haven’t picked up any of our bombers like Unobtanium, Laika Russian Imperial Stout, Intimidator Doppelbock, now is the time as they are going fast. Also be on the lookout for the Liberation Series, which we did along with fellow local brewers Blue Pants and Yellowhammer. STA’s Liberation English Barleywine, Blue Pants’ Liberation Wee Heavy Scotch Ale, Yellowhammer’s Liberation Belgian Quadrupel and the collaborative Liberation Smoked Doppelbock are on the shelves of fine retailers all over north and central Alabama, so grab one or two of each. Bombers make great Valentine’s Day gifts for your favorite craft beer lover. Just sayin’.

We have a new food truck partner! Food Fighters Bustaurant has now joined No Brakes Bistro in serving up grilled tastiness at the brewery, so be sure to like them both on Facebook and STA as well to keep up with their schedules.

Straight To Ale will be wrapping up 2012 in style with a series of events and special releases that need to be on your social calendar ASAP!

Event-wise, Straight To Ale will be hosting a release party this Friday night, Dec. 14, 2012, at the brewery for Unobtanium! One of our most anticipated and sought-after beers, Unobtanium is our 11.5% ABV whiskey-barrel-aged English Old Ale, and due to a six-month aging process, we are only able to release it once per year. So, come help us celebrate this most awesome pre-Christmas gift to the craft beer world! And next week, Unobtanium hits the shelves in 22-oz. bombers! Perfect for aging and gifting! Music will be provided by Alex and Drew of .45 Surprise from 7 PM-10 PM and food by the mobile gourmets No Brakes Bistro! The event starts at 6 PM! Join the event on Facebook!

STA will also be hosting an End of the World Party on Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, at 6 PM! Music will be provided by members of Seducing Alice, and No Brakes Bistro will be serving up some special treats! Find out more info and join the event on Facebook.

In addition to the aforementioned bomber release of Unobtanium the week after the 14th, we now have 22 oz. bombers of Laika Russian Imperial Stout, Intimidator Dopplebock, and Liberation Barleywine! They are available wherever fine craft beers are sold. Lily Flagg Milk Stout will also be debuting in cans this month as well!

Tonight is the night! Order tickets online to save $5 per ticket for tonight’s “listening room” concert with folk-blues troubadour Jack Williams. Here are all the details: http://bit.ly/WfDHGo

Nov. 17, 2012: An Evening with Jack Williams

Troubadour Jack Williams performs in Huntsville at Straight to Ale on Nov. 17.

The new Folk Mission concert series is a smoke-free “listening room” with great music and great beer. More info at folkmission.org.

It’s been an ongoing struggle for taproom patrons. Do I leave early to grab a meal, or do I eat a meal before I go and get there later? Thankfully, since Sept. 12, it’s less of a problem, as Straight To Ale has partnered with a talented bunch of culinary geniuses … the toque-bedecked minds behind No Brakes Bistro, Huntsville’s premier gourmet food truck!

Serving elevated pub grub such as the Hamburghini and the Pork on Pork Action, fresh cut fries, beer battered blooming onions, hot wings with in-house created sauces and other fine gastronomic creations, No Brakes pulls up to the taproom garage doors two to three nights per week.  Owned and staffed by David Stanley and Bodie Boedvarsson, No Brakes and their fresh gastropub fare has been a huge hit with taproom patrons, as evidenced by this glowing review from AL.com.

So, come check them out. They are typically at STA on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, serving from 5 until 10, but it is always best to check their Facebook page and ours for their most current schedule!

Hey, guys. Rich here. Just wanted to let you know that STA has a busy few weeks coming up, so here’s the low down, starting with tonight’s appearance at Taste of Huntsville!

Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012

• Appearing at Taste of Huntsville at VBC

Friday, Oct. 19, 2012

• Huntsville Beer Week begins with Southern Hopspitality Beer Festival at Lowe Mill

Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012

• Alabama Brewer’s Guild event: Meet The Brewers at The Nook

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2012

• Tap Takeover at Below The Radar Brewhouse
• Dine & Dash at the STA Taproom
• Two-seating Beer Dinner at Watercress Huntsville

Friday, Oct. 26, 2012

• Tap takeover at Barrel House

Saturday, Oct. 27, 2012

• Tap takeover at Moe’s Original BBQ – Providence
• Firkin Ale Fest at Straight To Ale

Monday, Oct. 29, 2012

• Beer Dinner at Maestro 2300 in Auburn, AL

Wednesday, Oct. 31, 2012 (Halloween)

• Tap Takeover at Humphrey’s Bar

Friday, November 2, 2012

• Free the Hops Fall Festivale at Old Car Heaven

So, whew. Yeah. That may get us through the next few weeks. Mark your calendars and come join us for a few of these events! Or all of them!