Over the last few years there has been a huge brewery boom in Alabama's major cities of Birmingham and Huntsville. The trend is starting to catch on and apparently the small town of Weaver may be Alabama's next city producing craft beer in the coming year.
At the request of Joseph Donahue, the Weaver City Council voted on Tuesday to declare the area near Heroes American Grille economically distressed and paved the way for Donahue and Marc Spaulding, owner of Heroes, to begin the application process for a state license to add a brewpub to the existing restaurant and bar. This is a huge step for Donahue to partner with Heroes and realize his more than five year mission and dream to establish himself as a brewer in Alabama.
Heroes would be a natural fit for a brewpub since it already provides the people of Calhoun County with the largest selection of draft beer in the area. Heroes is located just on the edge of Weaver, between Jacksonville and Anniston, and provides beer lovers in the area with a closer craft beer option without having to drive to Oxford or Birmingham. Heroes' faithful customers consist of craft beer loving locals, students and faculty from Jacksonville State University, and a good portion of visiting first responders and military involved in various training programs in the area.
Due to brewpub legislation passed last year, a brewpub can now be established in any area declared "economically distressed". The Anniston Star reports that the median household income for the area near Heroes is $33,125 and has a 40% poverty rating. The declaration process went in a pretty straight forward manner and the Weaver City Council seemed happy with the proposal due to the added tax revenue the brewpub could produce.
If all goes well with the state licensing, Donahue and Spaulding will then move forward into the federal application process. This can often be a long process but, if all goes smoothly, Heroes and Donahue could be brewing beer in as soon as six months. This would allow Heroes to not only continue to serve some of the best craft beer made throughout the state/country/world, but also their very own brand of beer brewed at the restaurant. I talked to Donahue earlier today and here is what he had to say about the plan for turning Heroes into a brewpub and the future brewing schedule:
"We're looking to start with two 15 gallon Sabco Brew Magic systems and just run them simultaneously. The current plan is to have three year round brews and to split everything else into seasonals/special releases. We'll be setting up the brew house in the room that's currently used as the banquet room."
This will be an interesting story to follow through its progression and I will keep you all posted as more information is made available. Until then, best of luck to Heroes on building on their established business and to Joseph Donahue on seeing a dream realized. Prost!
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