Summer is in full swing across the Eastern Shore and beyond, and South Alabama’s craft beverage scene is keeping pace with a run of new releases, expansions and cross-state collaborations. From a family-friendly soda debut in Fairhope to a fledgling vineyard taking root along County Road 32, here’s a roundup of what’s new in local beer, wine and other refreshments this summer.
Fairhope Brewing Company recently released its first-ever nonalcoholic beverage, a canned soft drink called Blueberry & Lemon. The flavor combination mirrors the brewery’s popular Blue Steel sour, and the soda is made with lemon juice, white sugar and natural blueberry flavor, without any caffeine added. It marks the taproom’s first venture into canning sodas, following in the footsteps of breweries elsewhere in the country, such as Louisiana’s Abita Brewing Company, which has built a following for its root beer and vanilla cream soda alongside its beer lineup. For now, the Blueberry & Lemon soda is only available at the Fairhope taproom, sold in single cans to enjoy on-site or in four-packs to take home, giving the brewery a family-friendly option for customers who don’t drink alcohol.
Elsewhere on the Eastern Shore, a new vineyard operation appears to be taking shape on County Road 32 in Fairhope. Southern Grove Vineyard has begun posting signage on the property advertising itself as a vineyard and winery, and roughly 20 acres of the land is zoned for agricultural use. The property owners have not yet made a formal public announcement about their plans, but the setup suggests the vines being planted are likely muscadines, the native grape variety best suited to withstand South Alabama’s climate and resist local plant diseases that affect other grape varieties. It’s also possible the winery side of the business could supplement local muscadine harvests by importing juice from other grape-growing regions to produce a broader range of wines on-site. Grapevines typically take up to three years to bear fruit, so residents hoping to sample a Southern Grove product may need to be patient. Updates on the vineyard’s progress have been posted to the business’s Facebook page.
Meanwhile, a nationwide beverage trend has found its way into local taprooms. Mountain Dew’s Baja Blast flavor, long a cult favorite from its exclusive run at Taco Bell, has expanded this year into a line of hard seltzers from the soda brand, fueling a wave of local riffs on the tropical lime flavor. Gulf Shores’ Big Beach Brewing Co. released its own take in May with Bayou Blast, billed as a tropical lime soda-inspired sour. The following month, Mobile-area brewery Old Majestic released a Berliner Weisse dubbed Not Baja Blast, a cheeky nod to the original that steers clear of any trademark issues. Both local versions share the neon-green hue of the original Mountain Dew flavor, and Big Beach has taken the concept a step further by serving its version in frozen slushy form.
Frozen beer, in fact, has become something of a summer signature for a handful of South Alabama breweries this year. Big Beach Brewing rotates a changing menu of frozen alcoholic beverages that has included a watermelon-coconut sour and a light frosè-strawberry drink alongside its Bayou Blast slushy. In downtown Mobile, Braided River Brewing Company has been serving its own beer slushies to draw in customers who might otherwise be tempted by a daiquiri shop. The flavors change daily, ranging from cherry-vanilla sours to mango-strawberry blends to margarita-inspired frozen ales, often served with a red-striped paper straw for good measure. Making a beer slushy typically involves blending in simple syrup for sweetness and fruit juices or purées for tartness, then chilling the mixture for about an hour in a slushy machine. Home brewers looking to try the technique themselves can freeze a flavored beer of their choice in an ice cube tray and pulverize the frozen cubes in a blender.
Braided River Brewing is also nearing the finish line on a cross-state collaboration with John Emerald Distilling Co. of Opelika. Behind the glass at the Mobile taproom, the brewery has been aging its Seize the Night coffee stout — originally made in partnership with Carpe Diem Coffee & Tea — inside a single-malt whiskey barrel supplied by the distillery. In an unusual twist, John Emerald Distilling is simultaneously aging its own single malt whiskey inside a barrel that once held Braided River’s barrel-aged Seize the Night. The two collaborators plan to release their respective beverages simultaneously in mid-September, with celebratory events planned at four locations: Mobile’s The Haberdasher, Auburn’s The Hound, and Opelika’s Whistle Stop Bottle & Brew and John Emerald Distilling itself. Because the release involves spirits, Braided River will not be able to host its portion of the celebration in its own taproom. The Haberdasher event in Mobile will be open to the public for guests 21 and older, and no tickets will be required to attend. Details on the release parties are expected to be shared on Braided River’s social media channels as the September date approaches.