Trim Tab Brewing

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Trim Tab Brewing is a brewery and tap room opened by law student Harris Stewart in the former Barber Motorsports Museum property adjacent to Motus Motorcycles at 2721 5th Avenue South in Lakeview in February 2014.

Stewart, who moved to Birmingham from Asheville, North Carolina to attend the University of Alabama School of Law, was a veteran home-brewer when he proposed opening a Trim Tab Brewhouse and Hot Chicken Kitchen at 211 Richard Arrington, Jr Boulevard North downtown. The 4,000 square foot lot, former site of the Lunsford Hotel, was offered to business owners free of charge by owner George Barber in Fall 2009. A deal was struck with Stewart in Spring 2012, but Stewart learned that new construction costs and legal barriers to combining a restaurant and brewery made that project unfeasible. He worked with Barber to find a larger existing building in Lakeview for the brewery.

The brewery's first two brewing tanks arrived from British Columbia in September 2013 and gives the facility the capacity to brew 3,500 barrels per year. The 5th Avenue brewery features a 2,000 square-foot tap room and patio which officially opened on February 14, 2014. Brewmaster Will Crenshaw unveiled an India Pale Ale and a German-style Pillar to Post Brown Ale as the brewery's flagship offerings. The tap room, called a "tasting gallery," also serves as a fee-free art gallery for local artists.

Brewers employed at Trim Tab have included Lauren Wiersma, the first female brewer in Birmingham and one of the first in Alabama, and Jake Orr. Phillip Platz, a former supervising brewer for MillerCoors was hired as head brewer in 2015 as part of an expansion of the brewery to increase capacity and add a canning line. The current brewmaster is Luke Garner.

The first cans of Trim Tab IPA were distributed on October 12, 2015 by Supreme Beverage Company. Big Communications assisted the brewery in designing the cans. In 2017 Trim Tab entered into an arrangement to produce two of their top-selling beers, their IPA and Paradise Now Raspberry Berliner Weisse, at Abita Brewing Company's brewery in Abita Springs, Louisiana. Under the arrangement, Trim Tab's capacity was increased from 30 barrels per batch to 300. The brewery celebrated the expansion with the release of two new "Affirmation" specialty beers in 22-ounce "bomber" bottles.

In 2018 Trim Tab launched a RECwater product line of "hard seltzers", non-malt fermented beverages flavored with fruit.

In 2020 Trim Tab expanded its production area into the adjoining former Motus Motorcycles space at 500 28th Street South.

Products

Flagship beers

  • Piller to Post Brown, American brown ale
  • Trim Tab IPA, American IPA
  • 006 IPA, hazy double New England IPA
  • Paradise Now, raspberry Berliner weisse

Seasonal beers

  • Bankston 88, wheat-based Belgian Pale Ale
  • Breakfast Hero, imperial doughnut stout
  • Cucumber Saison, saison
  • Imperial City olde ale
  • Holiday Now, cranberry spice Berliner weisse
  • Rescue Ship pale ale

Special beers

  • Affirmation Blanc, blonde ale
  • Affirmation Noir, sour ale
  • Bulleit Barrel-Aged Rye Brown Ale, American brown ale
  • Cask Xmas Ale, English strong ale
  • Cuba Libre Rye Brown Ale, American brown ale
  • Fox And Furnace Ale, extra special bitter
  • Galaxy Session IPA, American IPA
  • Language of Thunder Cumulus, double imperial stout
  • Milk Stout
  • Nilbog Barleywine, American barley wine
  • Passion Fruit IPA Cask, American IPA
  • Piller to Post Brown with poblano peppers, American brown ale
  • Tres Chiles Black IPA, American black ale
  • Revelator, American pale ale

RECwater

  • Watermelon/Cucumber/Lime
  • Mango/Kiwi
  • Pomegranate/Meyer Lemon

References

  • Diel, Stan (May 10, 2012) "Brewpub planned for George Barber's free downtown lot." The Birmingham News
  • Poe, Ryan (March 13, 2013) "Brewery sets sights on Lakeview instead of downtown." Birmingham Business Journal
  • Diel, Stan (August 16, 2013) "Birmingham's Trim Tab Brewing Co. expects to raise its first glass by end of October." The Birmingham News
  • Diel, Stan (September 3, 2013) "New Southside brewery closer to opening with delivery of tanks." The Birmingham News
  • Azok, Dawn Kent (February 13, 2014) "Birmingham's Trim Tab Brewing Co. to mark opening of new tasting gallery." The Birmingham News
  • Tomberlin, Michael (February 28, 2014) "Trim Tab adds first Birmingham female brewer to its beer making team." The Birmingham News
  • Phillips, Ryan (February 16, 2015) "A small source of big change: How Trim Tab Brewing Co. navigates a sea of suds." Birmingham Business Journal
  • Poe, Kelly (September 15, 2015) "Trim Tab Brewing's first cans to hit shelves Oct. 12" The Birmingham News
  • Poe, Kelly (September 21, 2017) "TrimTab growing tenfold with Abita partnership, launching new beers Friday." The Birmingham News
  • Thornton, William (October 15, 2018) "TrimTab Brewing releases hard sparkling water." The Birmingham News
  • Van der Bijl, Hanno (August 27, 2020) "TrimTab expanding operations in Lakeview." Birmingham Business Journal
  • Thornton, William (December 14, 2022) "TrimTab Brewing releasing highly-regarded year-round IPA." AL.com

External links