Eat local, drink local

Often, in the throes of despair over Alabama's well-deserved abysmal reputation, notably in her universally incompetent and corrupt politicians, I console myself in my home state's finer qualities.  Primarily as an unsurpassed destination for food and drink.  Perhaps unknown to the wider nation, The Heart of Dixie is a gustatory mecca worth writing home (or blog posts) about.  So on Friday after a long week of work in the laboratory, I stopped to pick up some local products to enjoy through the weekend.

What I brought home is a result of remarkable changes in the state over the last few years.  I first stopped at Beer Hog, a bar and package store offering over 60 beers on tap, and many more in packages.  The very presence of the store would have been unthinkable a few years ago.  But back in the mid 1990s, a grass roots group called Free the Hops sought to change Alabama's restrictive alcohol laws which limited the alcohol content (ABV) of beer to such low levels many quality beers were prohibited from sale statewide.  It was slow going at first, as the young activists climbed a steep learning curve while tackling the forces arrayed against them.  They fought not only sanctimonious Baptist state legislators, but big-business beer distributors who saw any change as a threat to their comfortable business monopolies.  In the end, after repeated attempts, Free the Hops succeeded in changing the laws to allow "high gravity" beers, and the beer landscape in Alabama was instantly changed for the better.  With growing momentum and legislative prowess, Free the Hops went on to change restrictive state laws to make it easier for small craft brewers to set up operations.  And then, that their products might be more easily distributed.  So when I came home from Beer Hog with two growlers, or fill-to-order containers, of locally produced craft beer, I was enjoying the efforts of years of activism by my fellow beer aficionados.  On Friday, I selected Chill Pils, from Straight To Ale, a craft brewer in Huntsville, and Snake Handler from Good People, one of the older brewers in Birmingham and the state.  That latter is a mind-blowingly potent double IPA, which I've long said is the best beer made in Alabama.  Too, earlier in the week I enjoyed beer at small local brew pubs very near my house:  Oversoul Brewing in Helena, and Siluria in nearby Alabaster.  Both offer superb products and it's awesome they are so close to home.  All this is only possible because of the activists with vision, and the small business owners with the determination to build their reputations with excellent products.

Along with my cold brew, I've been enjoying some boiled peanuts from Alabama Peanut Company in downtown Birmingham.  This is another amazing small business success story.  Alabama Peanut has long been a fixture of the heart of the Birmingham business district.  But in the early lockdown days of the Covid pandemic when the surrounding office buildings went vacant, the business faced a dire future.  Fortunately, the owners turned to innovative means to keep the business afloat.  Among other things, they offered free direct deliveries of their products to different regions of the metro area on a rotating basis.  This is when I became a devoted fan of boiled peanuts, as containers of fresh, still-warm goobers would be dropped off at my front door - even though I lived in a distant suburb, many miles from the shop.  When normality eventually returned to life in the city, Alabama Peanut continued to innovate.  Today, the shop has been remodeled from its spare, industrial warehouse look into a warm and inviting snack bar... with a liquor license!  One can now stop in and order a cold beer to go along with one's flight of flavored peanuts.  Superb!  As far as boiled peanuts go, they may be a little off-putting to the uninitiated.  But I've grown to appreciate the vast, seemingly endless variety of flavors that they can be infused with.  Alabama Peanut offers a couple different flavors each day, and on Friday I came home with a tub of delicious sauerkraut and Conecuh boiled peanuts.  (Conecuh is a famous smoked sausage made in Alabama.)  On a warm sunny Sunday afternoon, hot peanuts and cold beer is an unbeatable combination!

So while my home state continues to reap national scorn and mocking from its clownish US senators, I can at least proudly enjoy delicious locally produced snacks!