Home breweries can grow into economic engines

Owner Michael Spratley pours a Strawberry Saison at the Blue Pants Tap room. (CONTRIBUTED)

By Aldo Amato

Staff Reporter

MADISON — A local brewery said that homebrewing is the way to get into the business of brewing beer and that the recent homebrewing legislation would help plenty of prospective brewers.

Alabama is the last state to not allow residents to brew small amounts of beer at home. That all might change when the Alabama Senate receives the homebrewing bill that cleared the House of Representatives on April 2.

Michael Spratley, CEO of Blue Pants Brewery in Madison said that is how he got started in the brewing business in 2007.

“That is where I learned everything I knew,” he said. “I started brewing in Atlanta in 2007 and it really is the only way to go.”

Spratley said that the costs of brewing at home, rather than taking commercial brewing classes are drastically different.

“It’s definitely cheaper,” he said. “Usually when you apply to take classes, you have to have some brewing experience and the costs run up to $25,000. So it’s the only reasonable way to get into it. You also get to play around and learn what you like and learn about ingredients.”

Spratley said that creating your own craft at home is the fun part because it’s like “cooking in the kitchen with different ingredients.” Currently Blue Pants Brewery has three year round brews called the Knickerbocker Red, Corduroy Rye IPA and Breeches ESB and one seasonal beer called the Pinstripe South.

Blue Pants Brewery is located at 500 Lanier Rd. in Building 1 Suite A, in Madison.