E-Malt.com News article: USA, AL: Red Hills Brewing Company to open in Homewood within two months

Homewood’s over the mountain communities are about to get their first brewery as Red Hills Brewing prepares to open its doors within the next two months, AL.com reported on September 14.

Joe Pilleteri is opening Red Hills Brewing Company in a 10,000-square-foot space on Central Avenue in Homewood.

"Birmingham's got a lot of great breweries, and they all have good beer. I thought, 'how do I make myself different?'" Pilleteri said. "I grew up over the mountain, and I thought, that would work, but where the heck would I put it?"

Then, one day after going to Little Donkey, he saw the open space, a former grocery store next to Steel City Pops.

"I thought, 'there's no way this is big enough,'" Pilleteri said. "Then one day I walked in it."

The name "Red Hills Brewing Company" is a nod to the red hills salamander, Alabama's state amphibian, and also appropriate for a community near Red Mountain. It also makes Pilleteri think of the beach, which is appropriate for him because he was a sailor.

"Everyone has a hobby they want to make a career."

It's a project Pilleteri has been working on for about two years. Until recently he worked in the safety industry.

"It was a great job," Pilleteri said. "But everyone has a hobby they want to make a career."

The construction will likely be finished in a month, and Pilleteri will hire a professional brewmaster. Pilleteri has been homebrewing for years, but he wants someone with experience brewing in a larger scale so he can focus on the business portion. He's still perfecting the recipes, but he wants to focus on session beers, meaning beers with a lower alcohol by volume.

"I love drinking craft beer," Pilleteri said. "The beer I've always made, I can drink two of them."

"I'd like this to be a family place as much as possible," Pilleteri said. "Come bring your kids, get a Popsicle and come next door and get a beer."


16 September, 2015