Welcome to "The Brewpub" --a restaurant which brews beer right on premise! Brewpubs have been around a
long time. In the late 1800's, there were over 4,000 breweries every town had at least one. George Washington,
John Adams, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson all had financial interests in micro breweries. William Penn
founded Philadelphia's first brewpub in 1685.
The first recorded history of beer brewing in Montgomery cited Charles E. Hall as the founder of the original
Montgomery Brewing Company. His brewery was located at the foot of North Hull Street just a few blocks from
here. Prohibition put poor Charles out of business in 1919. But in 1992, acknowledging the micro brewery
renaissance, Alabama passed its Brewpub Act with the intent of revitalizing Alabama's historic districts, thus
allowing The Montgomery Brewing Company to open on October 27, 1995.
This building, located in the "heart" of the Central Business District, was built in 1913 by the Gulf, Mobile, and
Ohio (GM&O) Railroad to store heavy equipment. You can still notice oil stains on the floor put there perhaps over
80 years ago. In the early 1900's, even warehouses were handsome, well-constructed buildings, symbols of the
stability and permanence of its owner. The facade of this three storied former warehouse features paired
windows separated by decorative brickwork. Three round-headed arched doors give access from the street side.
The rear of the building is more utilitarian with three segmented arched doors opened onto a railway siding.
Before steel-framed construction, large buildings had to be made of solid masonry. Our 16-inch thick brick walls
are laid in American bond. The 8-foot basement ceiling is supported by 14-inch square pine pillars. Eleven inch
chamfered pillars support the 14-foot ceiling on the main floor. Nine-inch pillars of the second floor support a
12-foot ceiling, and the 7-inch pillars of the third floor support the pitched roof unique in its day.
Other original features include porcelain electrical insulators still attached to several floor joists and ceiling
beams; a cast-iron and steel fire sprinkling system, still operable; a Fairbanks scales in the floor at the foot of the
future second floor stairs which also works! The centerpiece of the building revival is the featured Otis electric
elevator, 1895 patent, which still hauls grain to second floor storage. Please browse around and feel the activity
this quality built building has experienced you can sense its importance to Montgomery past and future.
Although our name is The Montgomery Brewing Company, we're better known around town as "the Brewpub"
--considered one of the best restaurants in town. We hope you enjoy your craft brewing experience with us.
