Alabama brewery burns, locals mourn

Check this out. After the ridiculous news from Alabama's beer scene we looked at here, here's a touchingly tragic confirmation that at least some Alabamans get it. Olde Towne Brewing in Huntsville burned down yesterday morning, and the local paper reports that hometown beerlovers are distraught. Rightly so, but I particularly relished the comments of City Councilman Bill Kling. The story reports that he:

lamented the loss of the brewery in a phone interview, noting that it comes as other home-grown outlets such as Terry's Pizza and the Thirsty Turtle have closed or are slated to close. "What are we going to be?" he asked. "Just another town with cookie-cutter, franchise restaurants?"

Bill gets it. I'm glad he used this opportunity to voice it. Local breweries are local attractions. Chains make you "just another town." Best of luck to the folks at Olde Towne in getting back on their feet; best of luck to the good people of Huntsville in getting their local brewery back.