Uproot Brewing has already impressed the beer connoisseurs of Birmingham with their releases to date, and the excitement is reaching a whole new level as the brewery prepares to move into its first physical location. Uproot has been renovating and moving into the old Ghost Train space on 3rd Avenue South (the same location was the initial launching pad for Cahaba Brewing as well). The setup is nearly complete and Uproot is getting ready to open its doors for a Soft Opening towards the end of the month and a Grand Opening in February!
Nate Darnell, the man behind Uproot, has been in the Birmingham beer scene for over a decade - and played some pretty important roles. “I got the chance to go open Ferus out in Trussville so I’ve been working on that project for the last three, four years,” Darnell shares, “The dream is always to open your own one day.”
As Nate began to really narrow in on branding his vision, two people came to mind. “Uproot ties to my mom and my dad,” he explains, “They’re both Navy brats and talk about how they had to move a bunch and essentially uprooted. I think both of them lived in somewhere around 20 different cities growing up.”
The Birmingham brewery scene is famously friendly - even amongst “competitive” breweries - and Uproot’s roots showcase the comradery. “We started contracting some beers through Ferus to get our name out there,” the rising brewery shares, “Recently in the middle of 2022, the opportunity came up to purchase Ghost Train’s original location and it happened to work out.” The building came with the necessary equipment, a great stage, and many of the physical qualities people loved about the 3rd Ave location, and Uproot already had their cornerstone beers like their IPA and Passion Fruit Guava Sour ready thanks to the deal with Ferus.
“It’s going to be a quality brewery. It’s going to be a really fun, inviting atmosphere,” Darnell shares. TVs, projectors, and outside concerts in warmer weather are planned to complement the 10 or so beers that will be available. Uproot is particularly excited to showcase their lagers, IPAs, sours, and stouts in the next month and has plans to eventually serve wine, spirits, and non-alcoholic options for those that prefer other drinking options.
It’s been a lot of work to get to this point, but Nate is doing what he loves for a city that stole his heart. “I tell people that the name is really funny to me. It’s uproot in the sense that we’re constantly moving and constantly growing, but on the contrary, I laid down roots in Birmingham. I’m actually a Tennessee native. I ended up here about 11 years ago, and fell in love with the town and ended up staying,” Darnell shares, “I’m excited to keep having these beers with people at the end of the day.”
We’re excited too and can’t wait for our first sit of an Uproot beer on 3rd Avenue South.
Cover image from Uproot
