Back Forty Beer founder emphasizes diversification, focus on untapped assets at luncheon

With Mardi Gras and Valentine’s Day falling back to back, libations were probably already on the minds of members and guests who attended the February Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce luncheon, so the month’s speaker was a perfect fit.

Jason Wilson, founder and owner of Back Forty Beer Co., spoke to the audience about his company’s story, and where he sees the craft beer industry moving in the future. Wilson launched Back Forty Beer in 2009 after departing a career in the corporate world.

Since that time, Wilson said, the craft brewery scene has exploded both in Alabama and across the country. Nationwide, he said, there were only about 1,500 craft breweries operating in 2009. By the time 2019 arrives, that number is expected to be well over 10,000.

Wilson said being along for the ride in an industry with such explosive growth — and working to change state laws to allow for more craft breweries — has proved both profitable and hectic.

“It’s a really exciting and volatile industry to be in,” he said. “There’s a lot of change involved in an industry like craft beer that really disrupted the norm.”

Much like a wave pool at a waterpark, Wilson said it’s fun and exciting to operate in such a space, but he thinks the time has come to begin urgently looking to the future as the industry moves toward maturity.

“When the wave pool stops, you better be prepared,” he said.

To that end, Wilson went through the various ways Back Forty Beer has already begun to diversify.

From opening tap rooms that serve food to using spoiled beer to make vinegar, Wilson said he and his team are always looking for ways to innovate, and to do so by creatively using the resources the company already has.

For example, Wilson and his team deduced that the way that spirits are distilled begins the same way that beer is made, and wondered if you couldn’t just use that same process with beer past its prime when they had some on hand.

It turns out, you can, and after getting the proper permitting and further refining the process, Back Forty will release a series of pre-mixed, canned cocktail options later this spring, beginning with a “Moonshine Margarita.”

The company is also opening a new tap room across from Sloss Furnaces in downtown Birmingham in late May or early June.

And as craft breweries continue to pop up and grow, especially the ones that focus locally and create “community taverns” where people can meet, Wilson said that only good things can happen for the cities they call home.

“It’s been great to watch that kind of develop and feed the revitalization of these small downtowns and large downtowns throughout the state,” he said.

For more information about Back Forty, visit backfortybeer.com.