Tuesday Brewsday: Interstellar Ginger Beer and Exploration Co. - Alabaster, Alabama

A few months ago, Gus and I made an unplanned trip to Florida to pick up Lulu's cat, Patrick. We usually stay overnight somewhere between Birmingham and Montgomery, Alabama, and on a whim, I thought "I wonder if there are any breweries in that area?". If you've ever driven I-65S from Birmingham to Montgomery, then you know it's basically a lot of small towns, so I wasn't holding out much hope for finding a brewery to visit.


Imagine my surprise when not only did I find a brewery, but it was less than 10 miles from where we were staying for the night! That's correct. Right there in little Alabaster, Alabama sits the Interstellar Ginger Beer and Exploration Co. - and it's not far at all from the interstate.


After we had dinner at Panda House (awesome Chinese and Thai food, by the way - and located in the Alabaster Promenade Shopping Center), we set off to find Interstellar. It's pretty easy to find, but the GPS on my iPhone decided to act up just as we were on our way - and it was dark outside. Let's just say that Gus wasn't happy. Nevertheless, we found it without too much trouble, so I'm confident that with a functioning GPS it would be a piece of cake.


This place is pretty cool on the inside. It's almost like being inside a spaceship - or Area 51 - which I assume was the plan. (wink)


One of the owners (Dr. Shane Kelly) was there, and he told us they had just opened in September 2017. I don't know about you, but I'm a fan of ginger beer, so I was pretty excited about giving this place a try. Our first ginger beer brewery!


Their website says that the Interstellar brews average 6.5% ABV. They're gluten free and made with 3-stage filtered water, fresh cold-pressed ginger, fresh-squeezed citrus juice, and other real ingredients. Sign me up right now!!


Gus and I ordered a flight of five ginger beers and they came on a tray that looked like a UFO - so clever! I wanted to try Sunspot (lemon, lime, orange) - it glows under blacklight - but unfortunately, they were out. No problem. It just gives me an additional excuse to stop by next time we're in the area. You can also get cocktails made with their ginger beer.


After the flight, I opted for a full pour of First Contact. I liked everything I tried, but this was my favorite. It could absolutely be dangerous because it is soooo easy to drink!


Gus had a full pour of the Interstellar Ginger Sour - which is hilarious, because he doesn't usually like sours - but he kept saying how much he liked this one.


My favorites*:

• First Contact (ginger and lemon)
• Space Mule (like a Moscow Mule)
• Ginger Colada (ginger, pineapple juice, and coconut cream flavoring)
• Martian Mojito (made with Kentucky Colonel spearmint and lime)
• Interstellar Ginger Sour (small batch release)

Gus' favorites*:

• Interstellar Ginger Sour
• Ginger Colada

I especially liked that the taste of the beers were "familiar" due to the cocktails they're modeled after, but they were so different for beer. Of course, we picked up a pint glass for Buddy's collection since he couldn't join us on this trip.