Scott M.
Yelp
How on Earth did I manage to never review this place? I'll start by saying this...it's awesome.
I remember the days before there was good beer available in Birmingham. It was a dark time. When we finally got good beer, it took a while longer before local companies were able to brew their own, and even longer before they were able to serve it on site at the breweries. Since then, we've had a lot of them pop up and so there are a ton of choices out there, but of them all I think that Avondale is one of the best.
I will admit that over a long period of time, I have consumed an outrageous amount of beer, of all kinds and from all kinds of places. No matter what you prefer, Avondale has something to suit you. From session beers to fruity ones, high gravity triples and double IPA's, sours...you name it...whatever you prefer they've got something to suit you. The people are always friendly and efficient, the prices are reasonable, and the space is massive and has a variety of seating to suit solo boozers or large groups of friends inside the bar or out in the back yard where additional taps mean that at peak times you can still get served quickly.
Aside from those things they also host a lot of concerts and other events on site. You could see a band, eat from a dozen food trucks at a food truck festival, and participate in a number of other activities that you might find on their calendar. They manage to come across not just as a business, but as active participants in the community which is a great thing.
The only...only...only thing I can say that could be seen as a negative, is that they allow dogs in the back yard area....which is actually a good thing, so in a sense that should reflect positively on the business. But as we know, not all dog owners are responsible or respectful of others, and so keep in mind that it's possible that someone's overzealous pet may jump up and leave paw marks on your pants, or worse, you could be enjoying a beer and strolling through the grass and find that there are places that you wish you hadn't stepped. Maybe some signage to indicate the importance of being a responsible dog owner could make that better. Besides that I wouldn't change a thing.