Location: Auditorium, Downtown Huntsville Library (915 Monroe Street)
Time: 2:00-3:30 p.m.
For the Fall Meeting on September 8, we’ll explore the complex history of alcohol in Alabama and one of its most proliferate businesses: breweries
Meet the Presenters
Sarah Belanger
Sarah Bélanger is a writer and photographer. She wrote the book North Alabama Beer: An Intoxicating History, and her articles have appeared in numerous magazines, including Alabama Magazine, The Magazine Lifestyle, and Huntsville Event Magazine.
She worked as a beer blogger for the Huntsville Madison County Visitors Bureau and has been an adjunct journalism professor at the University of North Alabama and Samford University.
Her food photography has appeared in dozens of books and magazines, including Southern Living, Cooking Light, and Pillsbury.
As an avid storyteller, she has performed at the Southern Fried Film Festival and with Bramble Stories. She is a regular contributor to WLRH’s Sundial Writers Corner.
She lives in North Alabama with her husband and is working on her second book.
Daniel Rhodes
Daniel Rhodes is a native of Birmingham, Alabama. He received a Bachelor of Science in History from the University of West Alabama in 2019 and has received his Master of Arts in Public History from the University of North Alabama in 2023. Professionally, he serves as one of the archaeologists at Pope’s Tavern in Florence, AL and currently serves as the second Vice President for the Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society.
Carie Partain
Carie Partain is Huntsville native who found herself looking for new challenges in Feb 2009, as if being a newly single parent wasn’t enough. So, she agreed to meet an interesting fella at a fundraiser for something at this new art venue and the rest is…well history. The event was the Huntsville Blast Off, the first fundraiser for Free the Hops in Huntsville, the venue was Lowe Mill, and the guy would much later become her husband Rich Partain, a legend in his own right in the Alabama beer community.
Carie worked alongside so many other amazing volunteers to build the HSV Chapter of FTH, progressing from Marketing & Promotions, to Event Coordinator, then onto the state level VP and President of the organization. When the organization merged with the Alabama Brewers Guild, she held a seat on the Guild board, until she transitioned off in the fall of 2022.
Jason Sledd
Jason Sledd is one of the Co-Founders of Green Bus Brewing (GBB). Jason’s brewing career started in his home kitchen and quickly transitioned to the garage shortly after cracking the glass stovetop. A basic propane and extract based brewing setup quickly grew to an all-grain electric brewhouse along with multiple fermentation chambers, a seven tap kegerator, and brewing supplies everywhere. Jason will be quick to tell you that every home brewer thinks about opening a brewery…most are just smart enough to stop there. After getting some advice from a local brewery owner, and finding the right set of partners and investors, Green Bus Brewing moved from the garage in SE Huntsville to just off the square in Downtown Huntsville. Opening its doors in September of 2016, GBB has brewed and served over 60 different unique beer recipes along with Cider, Mead, Wine, and Hard Seltzer.
Meet the Panel Host
Dr. SueAnne Griffith
Creator, Researcher, & Host,
Lily Flagg’s Signal Podcast
Photo credit: White Rabbit Studios