Cullman-Anything fun to do? (Birmingham, Montgomery: homes, to buy, restaurants)

[ionlife]

A dry Oktoberfest--only in the south--what would the Germans say? I'll never get used to the rules here.

[Keeper]

You can always get a beer stein with 'sweet tea'!

[ionlife]

LOL you are funny--or I could "spirit" in some wine--riesling anyone?

[Southlander]

Originally Posted by dramamama

A dry Oktoberfest--only in the south--what would the Germans say? I'll never get used to the rules here.

Hey - those Cullman Germans started it.

[ionlife]

Must have been the real rigid ones, eh? Funny thing about that, being an immigrant myself. My parents came out of the Netherlands in the 1960s and they had way more "strict" ideas than their friends who stayed in Holland and progressed as the country changed and progressed.

I was talking online w/a Canadian friend who has basically lived on the West Coast for the past 18 years (4 years up north and the rest on the Vancouver side) about how different it really is in the South compared to the NOVA area. Not wrong, just different.

Much of how we think is formed by where we live. My Girlfriend believes she understands the politics here in the USA and I am like, heck, I've lived here 23 years and I just am beginning to get the whole "how the states really draw the lines for the electoral college" and how that influences the election of the next president more than my one vote does.

It doesn't surprise me at all that strict Germans immigrating to the USA, finding the south with all it is, would have very calvinistic rules/lutheran rules in place.

But I wouldn't have gone to an Oktoberfest--I prefer wine to beer.

[deesonic]

I'm not sure the founding Germans of Cullman are to blame. They came in the 1800s before Prohibition. It's just that Alabama has been extremely slow to do away with the vestiges of Prohibition. The state laws are set up to make it very difficult to go wet.

[ionlife]

So the dry counties came about during Prohibition -- not before that time? I've never understood the dry county/wet county thing being a transplant/implant/plant/fern from Canada other than how annoying it is to go to a restauarnt and not be able to have cabernet w/ my steak din din.

[DvlsAdvc8]

What does it take to do away with that dry county nonsense? Are there any organizations working to repeal such?

What areas around Huntsville are dry?

A dry Oktoberfest... ridiculous.

[deesonic]

The way I understand it, the 21st Amendment left it up to the states to deal with alcohol laws. Alabama essentially allows counties to decide. But there is some weird law on the books that incorporated towns with some arbitrary number population can decide for themselves. Hence wet towns in dry counties. It's all a load of BS.

There is no specific group that I am aware of trying to change this situation. Free the Hops (which has been brought up on the boards numerous times before) is only concerned with overturning the statewide 6% beer ABV law and the container limit law. It's really up to the local counties to change their own blue laws. We're one of only a handful of states that does not handle blue laws at the state level.

Areas around Huntsville that are dry:

Limestone County except for the city limits of Athens, Decatur, Huntsville
Morgan County except for the city limits of Decatur
Marshall County except for the city limits of Guntersville and Albertville (Arab has a vote coming up soon)
Sunday blue laws exist throughout North Alabama (no alcohol sales at all, or limited to restaurants in some cases) with the exception of the City of Huntsville where you can buy beer and wine on Sundays
City of Decatur does not allow draft beer (or draught depending where you're from)

There's many many more weird alcohol laws depending on locality. One peculiar law is the one that says a brewpub (beer is brewed and served on premises) can only exist in an historic building that served as a brewpub prior to Prohibition. This is why Alabama has very few brewpubs. I can only think of a couple off hand: Montgomery Brewing and the Olde Auburn Ale House.

I love beer by the way...

[ionlife]

Originally Posted by deesonic

The way I understand it, the 21st Amendment left it up to the states to deal with alcohol laws. Alabama essentially allows counties to decide. But there is some weird law on the books that incorporated towns with some arbitrary number population can decide for themselves. Hence wet towns in dry counties. It's all a load of BS.

There is no specific group that I am aware of trying to change this situation. Free the Hops (which has been brought up on the boards numerous times before) is only concerned with overturning the statewide 6% beer ABV law and the container limit law. It's really up to the local counties to change their own blue laws. We're one of only a handful of states that does not handle blue laws at the state level.

Areas around Huntsville that are dry:

Limestone County except for the city limits of Athens, Decatur, Huntsville
Morgan County except for the city limits of Decatur
Marshall County except for the city limits of Guntersville and Albertville (Arab has a vote coming up soon)
Sunday blue laws exist throughout North Alabama (no alcohol sales at all, or limited to restaurants in some cases) with the exception of the City of Huntsville where you can buy beer and wine on Sundays
City of Decatur does not allow draft beer (or draught depending where you're from)

There's many many more weird alcohol laws depending on locality. One peculiar law is the one that says a brewpub (beer is brewed and served on premises) can only exist in an historic building that served as a brewpub prior to Prohibition. This is why Alabama has very few brewpubs. I can only think of a couple off hand: Montgomery Brewing and the Olde Auburn Ale House.

I love beer by the way...

Thanks! that was very helpful!
I agree that the laws seem so archaic. It's too bad they aren't changed to reflect the real times.