BPL Announces Ghost Train Brewing Co. & Vineyard Brands as Signature Sponsors of A Novel Tasting

Birmingham, Ala.  - The Birmingham Public Library (BPL) is delighted to announce that Ghost Train Brewing Company and Vineyard Brands are our signature sponsors for this week’s premier fundraising event, A Novel Tasting. We are grateful to both these locally-based businesses for making this special evening possible.

Other participants in this unique tasting include AlaBev, Avondale Brewing, Back Forty Beer Company, Cahaba Brewing, Campesino Rum, Ghost Coast Distillery, Good People Brewing Co., Ozan Winery, Redmont Distilling Company, Sweet Home Spirits, and True Story Brewing.

To purchase tickets to A Novel Tasting, please visit http://www.cobpl.org/programs/NovelTasting.aspx.

Ghost Train Brewing Company was founded in 2014 by Taylor and Paige DeBoer. The business began operating in 2015, selling bottled beers produced under contract at the Crooked Letter Brewing Company in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. In October of 2016, Ghost Train opened its own brewery and tap room on 3rd Avenue South. In early 2017, the brewery resumed packaged beer distribution. Later that year, its brewing capacity was doubled by the addition of larger tanks and an in-house canning line, as well as a small distillery.

Ghost Train recently opened a new public space in the M2 development on 1st Avenue South. The new location hosts Alabama's first high-efficiency brew system, in addition to bars and entertainment areas that can hold over 1,000 patrons. The 3rd Avenue South location will become the company's experimental facility for small-batch beers and other creative drink projects. Follow Ghost Train Brewing Co. on Facebook by clicking here. 

Guests at A Novel Tasting will have the opportunity to sample Ghost Train’s Light Lager, Kaleidoscope Sour, Gulf Coast IPA, and its Standard Porter.

Vineyard Brands was founded in 1971 by Robert Haas. Bob began his career in 1950 working as the import buyer for M. Lehmann, his family’s wine shop in New York City. As Bob became more interested in the import wine business, he began importing and selling wine in markets other than New York through Leeds Imports Corporation, a wine import company started by Bob and his father. In 1971, Bob moved to Vermont and founded his own Vineyard Brands with two employees. The company’s office was located in a remodeled barn on the Haas family farm in Chester, Vermont, until 1997, when the company moved its headquarters to Birmingham, Alabama.

In keeping with Vineyard Brands’ current employee stock ownership plan, the company represents only the finest family-owned wineries, hailing from world’s major wine-growing regions. According to critic Robert Parker of The Wine Advocate, "In a world increasingly dominated by vast sums of capital and multinational firms, it is difficult for a small wine importer to survive unless that company has considerable expertise and an unwavering commitment to quality rather than quantity ... 'Imported by Vineyard Brands' is as close to a guarantee of quality as the consumer can expect."

Among the wines to be featured by Vineyard Brands at this Thursday’s event are the Miraval Rosé 2020, MAN Cabernet Sauvignon 2019, Mohua Sauvignon Blanc 2020, Gradis’ciutta Pinot Grigio 2019, Famille Perrin Côtes du Rhône Reserve Rouge 2018, and Domaine Matrot Bourgogne Chardonnay 2019.

By Margaret Splane|Library Assistant III, BPL Development Office