Not all news can be happy news. Huntsville is sad to see a beloved brewery (with quite the history) go. Below the Radar Brewing has been in Huntsville since 2012 and will close its doors in 2021. This is the swan song.

Below the Radar’s beginings

While their name is Below the Radar, this closing is flying well above the radar. When the brewery first opened in August 2012, it found a home in the old Huntsville Times building.

What is the significance of the old Huntsville Times building? When it first opened, it housed Jacob Emory Pierce‘s operation—The Huntsville Daily Times. I’m sure you get your Huntsville reads from The Bama Buzz now 😉 but in the 1900s, I bet it would’ve come straight from the old Times Building.

This historic site isn’t the only thing notable about Below the Radar’s opening.

Huntsville’s craft beer scene

It may be hard to believe but Huntsville has come a long way in the (almost) 10 years since Below the Radar hit downtown. This brewery was one of the first to come to the downtown area. In a growing city that once only had one microbrewery, Huntsville has turned into an oasis for breweries, craft beer, beer makers and beer lovers. I, for one, am among them.

The time was ideal for Below the Radar to be entering the Huntsville craft beer scene. Those with corny jokes (AKA me) would say it was Beer:30. Things were changing in Huntsville—incredible growth was coming, nightlife was amping up and new laws were placed to lift restrictions on creative brewing.

Back then, it was the perfect time for opening. Now, it is the perfect time for them to close (according to Below The Radar, not Huntsvillians).

Closing time

Did Semisonic’s Closing Time start to play in your head? Mine, too. I can’t say it wasn’t intentional.

The restaurant and brewery will close down for good between December 26-31.

If you haven’t been OR need to say goodbye, for your own closure, there is still some time left. Order a beer (or two) and toast to Below the Radar’s beginning and end.

Below the Radar, you will be missed.

Address: 220 Holmes Ave NE, Huntsville, AL 35801
Hours: Monday-Thursday 11AM-9PM | Friday 11AM-10PM | Saturday 10AM-10PM | Sunday 10AM-3PM
Contact: (256) 469-6617

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