Meet Jason Wilson, Auburn University alumnus and founder of Back Forty Beer Company.
Wilson was born and raised in Gadsden and graduated from Auburn in 2005 with a degree in supply-chain management.
He was a member of Sigma Nu fraternity at Auburn and said he loved every minute of it. He also worked his entire college career, mostly for TruGreen ChemLawn out of Opelika.
Following his Auburn days, Wilson has worked in various aspects of logistics and supply chain management prior to founding Back Forty Beer Company.
Wilson was originally inspired with the idea of Back Forty Beer Company in 2003 while visiting a brewery with family in the small ski town of Crested Butte, Colo. Wilson said it wasn't just the brewery tour that inspired him to start Back Forty, it was the culture of craft beer in general that really got to him.
"It took me almost 10 years to get this operation started after that first experience in Crested Butte, Colo.," Wilson said. "The brewery tour was really just the spark that got me headed in the right direction."
By 2008, Back Forty began working with the Mindvolt Agency in Athens on label and packaging designs for the release of its debut offering, Naked Pig Pale Ale.
In March 2009, Back Forty Beer Company was founded in Birmingham and, by April of that same year, a deal was reached with the Alabama Budweiser network for statewide distribution of Back Forty's products.
This resulted in the creation of Alabama's only craft brewery with distribution throughout the state.
The name Back Forty comes from an old Southern agricultural term that refers to the "back 40" acres of a farm.
It was land that has historically gone unused because of how far it is from the barn and how difficult it is to maintain.
As a result, most farmers wouldn't bother planting it.
Likewise, Alabama has historically been viewed as the "back 40" of the craft beer world, Wilson said.
He said most microbreweries never bothered to distribute in Alabama because the general consensus is that everyone just drinks light beer in the South. Wilson said he wanted to address this misconception.
"Since we were one of the first microbreweries to open in Alabama, we always kind of saw ourselves as the ones who were clearing the back 40 and planting the seed," he said.
"Now it's harvest time, so to speak, and the craft beer market in this state is booming."
There are currently a multitude of Back Forty distributors in the Auburn and Opelika area. Halftime, Moe's Original Bar B Que, The Hound and Loco's Grill all carry the beer, as do several local grocery stores.
Wilson said he views Back Forty as a true part of the Auburn family.
Several of the company's investors are Auburn graduates, as well as its attorney, accountant, packaging manager, sales manager, procurement manager and director of operations.
"Needless to say, we believe in Auburn and love it," Wilson said.
Back Forty Beer Company is proudly brewing beers in a 27,000-square-foot facility in a historic building in Gadsden.
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
