Owner of The J. Clyde developing 5 Pts. Brewing German-style brewpub

The old house behind The J. Clyde in Five Points South is on its way to becoming the German-style brewpub Jerry Hartley has been dreaming of for years.

“It was built in 1901, and it’s remarkably well preserved,” said Hartley, owner of The J. Clyde tavern in Southside. “I think it’s going to make a great brewpub.”

Hartley said he started dreaming about it when living in Germany more than a decade ago while doing environmental work as a chemical engineer.

“I visited a lot of brewpubs while I was there, and I knew that’s what I wanted to eventually be able to do in Birmingham,” he said.

But then he started The J. Clyde, and it became his baby for the past 10 years.

It wasn’t until this house opened up that his brewpub dreams began to look like more of a reality. 5 Pts. Brewing will specialize in brewing special beer for its customers, Hartley said.

“One thing I want to do is never brew the same beer twice,” he said. “It has to be great beer, but it might not be the same pale ale every time. We want it to be constantly changing but always be really, really great so that we keep people excited and interested.”

It’s still about a year away from being a reality, but when it’s finished, it “will be a really cool thing for Birmingham to have,” he said.