I promise I won’t devote every other week to talking about Good People beer. The world of beer is enormous and full of diversity; this column will strive to explore that diversity. But Good People Fatso Imperial Stout has just been released as a regular offering, and it demands our attention. Allow me to explain where Fatso fits into the big picture of American craft beer.

For a growing number of Americans, craft beer isn’t merely a beverage — it’s a hobby, a passion and sometimes an obsession. You probably know someone who has such a passion for wine (an oenophile), or cigars (a cigar aficionado) or food (a foodie). People with a passion for beer typically self-identify as “beer geeks.” I am one, as are most of my Free The Hops compatriots. Some of you reading this may have just embarked on the journey to beer geekery back in May, around the time Alabama’s alcohol limit on beer was lifted.

Beer geeks get excited about good beer. We travel hundreds of miles to notable beer events. Chills run down our spines when we spot a rare, highly sought-after brew. We trade our local beers with like-minded geeks in other parts of the country to sample their local beers. We review beers on BeerAdvocate.com or RateBeer.com.

We made Dogfish Head, Stone Brewing and Three Floyds famous. We fell in love with their unique, world-class brews then spread the word to everyone we knew. Those breweries didn’t have to advertise because their beer was exciting to the people who tasted it, and those consumers became living advertisements.

In the coming months and years, we are going to make Good People famous. Beer connoisseurs in Delaware, California and Indiana (the home states of the breweries mentioned above) are going to be clamoring to trade with Alabamians to get their hands on bottles (or maybe cans!) of Good People Fatso and Snake Handler — and probably several others. Good People beer is that good.

Fatso pours up thick and black as coal, with a creamy brown head. The smell is dark fruit and chocolate. The flavor is profoundly complex with powerful chocolate notes, roasted barley, undertones of dark cherries and a heaping punch of hops. And remarkably, it achieves this considerable depth with only 8.3% ABV — most highly-rated imperial stouts contain 10% ABV or more.

Good People Fatso is the best imperial stout you can buy in Alabama, and unequivocally one of the best you will ever put to your lips. It is a beer that will excite beer geeks and someday help propel Good People to a status as one of the premiere craft breweries in the world. Birmingham citizens should be proud to have Good People putting us on the beer map.