Sweetwater Brewery Atlanta, GABrewery Tour
Brewery HiStory
SweetWater's roots began back in Boulder, Colorado in the early 90's while Freddy Bensch and
Kevin McNerney were roommates at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
During their time out west, they realized they had more of a hankering for beer than books. Their
first step into the profession was washing kegs on the loading docks of a local brewery for free beer.
Not a bad job when you're in college! With all this free beer, their grades went up, their cars got
fixed, friends were plentiful and the sun shined a little brighter. Once they were finished with school,
it was time to either find a real job, or get serious in the brewing business. Easy choice, right?
Freddy and Kevin headed off to the University of California at Davis aka Brewing School for degrees
in Fermentation Science! After that they were off and running brewing beer for other breweries around
the west coast, learning their craft while keeping the dream of their own place alive.
In the summer of 1996, the energy and action of the Olympics brought Freddy to Atlanta.He found
this town in need of a West Coast style brewery and knew that he and Kevin were just the guys to turn
the local brewing scene on its ear with the hoppy, aggressive ales they had been brewing for years.
The boys scrapped together (with the help of generous friends, family and loans) just enough money
go get started and the first brewery for SweetWater was off of Fulton Industrial Boulevard, on Atlanta's
west side. As they were building their very own brewery, Freddy sought a little cool relief by kayaking
down Sweetwater Creek, in a state park just west of the brewery. The name of the brewery became
obvious and the motto "Don't Float the Mainstream" became the guide.
February 17, 1997 marked the official beginning of SweetWater Brewery, and a new style of brewing
and selling beer in Atlanta as the boys wandered around Atlanta in an old van with Freddy's dog Badger.
After ending up on the wrong side of the tracks a few times, they were finally pointed in the direction
of Virginia-Highlands and found a few bars willing to take a chance on them. "We'll give you a shot as
long as your dog stops begging for leftovers on our patio" was the cautious approval they needed to
get the brand rolling.
SweetWater's second and current location is in Midtown Atlanta, adjacent to Ansley Park, in the Armour
Circle Industrial Park just off of Piedmont and Monroe. The boys saved all of their pennies to buy the
25,000 square feet of brewing goodness and smack in the middle of all the action. Since the company
began we've wanted to be closer to our homes, the bars and stores that sell our beer, and all the good
folks that drink it. Fortunately seven years of great growth gave the company that opportunity. We
learned a lot from that location and left all those mistakes behind as we built our new home. SweetWater
Brewing Company has been here since 2004 and it feels good to be settled in. Our new home has
enough capacity to brew 100,000 barrels of beer a year (A few more years at this rate.)
Atlanta brewers of 420 Extra Pale Ale, Sch'Wheat. IPA, Blue, Georgia Brown and the Catch and
Release Seasonal Beer Series. Brewery tours every Wed, Thur, ...
www.sweetwaterbrew.com/ - Cached - Similar
the latest
socialize with us...
Year Rounds
Catch n' release brews
Dank Tank Series
Our beer is unpasteurized and best within 90 days.
That is why we only sell SweetWater in a few lucky cities throughout the southeast.
Fresh is best, and tastiest so look on our kegs, cases, and bottles and check the date -
that date you see is 90 days from when it was kegged or bottled. SweetWater doesn't
spoil like milk, but after 90 days, it won't have that incredibly fresh vibrant taste
we were intending for you. So make sure you check it twice and let folks know if it is
past its prime - let us know too!
We have a girl whose full time job is cruising the southeast checking in on our little
guys to make sure you have the best SweetWater possible. She is also known as the
Hop Cop! Let the Hop Cop know what you found, what the date was and where you
found it so we get it taken care of. We are only as good as our last beer, and we really
appreciate the extra set of eyes and taste buds out there! She can be found at the
brewery 404-691-2537 or at hopcop@sweetwaterbrew.com
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Sweetwater Brewing Co Atlanta, GA
