SweetWater Brewing hosts Save the Hooch program from Memorial Day to July 4th each year with the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, to help protect the Chattahoochee River. The Chattahoochee is the source of not only drinking water for Atlanta, but the water for SweetWater’s beers.
SweetWater Brewing’s (Atlanta, GA) Crank Tank Rye’d Ale made a debut last night for IPA Day at the brewery. The beer benefits Camp Twin Lakes, a special needs camp in Georgia. 2011 marks the 2nd release of this special Continue Reading →
Below are pictures from SweetWater IPA Day back in 2011.
In all honesty, Beer Street Journal has come a long way with photography and video since 2011. At the time, I was trying to post pictures live from the event directly Continue Reading →
SweetWater Raises $93,000 To Benefit Chattahoochee River
SweetWater Brewing hosts Save the Hoochprogram from Memorial Day to July 4th each year with the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, to help protect the Chattahoochee River. The Chattahoochee is the source of not only drinking water for Atlanta, but the water for SweetWater’s beers.
On Saturday August 13th, a sold out crowd of supporters came out for the check presentation on the banks of the river for a check presentation of $93,000! 2011 was the largest year to date. Local retaurants, bars, & retailers sold Save The Hooch t-shirts, and paper fish (you buy a fish for $1, $5, $10 and put your name or something witty on it, and it goes over the bar) to raise the money.
“What an unbelievable success!” said Freddy Bensch, SweetWater’s Big Kahuna. “Through the support from SweetWater’s fans and participating retailers we were able to raise nearly 100K. It’s inspiring to see the people of Atlanta come together to help save one of this city’s most precious natural resource. Which of course, we love because a clean Chattahoochee River gives us the clean water we need to keep making great beer!”
SweetWater Brewing is installing their shiny new solar array. The 157 kW PV array is the largest private commercial installation in Atlanta.
There are 750 Solyndra panels, each rated at 210 watts. Taking advantage of Georgia and federal incentives, the new array will pay for itself in 3 years. The panels reduce the need for over 300,000 lbs of CO2, 19,000 gallons of gas, 176,000 lbs of coal per year (and who knows how many hamsters.) [SolarEnergy]
Did you enjoy a hoppy glass of goodness on IPADay on August 4th? Untappd user? Checkout this infographic on where the hoppiest hotspots in the U.S.
Flying Saucer in Austin, Texas & SweetWater Brewing in Atlanta, Georgia were the most popular venues. Stone, Dogfish Head, & Bell’s IPAs were naturally favorite beers…
Freddy Bensch aka “The Big Kahuna” at SweetWater Brewing has told the AJC Business some details on where you might find their beer in the future.
The brewery has already broken ground on an expansion on Ottley Drive that will take the their annual capacity from 100,000 barrel to 400,000 barrels. That raises the question – Where are you distributing to next? Here’s the buzz on what to expect. Per @AJCFoodBiz:
Freddy Bensch of @SweetWaterBrew tells me expansion is a 2-year project. “We have a hard time keeping up” with existing demand for #beer
@SweetWaterBrew says it will eventually expand geographically — deeper into Florida and Tennessee. “Surgical” approach, says co-founder.
Co-founder says @SweetwaterBrew to “start looking heavily in Virginia” for opportunities to sell. It’s a hot market and this reporter’s home.
The expansion end completion by the end of the year, functional by January 2012.
SweetWater Brewing’s (Atlanta, GA) Crank Tank Rye’d Ale made a debut last night for IPA Day at the brewery. The beer benefits Camp Twin Lakes, a special needs camp in Georgia. 2011 marks the 2nd release of this special Rye Beer for a great cause. If you are in Georgia, get a team together for the Annual Spin For Kids Bike Ride.
Press Release
SWEETWATER’S CRANK TANK RYE’D ALE RETURNS TO BENEFIT CAMP TWIN LAKES’ ANNUAL SPIN FOR KIDS
Beer Back On Shelves In Mid August | Crank It Up Event August 23
Brewery Challenges Locals to Buy a Brew, Join the Team, and Rye’d for a Cause
ATLANTA — SweetWater Brewing Company is inviting Atlantans to once again jump on board with Team SweetWater as they celebrate the mission of Camp Twin Lakes and their Sixth Annual Spin for Kids annual campaign and fundraiser. In 2010, not only did SweetWater create a new brew, the Crank Tank Rye’d Ale, a beer that gives back; they established their own bike team, for the October race, raising awareness and more than $21K in donations which benefited this amazing non-profit organization. With three ways to play you should too!
“This camp is an inspiration to me and the SweetWater employees so much so we created the Crank Tank Rye’d Ale so that we could have a product that contributed to their cause,” said SweetWater’s Big Kahuna, Freddy Bensch. “Camp Twin Lakes provides a safe and nonjudgmental environment for children with special needs — something they can’t always find in the real world. These children will touch your heart and inspire of all of us to raise even more money.”
SweetWater is gearing up and you can too, here’s how!
Wanna learn more about Spin for Kids? Mark your calendars for August 23 when Camp Twin Lakes hosts Crank it Up at the brewery. Join us for a $10 donation which includes a SweetWater brewery tour, beer tasting, terrific live music and a commemorative glass. Learn about the event from Camp Twin Lakes representatives and sip on the new Crank Tank brew! Passes available at www.spinforkids.org.
Want to come along for the ride? Cruise with the SweetWater Brewery team at Camp Twin Lakes’ residential camp facilities in Winder and Rutledge, Georgia in either the Mountain Bike Ride on Saturday, October 22nd at Camp Twin Lakes- Will-A-Way at Fort Yargo State Park! Saturday riders can also participate in Sunday’s Road Bike Ride and then join in a post-race festival at the camp in Rutledge on Sunday October 23rd. All ages and skill levels are invited to participate. Team SweetWater’s goal: 27 miles (those beer bellies will be slowing ‘em down a bit!) To ride with Team SweetWater or to sponsor one of their riders — and receive a limited edition SweetWater and Spin for Kids shirt – visit www.spinforkids.org.
Can’t join a team? Buy a Crank Tank at participating establishments starting in mid August and enjoy a lip-smackin’ brew with the satisfaction that you’ve contributed to a good cause. Oh and remember, this Limited Edition Crank Tank will only be available for a two months — don’t wait to spread the word, it will be gone before the ride. Check one out at SweetWater displays in various stores from mid August until early October and sign up for your chance to win a GIANT mountain bike on the SweetWater team page at www.spinforkids.org.
About SweetWater Brewing Company: SweetWater Brewing Company is an Atlanta-based craft brewery specializing in aggressive West Coast style beers. SweetWater’s brews are unpasteurized and designed to be consumed fresh so distribution is limited to the Southeast. The award-winning lineup of year-round brews includes SweetWater 420, IPA, Sch’Wheat, Blue and Georgia Brown. SweetWater also features a Catch and Release series of beers available on a limited basis throughout the year, and an experimental, one-time-only Dank Tank series. The SweetWater Brewery, open for tours every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 5:30-7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 2:30-4:30 p.m., is located at 195 Ottley Dr NE, Atlanta GA 30324. For more information about SweetWater Brewing Company, please visit www.sweetwaterbrew.com.
About Camp Twin Lakes and Spin for Kids: Camp Twin Lakes is a not-for-profit organization that offers year-round recreational, therapeutic, and educational programs for children facing serious illnesses and other physical, emotional and life challenges. With its network of partners, Camp Twin Lakes provides life-changing experiences for thousands of children each year at its state-of-the-art, fully accessible facility, located on 500 acres in Rutledge, Georgia, and at other locations throughout the state. For more information, visit www.camptwinlakes.org Spin for Kids is our annual fundraising bike ride that invites both mountain and road bikers to raise money in support of Camp Twin Lakes. For more information, visit www.spinforkids.org.
Below are pictures from SweetWater IPA Day back in 2011.
In all honesty, Beer Street Journal has come a long way with photography and video since 2011. At the time, I was trying to post pictures live from the event directly to the website. This was long before Instagram or even live streaming.
While I was shooting with at Canon Rebel t2i then, and was using an iPhone X to upload the pictures “live”. There’s no metadata on the photos, but they have to be iPhone – so they are all incredibly low resolution.
All that being said, besides the big lineup of casks and a few friend pics, you can see the early stages of SweetWater’s brewery expansion.
Hard to believe this is almost 14 years ago. – Reid
SweetWater Brewing (Atlanta, GA) growing. Right now you just see dirt. Here is the glistening beauty SweetWater will be after the expansion.
What’s been going on?
Brewery construction is being led our founder Freddy Bensch and our Brewmaster Mark Medlin
Construction on the new building (center of the photo) began in July and should be finished by November
Expanding from 26,000 square feet to 114,000 square feet
An additional 400,000 barrels capacity, taking us from 100,000 this year, to 500,000 once we are finished
in 2010 we sold 77,000 barrels and this year we are on pace for well over 90,000 barrels sold
on the roof will be a 157 KwH Solar Array, the largest private system the city of Atlanta — reduces the need for over 300,000 lbs of CO2, 19,000 gallons of gas, 176,000 lbs of coal per year — and the ROI in this should be within 3 years
new building in the center will house — new packaging hall, new QA lab, new keg filler, new offices, outdoor deck, new machine shop, and an additional event space
new packaging hall will feature a brand new 550 btl/min krones filler and bottling line, along with a brand new keg line, all to increase the quality of our packaged beers
we are building an actual merchandise shop where our current maintenance room is, just behind the wall of the existing t shirt stand
Trails for access from the street to the Beltline will be built next to our building. SweetWater sits at the end of one of the spurs to this proposed and in the works “necklace” of parks, trails and green spaces that will circle Atlanta
And this is phase 1 of the plan — phase 2 will be the addition of more fermentation and brite tanks, most will be 1000 bbls tanks
phase 3 will be the installation of a new 250 bbl brew house to supplement the existing 50 bbl system we are brewing on 24 hours a day 6 days a week currently
