So frequently these days, a west coast brewery makes plans, or has already built, a second brewery on the east coast. (We’re looking at you New Belgium, Sierra Nevada, Stone, Oskar Blues.)
Soon, the reverse will be true.
Atlanta, Georgia’s SweetWater Brewery has taken the first steps to build out west. Recently, the brewery purchased Pyramid’s old brewing system, with plans on building location #2 west of the Mississippi.
“Our focus on making a quality liquid and building a strong brand has created an incredible inertia. And while we’re continuing to develop the East Coast, it’s time for us to simultaneously start looking to the West,” says SweetWater founder and Big Kahuna, Freddy Bensch. The company is exploring location options in all western states. The discovery process for the potential third brewery in the central U.S. is just beginning.
The new equipment includes a 4-vessel system, that includes a 130 barre brewhouse, 31 fermentation tanks, and 3 silos. This will give the new brewery an annual potential capacity of 420,000 barrels a year.
Sweetwater is currently looking for locations in western states, and no timeline has been given for the build.
