Sweetwater Brewing Company Commemorates 15 Years
Press Release:
ATLANTA (Feb. 8, 2012) – This Feb. 17 will mark 15 years since SweetWater Brewing Company officially sold its first drop of beer from its original brewery on Fulton Industrial Blvd. Fast forward 15 years, and the infamous Atlanta-based brewery is listed as the 27th largest craft brewery in the nation and growing faster than ever before. Planning to blow the doors off this anniversary, the SweetWater family is brewing up something special to celebrate – a big ol’ shindig at their newly expanded brewery along with a special ale created just for the occasion.
Festivities will take place Saturday, Feb. 18 from 2 – 6 p.m. at the brewery and will feature music from the band Like a Locomotive, tours of the facility and samplings of SweetWater’s brews. The 15th anniversary bash will be the first time the public can catch a glimpse of the brewery’s new expansion space, boasting an 88,000-square-foot addition to the original facility. An unveiling of the completed expansion will follow later this year.
SweetWater went back to its roots to create the special 15th anniversary ale. Big Kahuna and Co-Founder Freddy Bensch invited back original Brewmaster and Co-Founder Kevin McNerney to help recreate a version of their original ESB recipe (this one got a big ol’ bump into barley wine status), which they appropriately titled 15 Years of Heady Beers. As if that wasn’t enough, SweetWater is even breaking into the special stash in the cellar, pouring a lip-smacking lineup of beers that have been saved for just such a fancy occasion including:
- The 15 Years of Heady Beers brew
- Happy Ending imperial stout
- ’08, ’09, ’10 and ’11 Festive Ales
- Two-cask versions of 15 Years of Heady Beers
- From the Dank Tank: Fresh Sticky Nugs, BOBBB, Mean Joe Bean, Ghoulash, and the BSP Quad
- Three-barrel aged versions of the Creeper
- The entire line-up of year-round brews
- Plus a couple of surprises from the stash
The 15th anniversary festivities don’t stop there. SweetWater is showing love to its online following as well and will be opening up the photo history books. In honor of the 15 years of crazy memories, the SweetWater team will be sharing photos from years past and encouraging fans to get involved too. Starting Feb. 8, SweetWater’s Facebook fans will have the opportunity to win VIP passes to the big anniversary bash by sharing their favorite SweetWater photo memories online. For specific contest details and to RSVP, visit the 15th anniversary event page at www.facebook.com/sweetwaterbrew.
Ask SweetWater’s founder what it means to turn 15? “The first thing that needs to be said is a keg full of thank yous to all who have played a role in floating the SweetWater boat,” said Freddy Bensch. “If there has ever been a reason that SweetWater is still here, it’s you and the fantastic community that we are a part of.”
Update: read my review of the beer here.