SweetWater Brewery has inked a deal with River City Distributing for expansion into Louisville, Ky.
Louisville is the third Kentucky market that SweetWater has entered this year, following new distribution in Lexington and Northern Kentucky. Prior to its arrival in Kentucky, the Georgia-based brewery had not expanded into a new state since 2008.
The foray into Louisville follows SweetWater’s $19 million brewhouse expansion, which was completed last month and quadrupled its brewing capacity. The new 250-barrel brewhouse comes with ten 1,000-barrel fermentation tanks and four 1,000-barrel brite tanks.
The full press release is below.
ATLANTA, GA — Kicking off the week of Nov. 11, Louisville locals will officially be able to wet their whistles with SweetWater’s lip-smackin’ lineup of hoppy, unpasteurized ales. This announcement comes on the heels of the brewery’s recent $19 million expansion, quadrupling brewing capacity. Its entrance into the state of Kentucky earlier this year marked the first time the brewery had opened distribution to a new state since 2008.
“Now that we’ve successfully launched Lexington and Northern Kentucky, we’re finally ready to venture into Cardinal Country with River City Distributing,” said Vice President of Sales for SweetWater Brewing Company Dave Guender. “Louisville has been on our radar for a while now, and we’re rolling into the market just in time for football season and college hoops around the corner.”
“We’re extremely excited about our new partnership with SweetWater Brewing Company,” stated President of River City Distributing John Harris. “Our employees and customers have been waiting for this beer for a long time!”
SweetWater is bringing “the beers you’ve been training for” to thirsty locals starting with six-packs of SweetWater bottles in off-premise grocery stores, package stores, and specialty bottle shops, followed by their flagship 420 Extra Pale Ale on draft at on-premise bars and restaurants later in November. Package will include the following brands:
- 420 Extra Pale Ale – SweetWater’s 420 Extra Pale Ale is a West Coast style pale ale with big hops and a crisp finish. First brewed on April 20, 1997, this beer has developed quite the following in the Southeast. 420 is extremely well-balanced which makes it a perfect introduction to a new townÔǪthat’s why we say “drink ‘em if you got ‘em!”
- SweetWater Blue – SweetWater Blue is a unique, lighter-bodied wheat ale enhanced with a hint of fresh blueberries. This brew’ll give folks a good whiff of a blueberry influence, with a subtle taste and an extra clean finish. This ain’t no fruit beer, but it is our breakfast beer, and perfect for hanging outside on a Kentucky derby day.
- SweetWater IPA – This mammoth India Pale Ale (IPA) is dry-hopped to the gills, delivering a kick-you-in-the-teeth hop chop. The brew is unfiltered and, like all of our beers, always unpasteurized to leave all the natural flavors intact. SweetWater IPA recently won first place in a blind tasting against 15 of the best IPAs in the country held by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
- SweetWater Tackle Box – The SweetWater Tackle Box variety pack is a hefty 12-pack collection featuring three of SweetWater’s favorite year round brews, along with a fourth style of a little something special in each box.
Want to get in on the action? A crew from SweetWater Brewery will taste their way around the area with sampling celebrations and sponsored festivities in late November. Online fans can wet their whistles too by following the Kentucky Facebook page for details on how to enter SweetWater’s “Catch a Trout” tap handle contest. The challenge rewards the first 20 fans who can find and post photos with the brewery’s iconic trout tap handles at local bars around town with free SweetWater Schwag.
To learn more about SweetWater Brewing Company and its full lineup, visit www.sweetwaterbrew.com.
ABOUT SWEETWATER BREWING COMPANY:
SweetWater Brewing Company is an AtlantaÔÇÉbased craft brewery following the motto “Don’t Float the Mainstream!” SweetWater’s brews are unpasteurized and designed to be consumed fresh so distribution is limited to the Southeast. The awardÔÇÉwinning lineup of yearÔÇÉround brews includes SweetWater 420, IPA, Blue, LowRYEder and Georgia Brown. SweetWater also features a Catch and Release series of beers available on a limited basis throughout the year, and an experimental, oneÔÇÉtimeÔÇÉonly Dank Tank series. SweetWater Brewery, open for tours every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 5:30ÔÇÉ7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 2:30ÔÇÉ4:30 p.m., is located at 195 Ottley Dr. in Atlanta. For more information about SweetWater Brewing Company, please visit www.sweetwaterbrew.com. For more of a social relationship with SweetWater Brewing Company follow @sweetwaterbrew on Twitter and Instagram, and become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/