SweetWater arrives in NYC next week

Craft beer-drinking southern expats living in New York can start feeling at home again next week. Georgia’s most well-known craft brewery, SweetWater Brewing Company, launches in town on Monday, September 28th. It’s part of their first expansion into the Northeast along with New Jersey, where their beer launches this week.

SweetWater was founded in 1997 by two college roommates, Freddy Bensch and Kevin McNerny, who sought out to brew West Coast style beers in Atlanta. Early in its existence, the brewery took home the Small Brewery of the Year award at the Great American Beer Festival in 2002, and their beers have won 11 GABF medals since 2000. Through many expansions in its 18-year history, SweetWater has become a centerpiece of Georgia’s brewing culture and the 18th largest craft brewery in the country.

Among the SweetWater beers you’ll start to see in New York on draft and on shelves are many in their year-round portfolio. Their 420 Pale Ale, an extra pale ale with Cascade and Centennial hops, has been brewed since the brewery’s beginnings, and it’s still their most popular. Their IPA and Hop Hash Double IPA round out their hoppiest offerings, and their Take Two Pils is a relatively new offering and an easy-drinker at that. You’ll also see the latest in their Catch-and-Release Series of seasonal brews around town next week, Hash Brown, a hoppy brown ale. There’s plenty more where this came from – you can see SweetWater’s list of offerings to see what else they’ve got up their sleeve.

The brewery plans to tour New York City bars throughout the week next week, beginning Monday. Here’s a schedule of where they’ve confirmed they’ll be, with more to come on their Facebook invite:

Monday, September 28th

5-7pm: Blind Tiger Ale House (281 Bleecker St., at Jones St., West Village)

6-9pm: Mugs Alehouse (125 Bedford Ave., at N. 11th St., Williamsburg)

6:30pm: Top Hops Beer Shop (94 Orchard St., at Broome St., Lower East Side)

Tuesday, September 29th

6pm: The Cannibal (113 E. 29th St., at Park Ave., Murray Hill)

6pm: Spring Lounge (48 Spring St., at Mulberry St., Little Italy)

6-9pm: Spuyten Duyvil (350 Metropolitan Ave., at Havermeyer St., Williamsburg)

6-9pm: Oliver’s Gastropub (37-19 Broadway, at 38th St., Astoria)

7-9pm: Jacob’s Pickles (509 Amsterdam Ave., at 85th St., Upper West Side)

7-10pm: The Double Windsor (210 Prospect Park West, at 16th St., Windsor Terrace)



Wednesday, September 30th

4:20pm: The Pony Bar HK (637 10th Ave. at 45th St., Hell’s Kitchen)

5-7pm: Taproom 307 (307 3rd Ave., at 24th St., Murray Hill)

6pm: Lansdowne Road (599 10th Ave., at 44th St., Hell’s Kitchen)

6-9pm: The Hop Shop (121 Columbia St., at Kane St., Columbia Waterfront)

7pm: Kiabacca (639 10th Ave., at 45th St., Hell’s Kitchen)

8pm: The Stag’s Head (252 E. 51st St., at 2nd Ave., Turtle Bay)

Thursday, October 1st

6pm: Uptown Local (1606 1st Ave., at 83rd St., Upper East Side)

6-9pm: Bed-Vyne Brew (370 Tompkins Ave., at Putnam Ave., Bed-Stuy)

7-9pm: Dive Bar (732 Amsterdam Ave., at 96th St., Upper West Side)

7-10pm: The Gate (321 5th Ave., at 3rd St., Park Slope)

Friday, October 2nd

6pm: The Pony Bar UES (1444 First Ave. at 75th St., Upper East Side)

