Atlanta's SweetWater Brewing Co. — the 18th largest brewery in the nation and the largest in the South — just announced in a press release that it has its eyes set on the West Coast, potentially California and Colorado.
After purchasing equipment from the now-closed Pyramid Brewery in Berkeley, Calif., SweetWater is looking for "the ultimate best fit" out west and is considering a third location in the central U.S., SweetWater spokeswoman Tucker Sarkisian told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
"We're not just expanding to sell more beers," Sarkisian said. "We want authentic interactions with our customers and the best way to do that is for them to come to our breweries and our tours."
The brewery tours at SweetWater have become a tourist destination in the city, a place where guests can sample beer, learn about the process, about the brewery's history and — as Sarkisian said — "experience the SweetWater vibe."
But it's not even just about wanting to be involved with consumers, she said: Another one of the big reasons Freddy Bensch, founder of SweetWater Brewing Co., wants to expand out west and central is to reduce the company's carbon footprint.
So: When and where will the new locations be created?
Sarkisian said her two state guesses are California, Bench's hometown, or Colorado, where he attended college and began his brewing career, but she reiterated that the company is considering all states.
She estimated that the company will unveil any new breweries in 2017.
"All we know is we're going to take our time to get it right," she said.
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