ATLANTA — Tis the season for festivals and SweetWater has big news regarding the two largest in their lineup. SweetWater’s renowned cask ale festival, Brew Your Cask Off, has sprung forward shifting their longtime spring celebration to a fall fiesta kicking off Nov. 9. The Atlanta-based brewery is also movin’ and shakin’ (quite literally) with the announcement of the SweetWater 420 Festival relocating to Centennial Olympic Park for its 10th anniversary in 2014.
SweetWater 420 Festival, one of Atlanta’s most celebrated Earth Day events, will be commemorating 10 years of festivities in April 2014. The event was conceived in 2004 at the brewery as a small celebration, eventually blossoming into a full-blown festival featuring a dynamic mix of live music, comedy, art, food, green workshops, a nonprofit village, children’s activities and, of course — SweetWater’s lip-smackin’ lineup of brews. Atlanta’s historic Candler Park most recently served as a great home for the event, but SweetWater is packing up and heading to the heart of the city’s scenic Centennial Olympic Park and looking to plant deep roots for many years to come.
“We have nothing but love and gratitude for the folks at Candler Park for being such incredible hosts to our festival over the years, however we’re very excited to now call Centennial Olympic Park home,” said Freddy Bensch, founder and Big Kahuna at SweetWater Brewing Company. “Approaching our 10-year anniversary, we wanted to look long-term for opportunities that will help grow the festival, bring on bigger entertainment and provide better access for local patrons and those traveling in for the fest. This change allows all of that, plus a bigger footprint right in the heart of downtown Atlanta.”
The free festival drew in nearly 60,000 guests in 2013 from Atlanta and across the Southeast. Festival entertainment and schedule details will be announced in early 2014 and fans are urged to check www.sweetwater420fest.com for details.
Meanwhile, the SweetWater team is gearing up for its 4th annual Brew Your Cask Off festival this Nov. 9 from 6-10 p.m. at the brewery. The event celebrates the art of cask ales by playing host to sampling and judging of more than 100 uniquely brewed and named beers. More than 90 special guest brewers including celebrated restaurants, retailers, home brewers, charities, beer experts and local media friends are invited create their own one-of-a-kind cask choosing from a plethora of ingredients with the help of SweetWater brewers.
Each beer is judged by a panel of hand-picked beer experts and presented for public tasting as well as a People’s Choice vote. Winning brewers from this year’s lineup will have their casks at the 2014 SweetWater 420 Festival. Brew Your Cask Off will also feature live music, food trucks, free brewery tours and more. Both Brew Your Cask Off and SweetWater 420 Festival are Happy Ending Productions events.
For more information on SweetWater Brewing Company, visit www.sweetwaterbrew.com. For more details on SweetWater 420 Festival visit www.sweetwater420fest.com, and for Brew Your Cask Off visit www.brewyourcaskoff.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 Drive 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 at www.facebook.com/