Refreshment in Hotlanta - SweetWater Brewing

What to do on a sunny summer afternoon in the Capital of the South...tickets to the Braves game at 4, but time to burn in Atlanta beforehand...what's that, you say?  A brewery tour and tasting from the purveyor of the excellent SweetWater Blue and 420?  I guess if there's nothing else to do...

Actually, this Aces & Ales stop was planned some time ago - right after our trip to Georgia to see the Braves was scheduled and a quick check found that the brewery was located roughly halfway between our hotel in Buckhead and Turner Field.  Given A&A's great responsibility to its readers and the bias of my companion - my sister - whose husband is smitten by the 420 pale ale, heading to the brewery was a no-brainer.

Like smaller Triangle breweries Big Boss, Triangle Brewery and Fullsteam, SweetWater inhabits a non-descript warehouse district - few microbrewery startups have cash for high-profile locations - though much effort was put into the large tasting room to make it seem less like a brewery finishing floor and more like a regular bar. 

First off, they have bartenders - at least five - not the owners or volunteers pouring their brew.  Secondly, and not to be a beer snob, but all their beers are served ice cold.  Now, some folks may wonder why that is worth comment - after all, who wants warm beer, right?  Actually, most brewers will tell you that their beer is best flavored when served significantly warmer than the Bud or Mich Ultra you throw down out of your 'fridge.  That's why I first thought it unusual that the samples (actually 3/4 pint, one per ticket, six tickets and souvenir glass for $8) were served restaurant-cold.  Then the crowd started filling in, and I understood.

Apparently a Saturday trip to SweetWater is on the sorority to-do list; at least 40% of the crowd was female, sundressed, showed up on time and had no intention whatsoever of losing precious time to actually participating in the tour.  To be fair, however, the brewery holds the tour as an afterthought, using the tasting time to build interest in their beers so you can drop $6 a pint on one the next night at a local restaurant.

Oh, yes, the beers.  As mentioned earlier, I am a fan of both the Blue and 420 - particularly the 420, which is a VERY pale ale that could masquerade as a mild IPA if need be - and the other draughts available did not disappoint.  In fact, the Crank Tank Rye'd Ale and the Motor Boat ESB were highly drinkable but complex enough for the hop-savvy customer to appreciate - if a bit similar in finish.  In fact, the only drawback to the SweetWater palate, if it can be called that, is that their beers - of which I tried six - all have very similar character and depth.  Fortunately for SweetWater, those attributes are positive ones - but it would be admirable if the label took a bit more of an adventurous attitude occasionally (e.g. a barleywine, an imperial anything) now that they have a national foothold.  I would expect big things from SweetWater in the future, but not particularly fascinating ones.