Distributor Locations
“SweetWater is about a few great things – great people, great beer, solid music and environmental conservation.”
The Lakeshore Beverage team is sitting in a large taproom in Atlanta GA’s biggest brewery, SweetWater Brewing Co as Director of Marketing Steve Farace gets to the heart of who SweetWater is.
“We view the brewery as an all-encompassing concept. It’s a lifestyle, a way of thinking. We’re family here and we all love the same things – having fun, listening to great music and having awesome adventures whenever we can!”
A few months ago, Lakeshore Beverage announced that we’d be welcoming SweetWater to our family and beginning distribution in Chicago in March. To get a better feel for what the brewery’s all about, we’re spending the weekend in Atlanta celebrating the brewery’s 18th anniversary.
Over the two days we spend here, we’ll hear a lot of catch phrases: “don’t float the mainstream,” “we’re not here for a long time, we’re here for a good time,” “drink ’em if you got ’em” but it will become clear that this “brand position” isn’t really a brand position at all, but an honest-to-God reflection of the people that work here. These guys might take their beer really seriously, but they don’t take themselves that seriously.
Last night was Bourbon County Stout Night. A night where we slow things down and sip on 2013 and 2014 Bourbon County Stout, 2014 Proprietor’s Bourbon County Stout, 2014 Bourbon County Coffee Stout and a very, very special vertical flight of 2010 AND 2014 Vanilla Rye Bourbon County Stout.
It was a good night.
There are meals and then there are MEALS. Last night I sat down for a five course beer dinner prepared by Chef Stephanie Izard and her fantastic team. Each course was paired with a Founders beer, including the extremely rare CBS and an exclusive taste of the upcoming Blushing Monk.
If anything bad can be said about Chicagoans, it’s that we have a tendency to think of the city as the only worthwhile part of the Midwest. Beer Trips (Driveable Craft Beer Destinations) is a blog series about places that are just within our reach. These posts will put you in the passenger seat of Lakeshore Beverage’s blogger and beer traveler, Matt Tanaka as he journeys to nearby craft beer destinations to see what makes them worth the trip.
In the second installment of the series, we take you on a trip to lovely Bloomington, Indiana to visit Upland Brewing Co.
Last night we had the great privilege of officially welcoming Urban Chestnut Brewing to Chicago. In true Urban Chestnut fashion, there was plenty of tasty beer, a German-style feast and, of course, a punk polka band playing NOFX, Op Ivy and Brian Adams covers.
The event was also a part of our Secret Beer Party series, which meant that we got to party with a bunch of you guys! Thanks for joining us, we had a blast. Read More
If anything bad can be said about Chicagoans, it’s that we have a tendency to think of the city as the only worthwhile part of the Midwest. Beer Trips (Driveable Craft Beer Destinations) is a blog series about places that are just within our reach. These posts will put you in the passenger seat of Lakeshore Beverage’s blogger and beer traveler, Matt Tanaka as he journeys to nearby craft beer destinations to see what makes them worth the trip.
After reading these guides, you should find yourself equipped to make the same journey… or at the very least with a whetted appetite for a fresh pint.
First up: Founders Brewing Co. in Grand Rapids, MI.