Sweetwater Guide: Where To Buy This Beer

SweetWater Guide Beer is an American lager brewed by the SweetWater Brewing Company, which is based in Atlanta, Georgia. The beer is no longer being produced by the brewery, but it used to be available at various locations in the United States, including Georgia, Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Texas, and Maryland. It received mixed reviews, with some people praising it as a great lager, while others found it underwhelming.

SweetWater Brewing Company location

The SweetWater Brewing Company is located in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States. The craft brewery was founded in 1997 by Freddy Bensch and Kevin McNerney, who were roommates at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The pair also worked part-time cleaning kegs at a local brewery. After graduating in 1993, McNerney worked in several breweries in Colorado and California, while Bensch studied at the American Brewers Guild.

Bensch visited Atlanta during the 1996 Summer Olympics and saw an opportunity to bring a West Coast-style brewery to the Southeast. The pair raised funds to open their first location off Interstate 20 on Fulton Industrial Boulevard. The brewery was named after kayaking down Sweetwater Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee River, in Georgia's Sweetwater Creek State Park, located a few miles west of the brewery.

In 2003, the brewery moved to a 25,000-square-foot facility in Atlanta's Armour Circle Industrial Park on Ottley Drive. The SweetWater Brewing Company's address is 195 Ottley Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30324.

Guide Beer availability

Guide Beer, an American Lager with 4.0% ABV, was brewed by the SweetWater Brewing Company. The beer was made to honour guides—people who lead and show the way. Eleven per cent of the profits from this beer were dedicated to supporting guides who could no longer pursue their passion.

While Guide Beer was previously available at the SweetWater Brewing Company address in Atlanta, Georgia, it seems that the beer is no longer in production. This is based on several reviews on Untappd, with users stating that the beer is "no longer being produced by the brewery" and expressing their desire for the beer to "come back".

However, it is worth noting that some recent reviews suggest that Guide Beer may still be available at select locations. For instance, a user reviewed the beer on February 12, 2024, indicating that it was purchased at Georgia Liquor Barn. Another user reviewed the beer on January 13, 2024, but the location is not specified.

If you are interested in purchasing Guide Beer, your best bet would be to contact the SweetWater Brewing Company directly to inquire about its availability. Additionally, you can use online tools such as TapHunter to stay updated on the beer's availability near you.

Similar beers

SweetWater Brewing Company is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and its distribution is limited to select states. If you're looking for similar beers to SweetWater Guide Beer, a crisp and refreshing lager, then you might want to try one of the following:

New Belgium Dominga Grapefruit

A mimosa-inspired golden sour beer with refreshing notes of grapefruit, lime, agave, and a pinch of salt.

Firestone Walker Oaktoberfest

A German-style Oktoberfest beer matured in French oak barrels, giving it a smooth mouthfeel and a hint of West Coast hoppiness.

Sierra Nevada Cosmic Little Thing Hazy Double IPA

An interstellar wave of tropical flavour, with notes of citrus, berries, and lychee. This hazy IPA has an ABV of 8%.

Firestone Walker Cosmic Crusher Juicy Imperial IPA

An imperial juicy IPA with a punchy mango and pineapple character, created with Galaxy and Strata hops.

Firestone Walker Luponic Distortion

A trailblazing IPA with a secret blend of new-age hops, featuring mind-bending flavours of lychee, peach, nectarine, and strawberry.

Guide Beer reviews

Guide Beer, an American Lager by SweetWater Brewing Company, has received mixed reviews. The beer has an ABV of 4.0% and is available near the SweetWater Brewing Company in Atlanta, Georgia.

One reviewer from Maryland describes it as a "decent enough easy drinker" and "good for what it is." They note that it has a "yellow" appearance, with a "decent white head" and "good retention." The aroma is described as "sweet corn and pilsner malt", while the taste is said to be "light bodied with appropriate carbonation for a quencher."

Another reviewer from Indiana gives it a rating of 3.51/5, noting that the beer has a "hint of chill haze" and a "nearly white head." They describe the aroma as "bready and yeasty", with a "tangy, semisweet pils malt" taste and a "thin to medium body."

A reviewer from Pennsylvania mentions that the beer has a "nice bready malt with some roast notes" in both the nose and the mouth. They describe the appearance as "slightly hazy brownish" with a "nice head."

On the other hand, a reviewer from Georgia gives it a rating of 2.5/5, simply stating that it is "not Sweetwater's best effort." Similarly, a reviewer from Pennsylvania rates it 3.09/5, describing the appearance as "clear yellow color with a four-finger fluffy foam head" and the smell as "salted malt... like a pilsner." They note that the taste is "corn and maltiness" and "bland", with a "salty and malty" mouthfeel.

Overall, the reviews for Guide Beer seem to be mixed, with some praising its easy drinkability and light, refreshing qualities, while others find it underwhelming or bland.

Guide Beer ingredients

The four main ingredients in beer are malt, hops, yeast, and water.

Malt

Malt is the principal source of fermentable sugar in beer. It is made from raw, brewing-grade barley, which undergoes a germination and kilning process by malt manufacturers to prepare it for brewers. In other words, malt is barley that has been sprouted and dried. Every combination of roasting time, temperature, pH, concentration, sugar, and nitrogenous compounds will create a different set of flavor chemicals in a malt. There are two types of malt: base malt, which forms the majority of malted grains used to make beer, and specialty malts, such as chocolate malt, which have a more dramatic impact on the flavor, mouthfeel, and color of the beer.

Hops

Hops are the green, cone-shaped flowers of the hop plant that are used to add balance, flavor, and aroma to beer. They contain specific amounts of alpha and beta acids, as well as essential oils that give many beers their signature bitterness, flavor, and aroma. A technique called dry hopping involves adding hops after fermentation for added aroma and flavor. Hops are also an excellent preservative for beer.

Yeast

Brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces) is a type of fungus that consumes fermentable sugars in the wort and creates alcohol and carbon dioxide as a byproduct, a process known as fermentation. The nuances of fermentation depend on the type of yeast used, primarily ale or lager yeast. Using two different types of yeast in the same wort can create drastically different beers. In addition to alcohol and carbon dioxide, yeast strains produce other compounds like esters, fusel alcohols, ketones, and various phenols and fatty acids, all of which contribute to the character of a beer.

Water

Water may seem like an obvious ingredient, but because it makes up the vast majority of beer, it is a critical one. There are four key aspects of water that relate to brewing: pH, hardness, alkalinity and residual alkalinity, and “flavor” ions.

Additional Ingredients

Adjuncts are another source of fermentable sugars that can be added to beer to increase alcohol content, create a lighter, less malty beer, or add unique characteristics. For example, rice has been used as a brewing adjunct in the United States and Britain since the 19th century.

Fining agents are compounds added to beer to improve clarity. They work by attaching themselves to contaminants, causing them to settle at the bottom of the fermenter.

Guide Beer, brewed by the SweetWater Brewing Company, is an American lager with a 4.0% ABV. While the specific ingredients in Guide Beer are not publicly available, we can assume that it contains the four main beer ingredients: malt, hops, yeast, and water. As an American lager, it likely contains barley as the base malt and may include adjuncts such as corn or rice to lighten the body and add a crisp, corn-like flavor.

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