SweetWater Brewing Company To Give $100,000 For Clean Water Initiatives

June 7, 2016

Save Our Water Campaign to Generate $100,000 in Matching Funds for $200,000+ Total

ATLANTA – SweetWater Brewing Company is broadening its annual Save Our Water campaign to “protect our right to clean water and tasty brews” to include five partner organizations: Waterkeeper Alliance, Trout Unlimited, Ducks Unlimited, Surfrider, and Coastal Conservation Association’s National Habitat Program, Building Conservation Trust. Marking the campaign’s 10th anniversary, SweetWater will donate $100,000 and promote a matching funds effort, with the goal of raising an additional $100,000. Save Our Water kicks off June 1 and runs through Labor Day. For details on each partner and the history of Save Our Water, please see below.

Supporting the conservation of some of the nation’s most threatened rivers, streams and coastlines is a cause near and dear to the brewery, as clean water is also vital to the creation of their tasty brews. Nearly 20 years ago, Freddy Bensch traveled from Boulder to Atlanta with a fresh environmental conservation degree from CU in his pocket and a desire to put what he learned and, more importantly, felt to work. “I was enamored by the city’s vibrancy and its beautiful river and creeks – but also recognized the pollution challenges they faced,” says Bensch. “While pursuing my dream of creating SweetWater Brewery, I used my education and experiences to develop an environmentally responsible business, which remains embodied in the work we do every day.”

SweetWater founded the “Save Our Water” program in 2006 with Chattahoochee Riverkeeper in Atlanta, and grew with the brewery’s distribution footprint to include other Waterkeeper Alliance members. Those yearly grassroots efforts have raised over $600,000.

“We’re honored to expand on the Waterkeeper partnership this year, extend our efforts to four more incredible environmental champions, and look forward to the most robust joint fundraising efforts yet,” says Bensch. “This will help ensure that we always have great water to make great beer, and that generations to come will continue to enjoy and share our passion for the great outdoors.”

“We’re grateful for our growing partnership with SweetWater and the work they are doing to conserve our nation’s waterways,” said Marc Yaggi, executive director of Waterkeeper Alliance. “Using high quality water in the beer-making process is most reflected in the end product. So protecting clean drinking water resources is also about protecting great beer.”

“Functional working wetlands are extremely valuable for improving water quality, as well as in providing critical habitat for waterfowl. Our partnership is truly a natural fit as both SweetWater and DU were born from an appreciation of the outdoors and the active outdoor lifestyle, and share a strong sense of responsibility for protecting the resources we care deeply about,” says Jim Alexander, Ducks Unlimited’s senior director of corporate relations.

“If trout anglers can get behind anything, it’s clean water and great beer,” says Joel R. Johnson, chief marketing officer for Trout Unlimited. “We appreciate SweetWater’s efforts to help TU and our conservation partners project and restore the watersheds that are so important to all of us.”

“With SweetWater’s incredible generosity, this is a very exciting time for our habitat program as we are poised to exponentially expand our capabilities,” said Sean Stone, executive director of Building Conservation Trust. “Over the history of our program, every dollar from BCT has produced at least $3 in marine habitat creation and enhancement. As the campaign progresses, we will be in an even better position to do some amazing things for marine resources.”

“The campaign fundraising with SweetWater will enable Surfrider Foundation’s regional staff, local chapter network and the national environmental team of scientists and legal professionals in their progressive initiatives,” says Mary Herbranson of Surfrider Foundation. “The collective effort actualizes our mission to protect our ocean, waves and beaches through a powerful grassroots activist network.”

Save Our Water began by encouraging folks to “give of their liver to save the river” via a multifaceted fundraising and awareness generating effort, which included purchases of “Save Our Water” t-shirts and signature-ready “fundraising fish” at participating restaurants, bars and retail accounts, and purchases of custom pint glass at brewery tours. In addition to those foundational elements, this year’s campaign includes direct fundraising portals on each of the non-profit’s websites, branded merchandise, and fundraising and recreational events throughout the campaign trail.

For more on Save Our Water, links to partner organizations and their missions, merchandise, events, and other details, visit sweetwaterbrew.com/saveourwater

We’re here for a good time, but our planet is here for a long time!

ABOUT COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION’s BUILDING CONSERVATION TRUST

The Building Conservation Trust (BCT) was founded in 2010 as the national marine habitat program of Coastal Conservation Association. BCT is a 501c3 non-profit organization exclusively dedicated to providing funding for local, state and national fisheries, habitat conservation and restoration projects. BCT has created a model for the successful collaboration of business, non-profit organizations and government agencies to revitalize critical habitat and establish a vibrant foundation for the marine ecosystem. Learn more at buildingconservation.org

ABOUT DUCKS UNLIMITED INC.

Ducks Unlimited Inc. is the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to conserving North America’s continually disappearing waterfowl habitats. Established in 1937, Ducks Unlimited has conserved more than 13.6 million acres thanks to contributions from more than a million supporters across the continent. Guided by science and dedicated to program efficiency, DU works toward the vision of wetlands sufficient to fill the skies with waterfowl today, tomorrow and forever. Learn more at ducks.org.

ABOUT SURFRIDER FOUNDATION

The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit grassroots organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of our world’s oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful activist network. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, California, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 250,000 supporters, activists and members worldwide. Learn more at surfrider.org

ABOUT TROUT UNLIMITED

Trout Unlimited is the nation’s oldest and largest coldwater fisheries conservation organization, boasting more than 158,000 members from coast to coast. TU’s mission is to conserve and protect North America’s trout and salmon and their habitat. Learn more at tu.org

ABOUT WATERKEEPER ALLIANCE

Waterkeeper Alliance is a global movement uniting more than 290 Waterkeeper organizations around the world and focusing citizen advocacy on issues that affect our waterways, from pollution to climate change. Waterkeepers patrol and protect more than 2.3 million square miles of rivers, streams and coastlines in the Americas, Europe, Australia, Asia and Africa. Learn more at waterkeeper.org

ABOUT SWEETWATER BREWING CO.

SweetWater Brewing Company is an Atlanta-based craft brewery living by the motto “Don’t Float the Mainstream!” In addition to making tasty brews, the company is passionate about protecting natural resources, and is recognized as an environmental advocate and champion for clean water throughout its distribution footprint. The award-winning lineup of year-round beers includes SweetWater 420, IPA, Blue, Georgia Brown, Take Two Pils, and Hop Hash. Four annual seasonal releases offer palate pleasing variety — 2015/16 introduced Hash Brown in fall, Whiplash in winter, Hash Session IPA in spring, and Goin’ Coastal in summer. SweetWater also features an experimental, one-time-only Dank Tank series and more progressive styles in the 750 mL Cork & Cage series. SweetWater Brewery – located at 195 Ottley Drive in Atlanta – is open for tours every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. as well as Saturdays and Sundays from 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. Learn more at sweetwaterbrew.com

Contact: Tucker Berta Sarkisian, SweetWater Brewing Co., [email protected]