Founders Freddy Bensch and Kevin McNerney were roommates at the University of Colorado at Boulder, where they also worked part-time cleaning kegs at a local brewery.

[2] Bensch visited Atlanta during the 1996 Summer Olympics and saw an opportunity to bring a West Coast style brewery to the Southeast.

McNerney soon joined Bensch in Atlanta raising initial funds to open the brewery's first location off Interstate 20 on Fulton Industrial Boulevard.

[2] In 2012 SweetWater completed a three-phase expansion project adding additional office and event space, a bottling line and packaging hall, and a tank farm that increased capacity from 100,000 to 500,000 barrels per year.

The SweetWater 420 Fest is an annual three-day craft beer, music and arts festival formerly held in Atlanta's historic Candler Park.

The Earth Day inspired festival was first hosted in 2004 and features live music, local art, standup comedy, food trucks, craft beer tasting and a 5k.