Save Our Water 2013

SweetWater and BWRk help “Save Our Water” in Tuscaloosa.

TUSCALOOSA (June 27, 2013) – Although water is one of the most vital resources on the planet, waterways continue to decline in quality and quantity in virtually every part of the world. Earth is home to one billion cubic kilometers of water, yet only 2.5 percent is fresh water. Of that, less than one percent is clean and accessible, leaving more than one billion people living without safe drinking water.

SweetWater Brewing Company realizes the importance of protecting these vital water sources and has once again teamed up with the Waterkeeper® Alliance – a global movement of on-the-water advocates who patrol and protect worldwide waterways – for their “Save Our Water” campaign, supporting the conservation of the Southeast’s most threatened rivers, streams and coastlines. The cause is near and dear to the brewery as clean water is also vital to the creation of their tasty brews.

“Many folks don’t realize that in addition to serving as a source for swimming, drinking and fishing in local communities, fresh waterways – Chattahoochee River in particular – account for a main ingredient making up 90 percent of our beer,” said SweetWater Founder and Big Kahuna Freddy Bensch. “Keeping our water clean is a cause that affects our entire community, so dedicating a beer and a campaign to give back to this effort was a no brainer for us.”

Kicking off July 4 and running through Labor Day, SweetWater’s “Save Our Water” campaign encourages patrons to “give of your liver to save the river” by purchasing SweetWater’s seasonal Waterkeeper® Hefeweizen ale, “Save Our Water” t-shirts, and making paper fish donations at participating restaurants, bars and retail accounts where the beer is sold across the Southeast. Proceeds from the sales will directly benefit local Waterkeepers. Additionally, patrons can visit waterkeeperbrew.org to donate online, or purchase a custom “Save Our Water” pint glass at SweetWater’s weekly brewery tours.

In 2011 the brewers at SweetWater launched Waterkeeper® Hefeweizen, a beer with a cause, in which proceeds go back to the campaign. Now, as part of their seasonal Catch & Release line-up, the unfiltered brew made its return to shelves and draft taps earlier this June.

SweetWater founded the “Save Our Water” program in 2006 with its local Chattahoochee Riverkeeper in Atlanta, and efforts grew larger as the brewery did. Since the inception of the program nearly seven years ago, SweetWater has raised more than $550,000 for the cause, with a whopping $100,000 raised in 2012 alone. Today, the “Save Our Water” campaign supports 35 Waterkeeper® members in Southeastern cities where they distribute beer including Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.

In Tuscaloosa, Black Warrior Riverkeeper is protecting the Black Warrior River plus Lake Tuscaloosa, the city’s drinking water source. Mountain High Outfitters is again donating prizes to bartenders and servers throughout Tuscaloosa who raise the most money for Black Warrior Riverkeeper. To see the list of participating locations selling paper fish, scroll to the bottom of this page. Locations also selling “Save Our Water” shirts include CopperTop, Crimson Tavern, and Rounders.

“We are very excited to team up with SweetWater for a sixth year of paper fish and shirt sales,” said Charles Scribner, Executive Director of Black Warrior Riverkeeper. “We want to increase our support base in Tuscaloosa throughout 2013, so “Save Our Water” is a perfect fit for raising money and awareness at over 20 businesses in this great river city.”

For more information on the “Save Our Water” campaign, or to donate online, visit www.waterkeeperbrew.org.

###

MEDIA CONTACT: Francesca Zeifman | Communications Manager | 404.691.2537 ext. 227 | [email protected]

ABOUT SWEETWATER BREWING COMPANY: SweetWater Brewing Company is an Atlanta‐based craft brewery following the motto “Don’t Float the Mainstream!” SweetWater’s brews are unpasteurized and designed to be consumed fresh so distribution is limited to the Southeast. SweetWater Brewery, open for tours every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 5:30‐7:30 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 2:30‐4:30 p.m. For more information about SweetWater Brewing Company, please visit sweetwaterbrew.com. Follow SweetWater on Twitter and Instagram @sweetwaterbrew, and become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetwaterbrew.

TUSCALOOSA LOCATIONS

Alcove : 730 22nd Avenue

Buffalo Wild Wings : 2710 McFarland Blvd

CopperTop : 2300 4th Street

Corks and Tops : 701 Bryant Drive

Crimson Tavern : 1301 University Blvd

Cypress Inn : 501 Rice Mine Road North

Downtown Pub : 2427 University Blvd

Egan’s : 1229 University Blvd

Houndstooth : 1300 University Blvd

Glory Bound : 2325 University Blvd

Gray Lady : 521 Greensboro Ave

Green Bar : 2209 4th St.

Innisfree : 1925 University Blvd

Mellow Mushroom : 2230 University Blvd

Moe’s BBQ : 2101 University Blvd

Rounders : 1215 University Blvd

Steamers : 823 Hargrove Rd

Tuscaloosa Burger : 1014 7th Ave

Wilhagen’s : 2209 4th St.

Wintzell’s Oyster House : 1 Bridge Ave