Sweetwater 420 Extra Pale Ale
www.sweetwaterbrew.com
Inspired by West Coast brewing styles, but brewed with true southern heart, Sweetwater 420 has become a staple beer in the local pubs and restaurants across the Atlanta area. This lighter tasting pale ale features a citrusy hop profile backed with a semi-sweet maltiness perfect for warm day thirst quenching or hanging out with friends and a pizza.
The drinkability and versatility of the 420 is why it is becoming the beer of choice throughout the Southeast. I have enjoyed this beer on tap from the panhandle of Florida to the hills of Tennessee and frequently ask servers how well the beer sells in their establishments. I’m always impressed to learn that Sweetwater 420 is among the top sellers even when mass-market light beer is available. It’s a true guage of the quality and goodness it has to offer.
To further preach the gospel, as only a true southerner would, consider that in 2002 this delicious pale ale took home a silver medal at the Great American Beer Festival (the GABF is only the largest beer fest in the country), and among other awards like a silver medal at the 1998 World Beer Cup, Sweetwater consistently wins what I consider the most important designation of all--the vote of the beer drinking public.
Food Pairings: Pizza (Mellow Mushroom has it on tap), Black Eye Pea Hummus with Corn Bread Sticks
Package Availability:
- Six packs
- 12 packs
- 15.5 gallon kegs
- 7.75 gallon kegs
- 5 gallon kegs
Best Places to Enjoy: Midtown Atlanta Restaurants such as the Front Page News, Mellow Mushroom Pizza, by the pool.
Other Sweetwater beers to try: Sweetwater Blue, Sweetwater Exodus Porter (if you can find it), Sweetwater IPA, Sweetwater Georgia Brown.
Knurd Notes:
- Optimal serving temp – 40-45° F
- IBU’s – 39ABV – 5.4%
- Glassware – Pint Glass
- Malts – 2 Row, Munich, Carastan 30-37
- Hops - Centenial, Cascade
The 420 Pale Ale is voted Best Local Beer year after year by critics and readers of Creative Loafing, the widely read Atlanta entertainment and dining guide.
If the opinion of critics and peers doesn’t persuade you to give the 420 its due, then perhaps sheer numbers will. As of this writing the brewery is on pace to sell 21,850 barrels of 420 this year. That is the equivalent of 300,000 cases of which 80% will be sold in Atlanta and Athens. The hope of the brewery is to stay local to this area and continue to serve its loyal fans. Put all of this together and you have one damn fine beer that is easy to drink and easy to find, if you live in the southeast.
