(ATLANTA, GA) – Georgia’s largest craft brewery brought home the bacon from the “Super Bowl of Beer Festivals” held in Denver, CO over the weekend. During Saturday’s Great American Beer Festival (GABF) award ceremony, the SweetWater gang was presented with a silver medal in the Brown Porter category #74 for their Exodus Porter.

Exodus Porter, first brewed on Bob Marley’s birthday, delivers distinct irie hop notes which transcend into rich waves of chocolate and caramel, creating a multidimensional taste experience. Weighing in at 6.5% ABV, the brew is a regular on SweetWater’s year-round lineup and can be found in six-packs of 12-ounce bottles and Tackle Box variety packs throughout the Southeast. Exodus is one of the brewery’s most decorated beers with prior gold and silver wins from both GABF and World Beer Cup.

Presented by the Brewer’s Association, the GABF competition represents the largest collection of U.S. beer ever served, in the format of a public tasting and private competition. This year, GABF evaluated 84 categories representing 134 styles of more than 4,300 beers, from 673 breweries throughout 48 states. GABF saw a 10-percent-plus increase of beers entered this year over 2011, serving nearly 50,000 beer-loving attendees throughout the weekend.

“It’s incredibly humbling to bring home any kind of award from the GABF as these medals represent the best brews throughout the nation,” said SweetWater Co-Founder and Big Kahuna Freddy Bensch. “As always, I’ve got to give props to our brewing team who’s been keeping our brews fresh and tasty all year round. Our goal has always been to deliver a quality product, and this win continues to prove we’re doing exactly what we believe in.”

With this medal, SweetWater has brought home 13 total wins from GABF throughout its 15 years of entries including its most epic honor of Small Brewery of the Year Award in 2002. It still remains the only brewery east of the Mississippi River to ever win the title.

For more on SweetWater Brewing Company and its lip-smackin’ lineup, visit www.sweetwaterbrew.com. To see a full list of all of the medal winners from GABF 2012, visit www.brewersassociation.org.

ABOUT SWEETWATER BREWING COMPANY:

SweetWater Brewing Company is an Atlanta‐based craft brewery specializing in aggressive West Coast style beers. SweetWater’s brews are unpasteurized and designed to be consumed fresh so distribution is limited to the Southeast. The award‐winning lineup of year‐round brews includes SweetWater 420, IPA, Exodus Porter, Blue, LowRYEder and Georgia Brown. SweetWater also features a Catch and Release series of beers available on a limited basis throughout the year, and an experimental, one‐time‐only Dank Tank series. The SweetWater Brewery, open for tours every Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 5:30‐7:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 2:30‐4:30 p.m., is located at 195 Ottley Dr. NE, Atlanta GA 30324. For more information about SweetWater Brewing Company, please visit www.sweetwaterbrew.com. For more of a social relationship with SweetWater Brewing Company follow @sweetwaterbrew on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook: www.facebook.com/sweetwaterbrew