RESOURCES

Did you know that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a local beer columnist? Every two weeks the paper publishes Bob Townsend's informative column covering the goings-on of the Atlanta-area beer scene. His current dispatch discusses the growth of craft brewing in light of the Association of Brewers recent study (see article above) as it applies to a couple Atlanta's craft brewers, including SweetWater (see article below.) In addition to the current topic, the site contains an archive of Townsend's past subjects. To easily find the current column, go to: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/living/food/townsend/
PROFILES IN BREWING
By Bobby Bush, author of "Beer & Loafing"

Kevin McNerney, brewmaster of SweetWater Brewery in Atlanta GA

They were the dapper darlings of the Atlanta brewing scene. These
20-something brewery owners had already paid their brewing dues but
had little idea how to run a business. College roommates, Kevin McNerney
and Fredrick Bensch let youthful exuberance be their guide. "People were
intrigued with our youth," says Kevin concerning the February 1997
opening of SweetWater Brewing Company. Dedication, hard work and
love for their craft turned early naivete into a successful, long-term career.

Kevin carries the title of brewmaster (Fredrick is the company's "Big Cahoona"), though titles mean little around the 11-employee operation. Kevin's first exposure to brewing began with a pause in his school schedule at the University of Colorado. He needed a job and Rockies Brewing, a sizeable microbrewery, was hiring. In fact,
the company was growing so fast and Kevin was such an eager student that he went from keg cleaning to brewing in a flash.

More opportunity came knocking. Kevin next brewed at well-respected Avery Brewing from 1993 to 1995, leaving Colorado late that year to design and build Mammoth Lakes Brewing in California. A phone call from Fredrick, who had followed a similar brewery hopping path, coerced Kevin to move to Atlanta where his partner had already located a suitable building for their operation. What began seven years earlier as two college kids' dream was soon to be reality.

The "biggest trial was convincing the Atlanta public to give us a shot, put SweetWater on tap," sums up Kevin's earliest concerns. In those early days, the twosome would brew all day, and then hit the marketplace at night to hawk their wares. Today, 90% of SweetWater's production - which exceeded 13,000 barrels in 2002 - is purchased in the greater Atlanta market. That marketing accomplishment is almost as astonishing as their beer.

In 2002 at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, his "old stomping ground," Kevin's brewing efforts received the industry's highest accolade. SweetWater was recognized as the Small Brewery of the Year, and Kevin, for his beer's high score in the festival competition, was anointed Small Brewer of the Year. SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale scored a silver medal and the sultry, smooth Exodus Porter struck gold. Kevin's other beers have received similar trinkets at earlier GABFs and other national competitions, including a 2001 GABF for the then-new Sweet Georgia Brown, a gold (2000) and silver (2002) World Beer Cup trophy for SweetWater ESB, bronze World Beer Cup for Sweetwater Blue, a blueberry flavored beer, in 1998 and many others. SweetWater IPA and winter seasonal Festive Ale complete the product line up.

Success of this nature does not go unrewarded. Demand is high, so high that expanding into other markets, as they already have into western NC, Savannah and Athens, Ga., is difficult. That's a good problem to have. One the college roomies turned business partners have well in hand. By the end of August, SweetWater Brewing will move into a new home with double the brewing capacity and a faster bottling line, with room to grow. Kevin and Fredrick's "ambition to competently and confidently expand into new markets" is in capable hands.

Their own.

900 Wendell Court SW, Atlanta, GA 30336 - (404) 691-2537

Read more by nationally recognized beer writer Bobby Bush at: http://www.realbeer.com/library/authors/bush-b/
CALENDAR

Additional festival listings and details are available at: http://beersouth.com/calendar.html

5/7-10 - National Craft Brewer's Conference / New Orleans LA
5/10 - Greenville Beer Fest / Greenville SC
5/17 - Virginia Beer Festival / Norfolk VA
5/24 - 3rd Shenandoah Valley Beer & Wine Festival / Elkton VA
5/30 - 6th Ft. Lauderdale International Beer Festival / Fort Lauderdale FL
NEWS

NOTED TAMPA BREWER JOHN DOBLE DIES

Just as the Buzz was going to press, we were stunned to learn
the tragic news of the untimely death of brewer John G. Doble, III,
brewmaster and owner of the Tampa Bay Brewing Company in
Tampa, Florida. On Wednesday, April 16, Tampa firefighters
responded to an 8 p.m. call at his home near Busch Gardens.
Inside they found 37-year-old Doble unconscious and not
breathing. He later died at University Community Hospital.

John was an extremely likeable and generous man, on top of
being a remarkably creative and nationally-renown brewer. In
addition to being the co-founder, proprietor and brewmaster of
the brewpub in Ybor City, he was a co-owner of the Brew Shack,
a beer and wine homebrew supply & retail store in Tampa. He was an inspiration to many in the brewing industry as well as a strong supporter of brewing causes and clubs in the Tampa Bay area.

On Monday, April 21, Rob Bernys, owner and brewer of Orlando Brewing Partners micro in Orlando, will donate the last batch of beer he'd just made for Doble to a 5:00 p.m. memorial at Rossi's in Tampa. (Editor's note: This was beer produced for Doble's venture into beer retailing, which in Florida, required the beer to be produced by an outside partner.) The memorial will coincide with another remembrance of John's passing at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa. Prior to his foray into brewing, John was a sergeant in the U.S. Airborne-Ranger-Infantry: 1st BN, 75th Ranger Regiment; First Infantry Division "The Big Red One"; and 101st Airborne (Airmobile) Division.

In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted for John's remains to be cast into an artificial reef structure to be placed in the Gulf at an accessible location near Sarasota and for his son Chris' education fund. A funeral Mass will be offered for the repose of his soul, Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church. cremation will follow. The family will receive friends Monday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. at the chapel of Gonzalez Funeral Home, (813) 931-1833.

John is survived by his brewpub-partner father John Doble, Sr., his mother Vicki, his son Chris, his ex-wife Michaela, and a number of other relatives.

CAMPAIGN FOR GEORGIA STRONG BEERS IN RECESS

The effort to repeal Georgia's prohibition of beers over 6% in alcohol by volume recently hit a bump in the road, but the effort is by no means ended. The bill passed in the House and was sent to the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, where it was assigned a subcommittee. This was a good thing. However, since time ran out
for the subcommittee to meet, make a recommendation to the full committee or have a committee vote, the legislation will have to be on hold until the Senate reconvenes in January 2004. Supporters of the campaign, which have come up dry the past few years, are cautiously optimistic of their chances this time, especially since the bill made it through the House, which in past years was where the bill got voted down. Still, should the legislation clear the Senate and emerge as potential law, supporters may have one last campaign - convincing Governor Sonny Purdue, a teetotaler, not to veto the bill.

DRAFT BEER FOR MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA

Montgomery, Alabama's, City Council members and local legislators have decided to work together to pass a law legalizing draft beer in the city. Local legislators said they expect the draft beer bill being introduced this session by state Sen. Larry Dixon to be approved, if the frothy beverage is allowed to be sold throughout the city. Yes, it's
true: draft beer is not a common commodity in Alabama's capital city, although there is a brewpub, Montgomery Brewing Company, also known as "The Brewpub." Only two weeks ago, a City Council proposal, which was
defeated, sought to ask the Legislature to allow draft beer sales for the downtown area only. More recently, though, Sen. Dixon wanted to ensure that draft beer sales would be allowed throughout the city. "With the riverfront coming along, this is really important," City Council President Alice Reynolds said.

The council and legislators also came to an agreement about selling alcohol on Sundays in the city and county. The council agreed to proposed legislation giving the city the right to set the time and days for selling alcohol. "As you know, this (beer controversy) has been going on for 20 years," Dixon said.

Under the bill, draft beer sales would be approved automatically in the unincorporated areas of the county even if the City Council voted against allowing draft beer. The council, two weeks ago, also asked that draft beer be sold for on-premises consumption only, eliminating take-out keg beer sales. Rep. Alvin Holmes has sponsored a bill for
countywide draft sales, which has been approved by the House. Dixon said he and Holmes are cooperating on the issue, but the new proposal agreed on Monday must be advertised before it can be introduced into the Legislature. Dixon promised he would follow the City Council's recommendation.

CRAFT BEER SALES SURGE

According to figures compiled both by the Association of Brewers and by the Brewers' Association of America, sales of craft beer are on the upswing in the U.S. The two organizations do not collect data from exactly the same breweries, nor do they compile the information in exactly the same way  but both clearly show that craft beer sales are growing faster than overall domestic beer sales.

Growth was 3.4% in 2002, according to the Association of Brewers. It marked the 23rd consecutive year of increasing sales since the AOB, a trade association for the U.S. craft beer industry, began tracking the industry in 1980.

The Brewers' Association of America said that its Small Brewer's Growth Index was up nearly 11% from 2002, following a 9.7% increases in 2001, when the BAA  a trade association for small brewers  began its index.

"Once again small brewery owners have demonstrated the strength of their segment of the domestic beer industry," said Daniel Bradford, president of the BAA. "For almost three decades domestic small breweries have
paved new roads for the brewing industry. Their annual growth figure, the SBGI '02, shows their continuing strength."

The AOB totaled production data, brewery openings and closings and transition data from more than 900 of the 1,409 craft breweries it reported operating in 2002. Their production represents 83% of the craft beer industry's total volume. The remaining 17% of the unreported data was extrapolated using 2001 data, first hand knowledge and allowing for average industry growth.

The craft beer industry produced more than 6.4 million barrels of craft beer in 2002. One barrel equals 31 U.S. gallons (13.78 cases). Volume was up 216,688 barrels, which amounts to almost 3 million cases. Total U.S. craft beer industry annual retail sales value for 2002 reached more than $3.8 billion.

Strongest growth was by contract brewers, with production growing 13.5% to 1.17 million barrels. This growth of contract brewing companies is attributed to successful new product rollouts as well as industry members working together to solve capacity issues, such as when demand exceeds production capacity or when a brewpub is uccessful enough to contract brew its beer elsewhere for distribution in bottles and kegs.

Overall, regional specialty breweries (with production between 15,000 barrels and 2 million) sold 59.8% of craft beers, contract breweries 18.2%, microbreweries (those smaller than 15,000 bbls) 11.8%, and brewpubs 10.2%.

The BAA figures showed that its 50 largest breweries recorded 14.1% growth, indicating the enduring strength of the larger small breweries.

Among breweries producing more than 20,000 barrels, the growth rate was almost as high. "Although we are in the shadow of the world's largest breweries, we have a market that wants our types of beers," said Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery. "Our brewery, like hundreds of other domestic breweries, continues to expand."

SOUTHERN BREWERS WIN REAL ALE AWARDS

Congrats to the following breweries and clubs that won awards in this year's Real Ale Festival.
Winners were announced February 27 & March 1.

Best of Group Awards - American Style Cask Ales
Bronze: High Desert Imperial Stout - Sweetwater Tavern / Centreville, Sterling, & Merrifield VA

Individual Style Awards - Cask Ales
Scottish Ales - Gold: Wee Heavy Ale - Capital City Brewing / Arlington VA
British-style Strong Ales - Bronze: Olde Fool - Boscos Brewing / Memphis & Nashville TN
American-style Stouts - Gold (tie): High Desert Imperial Stout - Sweetwater Tavern / Centreville, Sterling, & Merrifield VA

Individual Style Awards - Bottled
Scottish-style Ales - Silver: Isle of Skye - Boscos Brewing / Memphis & Nashville TN

Homebrewed Real Ale Competition Winners
Fifth Place: Old Ale, Old Ale/Strong Mild, Pin, racking tap, gravity dispense - Bluff City Brewers / Memphis TN

The material presented on this site is based on information believed to be correct, but is subject
to change at anytime. If you have an update, correction, suggestion or any other contribution,
please send it to us at: updates@beersouth.com. We welcome your input.

(c) 1999 - 2003 by Beer South. All Rights Reserved.
The material presented on this site is based on information believed to be correct, but is subject
to change at anytime. If you have an update, correction, suggestion or any other contribution,
please send it to us at: updates@beersouth.com. We welcome your input.

(c) 1999 - 2003 by Beer South. All Rights Reserved.
April 2003 Buzz
NEWS

NOTED TAMPA BREWER JOHN DOBLE DIES

Just as the Buzz was going to press, we were stunned to learn
the tragic news of the untimely death of brewer John G. Doble, III,
brewmaster and owner of the Tampa Bay Brewing Company in
Tampa, Florida. On Wednesday, April 16, Tampa firefighters
responded to an 8 p.m. call at his home near Busch Gardens.
Inside they found 37-year-old Doble unconscious and not
breathing. He later died at University Community Hospital.

John was an extremely likeable and generous man, on top of
being a remarkably creative and nationally-renown brewer. In
addition to being the co-founder, proprietor and brewmaster of
the brewpub in Ybor City, he was a co-owner of the Brew Shack,
a beer and wine homebrew supply & retail store in Tampa. He was an inspiration to many in the brewing industry as well as a strong supporter of brewing causes and clubs in the Tampa Bay area.

On Monday, April 21, Rob Bernys, owner and brewer of Orlando Brewing Partners micro in Orlando, will donate the last batch of beer he'd just made for Doble to a 5:00 p.m. memorial at Rossi's in Tampa. (Editor's note: This was beer produced for Doble's venture into beer retailing, which in Florida, required the beer to be produced by an outside partner.) The memorial will coincide with another remembrance of John's passing at McDill Air Force Base in Tampa. Prior to his foray into brewing, John was a sergeant in the U.S. Airborne-Ranger-Infantry: 1st BN, 75th Ranger Regiment; First Infantry Division "The Big Red One"; and 101st Airborne (Airmobile) Division.

In lieu of flowers, donations are being accepted for John's remains to be cast into an artificial reef structure to be placed in the Gulf at an accessible location near Sarasota and for his son Chris' education fund. A funeral Mass will be offered for the repose of his soul, Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. at Christ the King Catholic Church. cremation will follow. The family will receive friends Monday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. at the chapel of Gonzalez Funeral Home, (813) 931-1833.

John is survived by his brewpub-partner father John Doble, Sr., his mother Vicki, his son Chris, his ex-wife Michaela, and a number of other relatives.

CAMPAIGN FOR GEORGIA STRONG BEERS IN RECESS

The effort to repeal Georgia's prohibition of beers over 6% in alcohol by volume recently hit a bump in the road, but the effort is by no means ended. The bill passed in the House and was sent to the Senate Regulated Industries Committee, where it was assigned a subcommittee. This was a good thing. However, since time ran out
for the subcommittee to meet, make a recommendation to the full committee or have a committee vote, the legislation will have to be on hold until the Senate reconvenes in January 2004. Supporters of the campaign, which have come up dry the past few years, are cautiously optimistic of their chances this time, especially since the bill made it through the House, which in past years was where the bill got voted down. Still, should the legislation clear the Senate and emerge as potential law, supporters may have one last campaign - convincing Governor Sonny Purdue, a teetotaler, not to veto the bill.

DRAFT BEER FOR MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA

Montgomery, Alabama's, City Council members and local legislators have decided to work together to pass a law legalizing draft beer in the city. Local legislators said they expect the draft beer bill being introduced this session by state Sen. Larry Dixon to be approved, if the frothy beverage is allowed to be sold throughout the city. Yes, it's
true: draft beer is not a common commodity in Alabama's capital city, although there is a brewpub, Montgomery Brewing Company, also known as "The Brewpub." Only two weeks ago, a City Council proposal, which was
defeated, sought to ask the Legislature to allow draft beer sales for the downtown area only. More recently, though, Sen. Dixon wanted to ensure that draft beer sales would be allowed throughout the city. "With the riverfront coming along, this is really important," City Council President Alice Reynolds said.

The council and legislators also came to an agreement about selling alcohol on Sundays in the city and county. The council agreed to proposed legislation giving the city the right to set the time and days for selling alcohol. "As you know, this (beer controversy) has been going on for 20 years," Dixon said.

Under the bill, draft beer sales would be approved automatically in the unincorporated areas of the county even if the City Council voted against allowing draft beer. The council, two weeks ago, also asked that draft beer be sold for on-premises consumption only, eliminating take-out keg beer sales. Rep. Alvin Holmes has sponsored a bill for
countywide draft sales, which has been approved by the House. Dixon said he and Holmes are cooperating on the issue, but the new proposal agreed on Monday must be advertised before it can be introduced into the Legislature. Dixon promised he would follow the City Council's recommendation.

CRAFT BEER SALES SURGE

According to figures compiled both by the Association of Brewers and by the Brewers' Association of America, sales of craft beer are on the upswing in the U.S. The two organizations do not collect data from exactly the same breweries, nor do they compile the information in exactly the same way  but both clearly show that craft beer sales are growing faster than overall domestic beer sales.

Growth was 3.4% in 2002, according to the Association of Brewers. It marked the 23rd consecutive year of increasing sales since the AOB, a trade association for the U.S. craft beer industry, began tracking the industry in 1980.

The Brewers' Association of America said that its Small Brewer's Growth Index was up nearly 11% from 2002, following a 9.7% increases in 2001, when the BAA  a trade association for small brewers  began its index.

"Once again small brewery owners have demonstrated the strength of their segment of the domestic beer industry," said Daniel Bradford, president of the BAA. "For almost three decades domestic small breweries have
paved new roads for the brewing industry. Their annual growth figure, the SBGI '02, shows their continuing strength."

The AOB totaled production data, brewery openings and closings and transition data from more than 900 of the 1,409 craft breweries it reported operating in 2002. Their production represents 83% of the craft beer industry's total volume. The remaining 17% of the unreported data was extrapolated using 2001 data, first hand knowledge and allowing for average industry growth.

The craft beer industry produced more than 6.4 million barrels of craft beer in 2002. One barrel equals 31 U.S. gallons (13.78 cases). Volume was up 216,688 barrels, which amounts to almost 3 million cases. Total U.S. craft beer industry annual retail sales value for 2002 reached more than $3.8 billion.

Strongest growth was by contract brewers, with production growing 13.5% to 1.17 million barrels. This growth of contract brewing companies is attributed to successful new product rollouts as well as industry members working together to solve capacity issues, such as when demand exceeds production capacity or when a brewpub is uccessful enough to contract brew its beer elsewhere for distribution in bottles and kegs.

Overall, regional specialty breweries (with production between 15,000 barrels and 2 million) sold 59.8% of craft beers, contract breweries 18.2%, microbreweries (those smaller than 15,000 bbls) 11.8%, and brewpubs 10.2%.

The BAA figures showed that its 50 largest breweries recorded 14.1% growth, indicating the enduring strength of the larger small breweries.

Among breweries producing more than 20,000 barrels, the growth rate was almost as high. "Although we are in the shadow of the world's largest breweries, we have a market that wants our types of beers," said Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Brewery. "Our brewery, like hundreds of other domestic breweries, continues to expand."

SOUTHERN BREWERS WIN REAL ALE AWARDS

Congrats to the following breweries and clubs that won awards in this year's Real Ale Festival.
Winners were announced February 27 & March 1.

Best of Group Awards - American Style Cask Ales
Bronze: High Desert Imperial Stout - Sweetwater Tavern / Centreville, Sterling, & Merrifield VA

Individual Style Awards - Cask Ales
Scottish Ales - Gold: Wee Heavy Ale - Capital City Brewing / Arlington VA
British-style Strong Ales - Bronze: Olde Fool - Boscos Brewing / Memphis & Nashville TN
American-style Stouts - Gold (tie): High Desert Imperial Stout - Sweetwater Tavern / Centreville, Sterling, & Merrifield VA

Individual Style Awards - Bottled
Scottish-style Ales - Silver: Isle of Skye - Boscos Brewing / Memphis & Nashville TN

Homebrewed Real Ale Competition Winners
Fifth Place: Old Ale, Old Ale/Strong Mild, Pin, racking tap, gravity dispense - Bluff City Brewers / Memphis TN

Greetings,

As Spring envelopes the majority of the South, there's a lot of news. Some of it is good, and, as you will see, some of it is not. Spring is a time of renewal and rebirth, and on this Easter day, may you be surrounded by
family and friends to welcome in this often wonderful and beautiful season....the Beer Bwana
BREWING CHANGES

Closings

NC / Raleigh - Chesapeake Bay Brewing Company
TN / Knoxville - Hops Grille & Brewery

Personnel

NC / Raleigh - Southend Brewpub: Brewer Mike Morris has moved on to the Capitol City Brewing Co. in Washington D.C.
GA / Savannah - Moon River Brewpub: Josh Brewer to asst. brewer from Hilton Head (SC) Brewpub.
CALENDAR

Additional festival listings and details are available at: http://beersouth.com/calendar.html

5/7-10 - National Craft Brewer's Conference / New Orleans LA
5/10 - Greenville Beer Fest / Greenville SC
5/17 - Virginia Beer Festival / Norfolk VA
5/24 - 3rd Shenandoah Valley Beer & Wine Festival / Elkton VA
5/30 - 6th Ft. Lauderdale International Beer Festival / Fort Lauderdale FL
PROFILES IN BREWING
By Bobby Bush, author of "Beer & Loafing"

Kevin McNerney, brewmaster of SweetWater Brewery in Atlanta GA

They were the dapper darlings of the Atlanta brewing scene. These
20-something brewery owners had already paid their brewing dues but
had little idea how to run a business. College roommates, Kevin McNerney
and Fredrick Bensch let youthful exuberance be their guide. "People were
intrigued with our youth," says Kevin concerning the February 1997
opening of SweetWater Brewing Company. Dedication, hard work and
love for their craft turned early naivete into a successful, long-term career.

Kevin carries the title of brewmaster (Fredrick is the company's "Big Cahoona"), though titles mean little around the 11-employee operation. Kevin's first exposure to brewing began with a pause in his school schedule at the University of Colorado. He needed a job and Rockies Brewing, a sizeable microbrewery, was hiring. In fact,
the company was growing so fast and Kevin was such an eager student that he went from keg cleaning to brewing in a flash.

More opportunity came knocking. Kevin next brewed at well-respected Avery Brewing from 1993 to 1995, leaving Colorado late that year to design and build Mammoth Lakes Brewing in California. A phone call from Fredrick, who had followed a similar brewery hopping path, coerced Kevin to move to Atlanta where his partner had already located a suitable building for their operation. What began seven years earlier as two college kids' dream was soon to be reality.

The "biggest trial was convincing the Atlanta public to give us a shot, put SweetWater on tap," sums up Kevin's earliest concerns. In those early days, the twosome would brew all day, and then hit the marketplace at night to hawk their wares. Today, 90% of SweetWater's production - which exceeded 13,000 barrels in 2002 - is purchased in the greater Atlanta market. That marketing accomplishment is almost as astonishing as their beer.

In 2002 at the Great American Beer Festival in Denver, his "old stomping ground," Kevin's brewing efforts received the industry's highest accolade. SweetWater was recognized as the Small Brewery of the Year, and Kevin, for his beer's high score in the festival competition, was anointed Small Brewer of the Year. SweetWater 420 Extra Pale Ale scored a silver medal and the sultry, smooth Exodus Porter struck gold. Kevin's other beers have received similar trinkets at earlier GABFs and other national competitions, including a 2001 GABF for the then-new Sweet Georgia Brown, a gold (2000) and silver (2002) World Beer Cup trophy for SweetWater ESB, bronze World Beer Cup for Sweetwater Blue, a blueberry flavored beer, in 1998 and many others. SweetWater IPA and winter seasonal Festive Ale complete the product line up.

Success of this nature does not go unrewarded. Demand is high, so high that expanding into other markets, as they already have into western NC, Savannah and Athens, Ga., is difficult. That's a good problem to have. One the college roomies turned business partners have well in hand. By the end of August, SweetWater Brewing will move into a new home with double the brewing capacity and a faster bottling line, with room to grow. Kevin and Fredrick's "ambition to competently and confidently expand into new markets" is in capable hands.

Their own.

900 Wendell Court SW, Atlanta, GA 30336 - (404) 691-2537

Read more by nationally recognized beer writer Bobby Bush at: http://www.realbeer.com/library/authors/bush-b/
===============================================================================
Thanks to: Mike Banks, Josh Brewer, Mike Dixon, Bonnie Drake, Bob Gordon, Ted Hull, Fred Scheer.

Until May, cheers!
The Beer Bwana
RESOURCES

Did you know that the Atlanta Journal-Constitution has a local beer columnist? Every two weeks the paper publishes Bob Townsend's informative column covering the goings-on of the Atlanta-area beer scene. His current dispatch discusses the growth of craft brewing in light of the Association of Brewers recent study (see article above) as it applies to a couple Atlanta's craft brewers, including SweetWater (see article below.) In addition to the current topic, the site contains an archive of Townsend's past subjects. To easily find the current column, go to: http://www.accessatlanta.com/ajc/living/food/townsend/