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For a while, trout was their only clue.

Driving past the former Red Truck Beer Company bar and distribution center in Fort Collins, Colorado, it became clear that any business that had happened there has now ceased. All the signs of the red truck were removed, huge stainless steel silver brewing tanks were scattered in the parking lot like drunk party people, and the huge space looked empty. During the epidemic, Red Truck quietly closed its doors, leaving only the bones of the brewery and the frosted beige walls.

But one morning, just as quietly, a trout appeared.

The emerald trout is dotted with pink underbelly, decorating the building like a puppet in front of the ship. This aquatic skull has no company name, no logo, and no other hints. The locals immediately began to speculate: Is another brewery taking over? what does this mean? And, whose mascot is trout? After a few weeks, their question was answered, and Trout finally showed a name in his rainbow arc: SweetWater Brewing.

You can forgive the locals for not immediately knowing the connection between SweetWater Brewing and their signature trout: until recently, this Georgia-based brewery did not distribute to most parts of Colorado, with Telluride being an exception. As we pointed out when we first revealed the Fort Collins location in January, SweetWater founder Freddy Bensch is a long-term resident of Telluride and still lives there for part of the year.

However, this weekend, SweetWater Brewing Company officially launched their Rocky Mountain Heights. After 24 years in Atlanta, SweetWater Brewing has expanded to its second water room and distribution center in Fort Collins, Colorado. Their grand opening is December 18, 2021.

In the faucet room, SweetWater has a pleasant minimalist feel. In the welcome to sustainable development, most of the interior and design are repurposed from the ghost of the bar of the past: the original tables and chairs of the Red Truck Beer Company and the overall flow and feel of the place still exist. In fact, locals may even recognize familiar faces around the bar: After purchasing the space, SweetWater also offered employment opportunities to most of Red Truck’s employees, including winemakers. After a year like this, when the handicraft industry can use all the help it can get, this posture of community support is a shining example of how to gain a foothold in a new town.

Despite the newness, SweetWater's deep roots means that they already have a wide variety of beers. The classic choice is their 420 Extra Pale Ale, which is more balanced than the wet name implies, and the dual version (Imperial 420). However, in addition to a series of IPAs, SweetWater also contains interesting aspects of the craft: a plant-based lactose-free dark beer called almond milk, a smoked seasonal dark beer called "festival beer", and a The dark beer aged in Heavenly Mountain barrels called Sinner's Son is purely decadent joy. Guests can enjoy beer at the bar, indoor dining table or outside on the spacious terrace, which is surrounded by breweries, seemingly endless.

Of course, Fort Collins is no stranger to large breweries. Odell Brewing is just a stone’s throw away from the new SweetWater location, and in terms of sales volume, it is the 17th largest craft brewery in the United States. However, SweetWater is already ranked 11th on this list-their new space has reached a staggering 32,000 square feet, which will allow them to expand beyond the south and into the west coast and mountains. Looking forward to seeing them enter the top ten soon, including household names such as Sierra Nevada Brewing and Stone Brewing.

In other words, pay attention to the trout-it turns out that they are a sign of a good beer.

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