Press Release: 

(Austin, TX) – “We knew that launching our beer in Austin, Texas required us to think big,” said Mark Rieth, Atwater Brewery owner and CEO. I don’t think it gets any bigger, or better, than SXSW.”

The Detroit-based brewery has been around since 1997, but the SXSW event kicking off on March 7 is Atwater’s first venture into Texas.

Born in Detroit. Consumed in Austin. Atwater Brewery went all-in when preparing the launch of its beers in Texas. Rieth knew the delivery would have to reflect size, creativity and the uniqueness of the event. “SXSW is the largest music venue in the country. We knew we had to be a part of it, and had to come full force,” he said. The brewery is delivering over 50,000 cans of its most iconic brand, Dirty Blonde, to distribute throughout the music and interactive events at SXSW. Cans sell in Austin and Atwater wants to embrace that.

Atwater, along with major partners such as Adobe, Converse, Ford, Shinola, and others is an unofficial sponsor of the Austin event. Some of the larger venues, such as The Brooklynn Vegan, The Fresh Catch, Hangar’s, and Brixton Pub contacted Atwater as soon as they heard the brewer was participating and immediately bought the entire allotment of Dirty Blonde to be sold exclusively at their respective SXSW events.

Working with Michigan-based organizations was important to the company as well. Rieth says, “As soon as we found out ‘Pure Michigan’ was attending, we shipped them all the Atwater beer they requested. We’re proud of our Detroit roots and look forward to taking our beer to Austin.”

SXSW guests and Texas residents should take note of the distinctive Atwater beers. Atwater is in the final stages of negotiating a full scale Texas brewery which could start production by next year’s SXSW event.