Sweetwater Brewery
Sweetwater Brewery is a historic building in Green River, Wyoming, built in 1900 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The structure features walls made of locally quarried sandstone with a rough, sturdy appearance and small towers topped with pointed roofs and castle-like details including crenellations; the tallest tower displays a flagpole and large rounded finial.
Wyoming's first brewery was founded in 1872 by Adam Braun, a German brewer, followed by others like Otto Rauch and Karl Spinner. The current sandstone building was constructed in 1900 under Hugo Gaensslen from Chicago, who added the distinctive towers and castle-like decorative features.
The building carries its name from its past as a brewery and represents the area's roots in beer-making and local tradition. The distinctive small towers with castle-like features reflect how early 1900s owners liked to make their buildings stand out with special architectural touches.
Visitors can reach the building on foot in downtown Green River and view the rough sandstone walls and striking towers from the street. The site is best explored during daylight walks when the facade and architectural details are clearly visible.
During Prohibition, the brewery could not legally produce beer and switched its name to Sweetwater Beverage Company to make non-alcoholic drinks like Green River and a near-beer called Wyoming Beverage. After Gaensslen died in 1931, efforts to continue the business without legal alcohol sales failed, and no beer has been brewed here since.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 60,000 contributors worldwide.
