It’s a Big Week for Craft Beer in Knoxville!

Hello fellow snobs!

Fall is officially here and has brought along it’s crisp evenings and changing leaves. We’ve seen Oktoberfest beer hit the shelves as well as a fall favorite – pumpkin beer (actually sipping on a tasty pint of Marble City Brewing Company Spiced Pumpkin as I type). If you’ve been paying attention to the KBS calendar, you may have noted there is A LOT going on towards the end of the week when it comes to craft beer. Thought I’d do a quick post to bring you up to speed so you can plan accordingly.

Thursday, October 20th

Little River Beer Club @ The Lily Barn: If you haven’t made the trek out to Miss Lily’s for the monthly beer club, you’re missing out. What makes the October meeting great is that this is the bi-annual meeting at the Lily Barn which means beer potluck! You bring a homebrew and/or a dish to share plus whatever else you might enjoy. Check ’em out on Facebook and plan on kicking off the weekend a little early beginning at 7pm @ The Lily Barn.

Friday, October 21st: There’s a lot happening on the 21st, hold on tight, here we go!

Marble City Brewing Company – The Quarry – GRAND OPENING! If you haven’t visited The Quarry yet – no excuses, get a sitter and venture on down to MCBC for an awesome evening with great beer and food. We did a write-up on this a few weeks ago so check it out for the details.

Beer Tasting & Seafood Dinner @ Marlin & Ray’s Seafood Bar & Grill: These guys are kicking off their first beer tasting at the Marlin & Ray’s Seafood in Mur-vul (that’s Maryville for those not in “the know”) and I have to say, we don’t get beer tastings with awesome seafood very often ’round these parts! (Except for Mike’s shrimp’n grits of course.) First off, if you’re wondering where these guys are located – 751 Watkins Road – and make sure you have a reservation – 980-9666. $20 per head – food and beer lineup can be found here. This sounds AWESOME!

Tennessee Food & Wine Festival Sam Adams Class: The Tennessee Food and Wine Festival runs on both Friday and Saturday and sounds like it’s going to have some awesome vino and food to partake in. However, it should be noted that on Friday night begining at 6pm on the 4th floor of the UT Conference Center there will be a Sam Adams beer class with some beer/cheese parings as well as some brews we can’t get in this area. $33 gets you in but you need to register by 10/20 to qualify. Definitely snob worthy.

Saturday, October 22nd: 

Knoxville’s Brewer’s Jam: Snobs across the area have been waiting on this one. It’s the 15th year of the annual fall celebration of beer in good old Knox-vegas. If you don’t have tickets, the outlets are sold out BUT we’ve always had luck picking up a ticket or two from people at the gate who’s plans changed. We’ll definitely be in attendance sporting some KBS t-shirts and if all goes as planned, we might actually have one or two to sell! While you’re there make sure to drop by and give a big high-five to our local brewers and beer purveyors such as; Marble City Brewing Company, Woodruff Brewing Company, Underground Brewing Company (UBC), Smoky Mountain Brewery, Vic’s Total BeverageLeaf & Ale and Westland Market and Beer Gallery.

Also note the TN Food and Wine Festival continues on Saturday should you need to “compromise” with your significant other AND also note the the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure is Saturday morning so that’s a great way to burn some pre-beer calories and support a great cause.

Hope to catch you at one of the above events this week. Cheers!