USA, TN: Crafty Bastard Brewery opens a second location in Knoxville

West Knoxville is about to get a lot more crafty, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported on July 4.

Crafty Bastard Brewery, located in the historic Fourth & Gill neighborhood, has opened a second location on Kingston Pike near Pellissippi Parkway.

The new 6,000-square-foot taproom and brewery is a major expansion for the brand's brewing capabilities and a chance to expand the craft beer scene in West Knoxville.

Crafty Bastard, one of an estimated 19 breweries in Knox County, isn't the first brewery to have a presence in West Knoxville and beyond — Orange Hat, Smoky Mountain, Albright Grove and The Brewhouse at Bearden Beer Market already have a presence out west — but there's a need for more craft beer in the area, industry experts say.

"West Knoxville is underserved when it comes to craft beer, so (the new location) will only continue to elevate the community as a whole," Knox Brew Tours owner and local beer industry expert Zack Roskop told Knox News. "Education and exposure are the best ways to grow an industry, so this new location will only help grow the craft beer community."

Craft beer and local breweries are not only a big part of Knoxville's culture, they contribute billions to Tennessee's economy.

According to the National Beer Wholesalers Association and the Beer Institute's biennial report released in May, the U.S. beer industry contributes more than $5.2 billion to Tennessee's economy, and supports 32,912 jobs in the state.

Crafty Bastard's new location at 9937 Kingston Pike is open for limited hours until a grand opening in July.

"This location is more West Knoxville than anything we've ever done, but it's also more downtown than anything West Knoxville has ever seen," the brewery's owner and head brewer Aaron McClain told Knox News. "It has a cleaner, tidier vibe than the downtown location, while still maintaining a 'neighborhood bar' feel."

Though Crafty Bastard previously had a temporary taproom inside Farragut's Echelon Bicycles, McClain wanted a larger, more permanent space.

"We just happened to find a place that could be both a taproom and a production facility in West Knoxville for the right price," he said.

After opening its original location at 6 Emory Place a little over six years ago, Crafty Bastard became a staple in downtown Knoxville's brewery scene. It's known for offering a combination of more traditional brews and "weird, off the wall" brews such as a Mountain-Dew-flavored sour and a tangerine, white grape and sweet melon IPA.

"We basically started running out of beer about six months after we opened," McClain said. "We'd brew things and they'd be gone immediately... it was eating up so much of our production that it was cutting into the experimental fun stuff we wanted to do."

The Emory Place location features a three-barrel brewing system, but the new location in West Knoxville features a 15-barrel brewing system, enough capacity to brew more of its most popular beers as well as experimental flavors.

McClain noted that the new Crafty Bastard location is more than just a clone of the original. While it will feature the same craft beers, there are also a few notable differences.

The new location features 20 taps serving a wide range of beers, including "Hop Candy, " "Tessellation" and guest beers from other local brands like Frog Juice Kombucha.

Smash, a new burger food truck by Paul and Ashley Moody from Lanai food truck, will have a permanent food truck at the West Knoxville taproom. Smash will also join downtown Knoxville's forthcoming food hall, Marble City Market, when it opens this summer.

Perhaps what guests might visually is the mural covering the wall behind the bar. Painted by Alice Holleman, the mural puts a spotlight on many local ingredients that Crafty Bastard uses to brew its beer, such as prickly pear, pawpaw, muscadine, persimmons and chanterelles.

05 July, 2021