KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Breweries are an important part of the Knoxville community, with dozens of people eager to share their unique beer flavors. On Saturday, two breweries from the city earned national awards for their beer from the Great American Beer Festival.
Orange Hat Brewing Co. earned a silver medal for its brown porter beer, named "Live! At the RYEman." Staff at the brewery said the award helped put a spotlight on the city, bringing it more national attention.
"It was the first beer that we ever brewed at this brewery. We entered that and we won our first medal on that beer. We won a silver in the brown porter category," said Rodney Ramin, a co-owner of the brewery. "It's not only exciting for the Orange Hat, but for the entire area ... It's starting to put Knoxville on the map, and it's really exciting for us to get some attention here."
Xül Beer Co. also won a silver medal for its contemporary American-style lager, named "Toro y Oso." They said they would be canning a fresh batch of that particular beer on Monday.