KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — If there's one thing Knoxville's really crafted over the past few years, it's beer.
The Scruffy City's brewers are about to go worldwide with their newest special releases in honor of the 40th anniversary of Knoxville's World's Fair.
That means soon you can taste beers from 20 different countries without leaving East Tennessee.
Why commemorate this event with beer? Because it was one of the more notable souvenirs from the fair.
"One of the most important ones was the actual World's Fair beer," said Warren Dockter, President and CEO of the East Tennessee Historical Society.
If you were there in 1982 you probably tasted it, and you probably hated it.
"It wasn't necessarily known for its taste," said Dockter. "It was known for its commemorative cans."
Sure the cans are cool, but what good is a cool beer that you can't stomach?
40 years later, we're taking another whack at it.
The East Tennessee History Center and Knox Brew Hub challenged Knoxville's breweries to make new commemorative beers.
But instead of trying to replicate the taste of the original, they asked the brewers to come up with beers representing the countries that attended the 1982 World's Fair.
And make sure people actually want to drink them this time.
"Oh, I think it's an excellent idea," said Matt Malone, taproom manager for Alliance Brewing in South Knoxville.
He said all of Knoxville's local breweries came together and drew countries out of a hat.
"We got Germany," he said.
Alliance will be working with Schulz Brau Brewery in North Knoxville on their German Kolsch.
"They're already the German brewery in town, it just made sense. Work smarter, not harder," said Malone.
He said Alliance is excited to be part of the 40th-anniversary celebrations in this way.
"Beer was around when when the World's Fair was going on, and it just helps us be able to celebrate all the countries that were represented during that time," said Malone.
That'll be done by making beers like brewers do Greece, China, Hungary, Italy, the Caribbean islands, and up at Elst Brewing in North Knoxville, you'll get a beer from the Netherlands.
"Kuit beer is what we're making. It's made with oats, wheat, and malted barley. So it's just an ancient style, one that kind of started losing some popularity in the early 1900s when Heineken came around and more hops were being used during the process," said Shane Todd, owner and operator at Elst.
Todd said they're working with a craft brewery called Jopen outside of Amsterdam to get their authentic flavors right.
"At the end of the day we're all beer nerds, and it's just a fun process to be able to talk with someone from another country that has the same passion and flair for beer," said Todd.
Dockter said the history society reached out to the embassies of the 20 featured countries to try to get our breweries connected overseas.
They say the international brewer most excited to work on this project is one from Mexico, which is paired with Brewhouse at Bearden Beer Market.
All 20 international beers will be on tap starting April 2 and are only expected to last a few weeks.
Here's what each brewery is crafting up:
- Abridge Beer Company - USA*
- Albright Grove Brewing Company - Japan
- Alliance Brewing Company - Germany*
- Balter Beerworks - Peru
- Blackberry Farm Brewery - Australia
- Blackhorse Pub & Brewery - Caribbean Islands
- Clinch River Brewery- Denmark
- Crafty Bastard Brewery - Philippines*
- Downtown Grill & Brewery - Philippines*
- Elst Brewing Company - Netherlands
- Fanatic Brewing Company - United Kingdom
- Gatlinburg Brewing Company - Italy*
- Geezers Brewery - Canada
- Barrelhouse by Gypsy Circus - Luxembourg*
- Hexagon Brewing Company - Hungary
- Last Days of Autumn Brewing - Belgium
- Next Level Brewing Company - United Kingdom
- Orange Hat Brewing Company - Greece
- Pretentions Beer Co. - France
- Printshop Beer Company - Korea
- Schulz Brau Brewing Co. - Germany*
- Smoky Mountain Brewery - China
- Tri-Hop Brewery - Italy*
- Xul Beer Company - Luxembourg*
- Yee-Haw Brewing - USA*
*These breweries are working together to create a beer for one country
"It's a complete breath of fresh air with it," said Malone. "It'll encourage everybody here in town as well as visitors that are coming through to go and visit all the breweries again, to get a unique style beer that is a one-off. "You can only get it this time around."
A special Knoxville Ale Trail map will be released online on March 1 and later at each brewery, and will double as a passport.
Take it along with you and get stamps from each "country" you visit.
"I'm excited about the Netherlands, of course, because we're doing that one. But I think the Philippines will be really interesting," said Todd.
Take your pick of the international beers that make up the Scruffy City.
"We were famously told that we wouldn't be able to host the World's Fair, and we came together and we hosted probably one of the most successful World's Fairs in 50 years," said Dockter. "The brewers coming together with the East Tennessee Historical Society sort of exemplifies how we can come together and achieve great things."
There will be a ticketed event at Knox Brew Hub on April 1 where you can taste all 20 beers. They'll announce details for that event soon.