Patrick Beeson

A post to the brewing professional forum ProBrewer hints at what looks to be Knoxville Tenn.'s next craft brewery called Marble City Brewing Company.

UPDATE: Local alternative-weekly Metro Pulse has published a profile on Adam Palmer and Johnathan Borsodi, the two partners opening Marble City Brewing.

UPDATE: Adam e-mailed me to say that Marble City Brewing will indeed make use of the former New Knoxville equipment and building. But he is not the Adam Palmer of Pike Brewing in Seattle as rumored in the RateBeer forum post.

Knoxville is not what most craft-beer lovers would refer to as a brewing mecca. That distinction belongs to our neighbors to the east in Asheville, NC.

But with two decent operations, Downtown Grill and Brewery and Smoky Mountain Brewery, Knoxville does have sources for fresh, quality beer.

Now it looks like Knoxvillians will have a new choice in Marble City Brewing.

A job post to the professional brewers forum ProBrewer reveals the extent of the operation:

The Position: Tennessee’s newest brewery is the only packaging brewery in Knoxville and is currently seeking a head Brew Master position. This is a great opportunity for somebody who is hardworking, creative, and interested in being a part of a start up brewery.

Renovation on our production facility is about to begin and this position will need to be filled in the upcoming months. The Brew Master will be responsible for, but not limited to, overseeing existing brewing system repair and maintenance, inventory management, ordering ingredients, formulating all of our recipes, staff, packaging, kegging and bottling duties and of course, brewing.

Previous head brewer experience is absolutely necessary and experience at another start-up brewery is preferred, however, not required. Marble City Brewing will be utilizing a Peter Austin-designed open fermentation system including:

• Brick Enclosed 1000 gallon hot liquor tank
• Brick Enclosed 775 gallon brew kettle
• Mash Tun
• (3) 25 BBL open fermentation tanks
• (2) 25 BBL conditioning tanks
• (2) 50 BBL bottling tanks
• Glycol cooling system
• Water filter
• Diatomaceous earth filter
• Bertallaso Italian bottling system

Knoxville, Tennessee, home of the University of Tennessee, is the gateway to the Smoky Mountains and is located minutes from literally thousands of miles of hiking trails. Centrally located in the Southeast, there are over a million people who call the Knoxville area home. Knoxvillians enjoy a year round temperate climate as well as a cost of living significantly below the national average.

Salary/Benefits: Marble City Brewing Company will offer a competitive salary with future compensation including incentive bonuses and the possibility for partial equity ownership in the brewery. Marble City Brewing Company is an equal opportunity employer.

To Apply: Interested Candidates please email a cover letter, resume, and salary requirements to Adam Palmer, at adam.palmer@marblecitybeer.com . Please tag the subject line “Brew Master Application. Please indicate if you plan on attending the Craft Brewers Conference in Chicago this April.

Another thread on RateBeer puts the name Adam Palmer to a brewer at Pike Brewing in Seattle. This may or may not be the right Adam Palmer, but the beer connection is relevant. This was confirmed to be incorrect by Palmer in an e-mail to me. See my update at the top of this entry.

It's also worth noting that Marble City Brewing's equipment is that of the former New Knoxville Brewing, which has had a troubled existence according to most long-time Knoxville beer enthusiasts.

I've e-mailed Palmer to see if he'd be willing to provide details about Marble City Brewing. I'll update this entry if I get a reply.