Smoky Mountain Brewery & Restaurant

PorterLambic

Florida

4.13/5  rDev +7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

A big U-shaped bar with 11 round, 4 person, high tables & 12 booths with 8 bigger tables.
Wait staff was very cheerful & attentive (for the most part). Kind of slow with a party of 9 (though we did arrive in stages) very good on multiple subsequent visits with 2-4 in party. Chantelle was especially good, very attentive without being annoying. My entire party was in agreement. One of the best servers I've ever had, anywhere.
The exposed air ducts are painted shiny black as was the bare ceiling and roof supports, looked very cool.
32" - 47" TV's all over giving a light sports bar feel to the place though, thankfully, much quieter than any sports bar I've ever been in. Brick and exposed wood all over with corrugated metal used in the bar area. A very family friendly place indeed.
They had stainless and copper brewing vessels viewable but never saw anyone working them or any other indications that theses specific tanks were being used in 4 separate visits. Visited the week of July Fourth, 2008.

11-04-2008 11:51:51 | More by PorterLambic

Chaney

District of Columbia

3.85/5  rDev -0.3%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $

My wife and I visited this place on a recent vacation to the Smokies. The beautiful part: It was right down the street from our hotel. Win!

Atmosphere: This place is located smack dab in the middle of tourist central, with tons of attractions (Titanic, Ripley's, dinner theaters, etc.) within walking distance. Inside is quite spacious, impeccably clean, warm, and inviting. I really dig the layout, especially the sight of the huge tanks through the glass.

Quality and Service: The server seemed fairly familiar with the beers on tap, but not with the craft beer scene as a whole. No matter. The menu was quite extensive as well.

Selection: Beer-wise, pretty much most common styles were represented here, with a special shout out to the Red Ale. As whole though, the beer was just fair.

Food: Sigh... I've eaten at the Gatlinburg location before and remember enjoying the food. However, on this visit, my wife and I split one of the monster-sized calzones and the cheese wasn't fully melted all the way through. Still though, I dig those potato skins!

Value: This was EXTREMELY well priced with the pints of beer being under $4. The food was priced about where it should be.

Overall: While this place is definitely not amazing by any stretch, I recommend this place wholeheartedly if you're into craft beer and you're in the area.

09-04-2012 23:43:52 | More by Chaney

shivtim

Georgia

3.38/5  rDev -12.4%
vibe: 3 | quality: 3 | service: 4 | selection: 3.5 | food: 3 | $$

We visited Smoky Mountain Brewery during a weekend trip to Dollywood. It's on the main drag, in a tacky new-ish commercial area dominated by a minigolf course. Easy to miss from the road.
There was a live band doing mostly country and Eagles covers, with Tracy Chapman thrown in for fun. Mix of locals watching the band, and tourists. Service was friendly and prompt, and they were able to list the seasonal beers off the top of their head.

The beers were kind of ho-hum. Not too bad, not too good. Seven standard beers, plus two seasonal.

Food was all around average. I had a calzone. Nothing special, but it was fine.

Still probably the best option in the area as far as brewpubs go.

12-24-2009 00:58:06 | More by shivtim

ajflachs

Illinois

4.68/5  rDev +21.2%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 5 | $$

Saw this place when using BA's places to go to. So on the last day of our trip we visited this place. I tried 5 different brews and decided on the Appalachian Pale Ale. It was the best of the 5 I tried. The rest just lacked character. The service was great the server had a good knowledge the beers. She even brought me a half glass of of another IPA that was not on the menu. Wife and I had the steak and it was great.

We both brought home a six of pack of what we liked. If I go back to this area I will visit again.

08-10-2009 03:29:22 | More by ajflachs

fat58hwy

Tennessee

2.85/5  rDev -26.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 2 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 3.5 | $$

The restaurant as a whole was more than acceptable. Being a BA, I was obviously more interested in their beers. I've tried most of their beers and have not been overly impressed with any of them. There are hints of greatness, but in my opinion, they "dumb down" their beers to appeal to the masses. This could be a gateway for non-BA's to try different styles, but this is not a great place for BA's looking for standout beers. They do fill growlers and their only seasonal beer I treied was a summer ale, which I found almost undrinkable. I am confident aht they can brew better beers, but they just need to ramp them up a bit.

06-11-2009 12:49:14 | More by fat58hwy

robey12

Ohio

3.68/5  rDev -4.7%
vibe: 4 | quality: 3.5 | service: 3.5 | selection: 4 | food: 3.5 | $$

My wife and I stayed for a week in Pigeon Forge and I was excited to give this place a try. The atmosphere was good and the wait staff was prompt and courteous. TV's everywhere and windows showing the brewing equipment are nice. Sadly the beer was not good. Tried four of their beers and was disappointed with all of them. They were all served in frosted mugs which is always a no-no and every beer was so low filled that it looked like someone had taken a few drinks before they even got to the table. My wife had a bleu burger which she seemed to enjoy and I am always looking for the best Reuben sandwich but this one was descent. I would recommend the potato salad because it was very good. Anyway, overall the meal was good but if you are looking for a beer try elsewhere.

04-20-2009 20:49:43 | More by robey12

meechum

Georgia

4/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | $$

My wife and I stopped in here on a weekend trip to Pigeon Forge. I called ahead to get directions and the person who answered the phone was very helpful and corteous and gave very good directions to the location.

Arrived and I guess because it's the off season it was a little slower. Saturday night at approx 8:30 pm. We seated ourselves at one of the tables in the bar area and ordered two samplers at $3.50 per sampler. First ordered the Thunder Road Lager/Tuckalachee Porter/Cherokee Red Ale and then the next was the Helles/Winter Warmer/Pale Ale.

I thought all selections were nice. Service was good. Got a 6 of the porter and the lager to go and a growler of the Witner Warmer.

Atmosphere is pretty much like most other brewpubs as far as sacks of barley stacked all over the place and brewing equipment behind glass.

Overall it was a nice experience and I look forward to going back and having more of their beer

12-11-2007 16:16:06 | More by meechum

franksnbeans

Ohio

4.5/5  rDev +16.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4 | food: 4.5 | $

Im totally stoked that I found this place. Seriously, I was in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee where they number their traffic lights and the claim to fame is Dollywood... not exactly a beer destination. Saw this on beerfly and thought Id try it out and very glad I did. Atmosphere is very cool, tons of tables an lots of TVs and flatscreens throughout with a couple big ones at the bar. Hip atmosphere but all types are here. Brewing tanks on display as well as growlers and glassware behind the bar. Bartenders are cute and very attentive. They cant talk beer with you but fun and very friendly and talkative. 6 of their beers on tap but I only tried the Porter and Pale ale which were both phenominal. Went 2 nights in a row, both to watch NFL, and loved it. They sell growlers but I was blown away by the specials. A liter of delicious craft beer for $2.75? I pay twice that for a pint in D.C. Half price wings to boot. Pure insanity. I thought this business trip was going to be a nightmare of a bore but I seriously would come back just to chill at this place. The locals have a gem here and dont even know it. If you are ever close to here, make sure you seek it out.

10-10-2007 04:11:56 | More by franksnbeans

Tuey13

Illinois

4/5  rDev +3.6%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 4 | $$

Found this brewery while out with my buddy.... He is an entertainer and I was down in Pigeon Forge Oct. 25 thru Oct. 29 to visit him while he was playing there. The place was a nice place for 2 friends to escape to while shopping. Plenty of TV's and a great view of the "tanks" behind glass on the far walls of the establishment. The bartenders were very friendly and knowledgeable about the beers and we had a great time discussing them as we sampled. Even took a 64oz growler of the Tuckaleechee Porter which we refilled a couple times during our stay. My only complaint is that a few of the employees were rude and they seem to cater to locals a little too much! On one of the times we tried to get our growler refilled the server rudely told us they were closed even though there was nearly 20 minutes before closing time and said this as they were pouring some more pints for locals at the bar! Besides that I loved this place A++ This review is for the Pigeon Forge location.
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07-08-2007 08:03:00 | More by Tuey13

TheBierBand

Ohio

3.5/5  rDev -9.3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4 | service: 3 | selection: 3 | food: 4 | $$

Originally posted 11/9/06 under Gatlinburg location:

This is for their Pigeon Forge location too... FTown.... were you there when I was there???? Went with a bunch of friends to see the game and have some good beer. I tried the Tuckaleechee Porter. Unfortunately, they served it in a FROSTED MUG. But even diluted, it was pretty good.... see my review of the beer.

Over-all the place was good atmosphere.... lot's of TV's for the games and almost big enough to support the Saturday afternoon football crowd. We had to wait about 45 minutes to get a table for the 9 of us.

The place was clean, the service was a bit slow.... but there was a big crowd. I found myself with an empty beer once... hehehehe.

Had an appetizer of the spring rolls.... which were very good. Then I had a medium pizza to carry me through for the rest of the game. The pizza was good too.... although.... how can you screw up a pizza??!!

Overall a fun time... and I would go back.... I believe this will be an annual tradition.... IF we can brave the crowds in Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. These places are clearly being exploited by tourists... Like the Eagles said.... ".... ya call someplace paradise... kiss it goodbye..."

07-05-2007 04:48:08 | More by TheBierBand