Getting into the beer business had never entered into the minds of cousins and co-founders Adam Palmer and Johnathan Borsodi. Both, however, dreamed of creating something new and meaningful, and when they stumbled across a defunct brewery sitting in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 2009, they knew that they had found the perfect opportunity to escape their office-job drudgery and start working on a project that would end up changing their lives.
First opening in 2010 as Marble City Brewing Company—an historic nickname for Knoxville—they spent a good year rehabbing the brewing equipment, hiring a brewmaster, and throwing themselves into learning the beer industry. Marble City hit the market in 2011 with its Nectar Rubus, Dad’s Dime, and Spiced Pumpkin Ales, quickly becoming one of Knoxville’s favorite breweries. Not all was smooth sailing, however, and after too many missteps to count, Adam and Johnathan decided follow their passions and make beers and do business in a way in which they could be proud.
In 2012, they hit the re-set button. They re-committed both to making great handcrafted beers and to working in a local, sustainable manner. They partnered with the family-owned Century Harvest Farms in an effort to locally source as much of our materials as possible, while also reusing the overwhelming majority of our waste byproducts. We hired Dave Ohmer as our new Head Brewer. Finally, to reflect their changed priorities—while still remaining true to our Knoxville roots—they renamed themselves the Saw Works Brewing Company.
Located in the old Wallace Saw Works building (hence the name), SawWorks Brewing in Knoxville, Tennessee’s Warehouse District sits just outside the Old City/Downtown area. The brewery might be in an out-of-the-way part of town, but then again, they go out of their way to make great handcrafted beers.