Smoky Mountain Brewery - Gatlinburg TN

They built it and people came. Gatlinburg is a tourist destination with nothing really there. Pigeon Forge and Dollywood are just down the road but once again there is no reason for them to be *there*. Yes, this is a beautiful section of Appalachia but nearly every on of the 120,000 square miles is beautiful.

At a rest area we saw a brochure for a distillery tour of the first legal moonshine distillery in Tennessee. This led to the beer, wine, and shine trail. Visiting 5 locations would earn us a free shirt. Following the trail to the Smokey Mountain Brewery, we stopped for a late lunch.

I ordered the reuben, otherwise what would be the point of the story? For a side I choose broccoli in cheese sauce. If you were to look at the picture, there seems to be a dearth of cheese on the broccoli. It is there, more underneath than on and a tad runny. The beers I had were good, the selection tended towards over-hopped ales, but the summer wheat was great for a hot day.

Cutting to the chase, the reuben was pure awesome. The bread was well-grilled with a buttery crispness and not soggy . The pastrami was flavorful and hot. The cheese was gooey. The sauerkraut was tangy and bold. The dressing added just a hint of sweetness.

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