Knoxville's pinball scene runs on craft beer. The city offers a dedicated pinball pub with the area's largest collection, multiple breweries with games areas, and downtown taverns where pinball complements rotating tap lists. The concentration of venues in the downtown and North Broadway corridors makes bar-hopping between games straightforward.
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Most venues maintain modern lineups heavy on recent Stern releases, with occasional classics mixed in. Several spots host pinball events and themed collaborations that draw the local community.
Pins and Pints operates as a dedicated pinball pub with the largest collection in Knoxville. The neighborhood spot pairs 17 machines with pub fare and rotating craft beers in a friendly atmosphere. The lineup spans decades, from Captain Fantastic and Firepower to modern hits like X-Men, JAWS, and Pulp Fiction. Regular trivia and darts nights round out the offerings.
Suttree's High Gravity Tavern anchors downtown's Gay Street with a no-frills tavern combining craft beer, house ramen, and pinball. The beer-centric spot maintains 6 machines including John Wick, Game of Thrones, Godzilla, and JAWS. Regular pinball events draw the local community to this casual, welcoming space.
Pinball machines: A few
Practical notes: Rotating craft beer; house ramen; regular pinball events
Address: 409 South Gay St, Knoxville, TN 37902
Knoxville Breweries with Pinball
Xul Beer Company
Microbrewery taproom · Downtown
Xul Beer Company combines award-winning craft beer with a dedicated games area featuring 10 pinball machines. The downtown taproom hosts pinball events and themed beer collaborations like "Special When Lit," with food from the on-site Abridged Burger Company. The modern lineup includes Godzilla, X-Men, JAWS, Foo Fighters, and John Wick.
Yee-Haw Brewing offers pinball alongside an expansive beer garden with over 60 taps, firepits, a covered outdoor stage, and a 28-foot jumbotron. The family- and dog-friendly taproom includes on-site Prince's Hot Chicken and 6 machines featuring Stranger Things, TMNT, and Elvira's House of Horrors.
Barrelhouse by Gypsy Circus houses pinball within an immersive wild-cider barrelhouse featuring house-made and barrel-aged ciders. The street-art-driven taproom offers a curated beer list and bar food alongside 5 pinball machines, providing a unique cider-focused alternative to the city's brewery scene.
Knoxville's brewery-heavy pinball scene suits players who enjoy pairing games with craft drinks. Pins and Pints delivers the deepest collection for dedicated play, while the downtown breweries and taverns offer walkable options with smaller but well-curated lineups.
Colin is the chief pixel pusher at Kineticist. He's a lifetime gamer who became enamored with pinball after taking in a family copy of the 1979 classic Joker Poker (the EM version). Since then he's bought, sold and repaired many machines, competed in all kinds of tournaments, and contributes to This Week in Pinball, the New England Pinball League, and Pin-Masters of New England. Previously, Colin spent over a decade working in marketing for agencies and tech startups. He also started and ran a music blog, happy hour website, and wrote a regular craft beer review column for Central Track in Dallas. Once aspired to be an artsy film director.
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