Ritterfest’s first weekend was an exercise in weather extremes, but, as it might have in 12th century Germany, the hearth was warm all weekend. Those willing to brave the cold on Friday were treated to a fantastic pork dish, the unveiling of this year’s special beer and lively music. Saturday was completely different. The fantastic weather and knight fights drew an enormous crowd. I visited Schulz Bräu’s medieval festival and ate delicious food, shopped vendors, and saw armored knights in combat. With one more weekend left, you have a chance to enjoy the festivities today through Sunday, April 18- 20.
Schulz Bräu off Central Ave is a restaurant and brewery set inside a medieval-style castle, complete with a portcullis and traditional Biergarten, complemented by a modern interior and large brewery. Seeing a castle in the heart of Knoxville is always a pleasant surprise for me. Ben Oliver, general manager of Schulz Bräu, gave me a tour and the history of Ritterfest as they celebrate the festival’s third year.
Oliver said that “Ritterfest, for me, is really close to my heart.” He came to Schulz Bräu around three years ago looking for a fresh start after a divorce. Oliver told me that “me and the owner, Nico, were sitting here for a movie night, and we had watched A Knight’s Tale. It was the scene where Heath Ledger is doing his sword fight in the rink. And we were just like, this is so cool. I wonder if we could do this here, right? Like, we have a castle, could we do it?” From that evening, Ritterfest was born.
The team “backwards engineered” a festival starting with knight fights, connecting the event to medieval German culture. After some research, they discovered Ritter-fest at Kufstein Castle in Germany. The management wanted to make the event unique. Oliver said, “There are Ren Faires around here, but they’re very varied. I mean, it’s pirates, renaissance, medieval fairies. You know, it’s everything, and that’s cool. But we wanted to do something medieval. We wanted to set ourselves a little apart and make this festival about 12th, 13th century Europe.”
The team reached out to a Nashville Armored Combat, an AMMA (Armored Medieval Martial Arts) group to provide knight battles that first year, which have attracted larger crowds over the past three years. The group will provide the battles during the second weekend. The Schulz Bräu team dresses in medieval attire, including Nico, head brewer and one of the owners, who dons a suit of armor with a sword. Oliver called it a fun time where adults can live out their medieval fantasies.
Food and Drink
Schulz is cooking up special dishes both weekends. Andy and Robin Barré smoked a hog, nicknamed Sir Sooey of Oink. Andy gave me a sample of pork right off the grill, and I found out why Barré is a world-class hog smoker. He’s competed at the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest in Memphis since 1993. The pork dish with potato salad and rye roll was my choice meal on Friday.
Other specials include the Knight’s Plate with a cheese soup, two links of Landjäger, a Frankfurter link, bread and Rotkraut. Schulz Bräu has two kitchens operating with four bars, and the brewery revealed their special, a Stangenbier, a yeast base with notes of hefenweizen (a blended yeast grain).
Oliver emphasized that many come who don’t drink. They have a soda or water and enjoy the food, entertainment and vendors. Ren Faire staple Turkey legs are, of course, available.
Entertainment and Vendors
I enjoyed Liam’s Fancy Friday evening with a lively set of Irish and folk music from the biergarten stage. They will return this weekend with East Tennessee’s The Crossjacks and Northeast Tennessee-based Jenny and the Weazels. A medieval-themed disco will be held at 11 PM Saturday after the Knight Fights.
DeBracey Productions will do a show every hour this weekend. The company, often featured at Renaissance Faires, will have four knights and a queen with mock sword fights and a narrative that will play out over the day. They will mingle with attendees to interact and have photo ops. Photo ops are also available with props throughout the festival.
Thematic vendors are selling their wares. Vendors the first weekend included a woodworker, hair braiding and other artisans. You can throw axes and more with Til Ragnarok Axe Throwing. Costume contests are held during both weekends; however, you don’t need to wear one to attend. And, of course, a Knight’s Tale will be shown as a tribute to the festival’s origins.
Armored Knights in Combat
The main event on both weekends will be the knight fights. This weekend will be Nashville Armored Combat. On the first weekend, Knoxville-based Dauntless hosted their annual tournament. Dauntless is a part of Buhurt, a worldwide combat league. Schulz Bräu built a list (the fighting arena) from scratch for the event. They have banners printed to bring a castle to life.
Schulz Bräu connected with Dauntless in the first year. Unlike other groups who are more performative, Buhurt is a points-based combat system. Oliver said the closest comparison is boxing. Schulz Brau has now partnered with Dauntless year-round and provides them with on-site practice space. I visited them on a recent Sunday practice to find out more.
JW McKinney told me that “Dauntless is armored combat. We are a team that is a member of Buhurt International.” Buhurt runs worldwide tournaments. Ritterfest hosted Dauntless’ second annual tournament last weekend with more than 30 fighters from all over the United States.
Alex Heater from Dauntless explained that “It is a point-based combat system, so you have different divisions. So you have a sword and shield, sword and buckler, long sword, polearm, and then you also have pro fights, which is called Outrance, which is basically MMA in armor for three one-minute rounds. And then you also have melee, which is three on three or five on five for us. And melee happens to be the only division that is not point-based. That one is all ‘last man standing’.”
The Ritterfest event provided qualifying points toward international competition, representing the US team. The U.S. Championship, Carolina Carnage, hosted 46 teams at Clemson University in March. Dauntless appears at the Tournament of Legends, Grapes of Wrath in Virginia and DragonCon in Atlanta. They will be featured at the new Covenant Health Park during the medieval night at the June 27 Knoxville Smokies game.
Schulz Bräu hosts tournaments with Dauntless every other month. Dauntless is also working to improve their practice space. William Hayes, another fighter, said, “our plan is to put more PELs, which are the basically the dummies that we strike against until we learn how to have correct form and endurance to compete against somebody else and…we’ll upgrade our list. That way we have…a bigger safer area to compete in. We want to make it as welcoming to newcomers and as functional for them as possible so we can continue to have our sport grow.”
Dauntless wants to build on-site storage for loaner kits that run up to $3,000 for newcomers. Loaner equipment would allow them to kit out new fighters in soft armor and try out the sport. Practicing and participating in fights is free. Members include a locksmith and blacksmith to help build armor, and the group is training people to build some essential parts of kits to help new members.
Dauntless also wants to open the sport to more women. Jessalyn Roche, captain of the women’s team said she “found a love for Buhurt through the battle of combat…that helps me feel empowered and [being] able to fend for myself and learning the ropes of survival through all of my capabilities. We’re always looking for more women to join. Some of us might be anxious or cautious to join such…a quote-unquote violent sport, but really, when it comes down to the teamwork, it’s worth it. And you usually unlock something in yourself that will change your life for the better.”
The fighting is real. I saw several members take damage during the practice. Dauntless is insured through Medieval Combat USA, parent for Buhurt International in the United States. Take a look through the pictures below of the combat tournament from Ritterfest’s first weekend.
So, why take these risks?
Stress relief and a sense of camaraderie was a common answer. One member is a veteran who was searching for a place where he felt at home. Buhurt is love, another said. JW told me that he “just turned 53, so you don’t have to be a young person to come out and try the sport, okay? For me, I was a college wrestler…As I got older, I was looking for something more combat sport oriented.” One younger member named Tank told me that after he graduated from high school, he wandered. Dauntless gave him a place and purpose. The minimum age limit is 18.
Impacts of Ritterfest on Business
Oliver told me that Ritterfest has had a large impact on Schulz Bräu as a business, accelerating some plans by as much as 10 years. He said that “Ritterfest won us our first ever gold medal at the World Beer Championships, which was held in Las Vegas.” The championships are the most prestigious award in the beer world. They won with a Roggenbier, a traditional rye ale. Oliver took me on a tour of the new cannery that Schulz Bräu is installing, which will significantly increase production speed. You can see an exclusive look at the new cannery under construction below.
Ritterfest has also added customers who “I don’t think ever would be in a brewery environment who are now regulars for the restaurants”, Oliver shared.
Visiting Ritterfest
Oliver said that Ritterfest has experienced phenomenal growth. My visit on the first weekend confirmed those numbers. He noted that attendees are now starting to attend from throughout the region. Oliver said, “there is a lot of deep German heritage in this area. And I think people appreciate the fact that we respect that culture immensely.”
Ritterfest is completely free; however the event is first come, first serve. In previous years, the second weekend met capacity with a line wrapped around almost to Axle Logistics. Oliver said, “I do encourage people, if they want to be there, get there early and find your spot. At least two or three hours, I would say.” Like the tapestries hanging around Schulz Bräu, Ritterfest is another vibrant thread in our cultural offerings. Come visit this weekend to step back in time and enjoy.
Additional Photo Gallery
