While zoo animals and beer may not seem like a natural pairing, a recent collaboration between the Chattanooga Zoo and OddStory Brewing Co. feels like a match made in the mango trees of heaven and an ideal way to celebrate the arrival of Boysenberry, the zoo’s new two-toed sloth.
“Supporting local nonprofits has always been important to us,” OddStory Creative Director Aly Butler says of the partnership.
Every month, the brewery highlights a different organization that customers can choose to support by rounding up their tabs at either OddStory location throughout that month.
“When planning this year’s schedule, partnering with the zoo was a no-brainer,” she says, adding that the partnership felt special from the start. “The conversation flowed as we brainstormed ideas, and before long, we landed on the perfect collaboration: brewing a beer together featuring one of their newest additions, Boysenberry the sloth, right on the can.”
Aiming to create a beer that people would love to drink while also paying tribute to Boysenberry the two-toed sloth, Butler says OddStory incorporated research into the animal’s diet, the climate of her natural habitat and her favorite activities into what eventually became Hang Two Mango West Coast IPA.
They initially considered a boysenberry-flavored brew but didn’t feel that flavor would be recognizable enough to appeal to beer drinkers. Two-toed sloths love to eat the fruit and flowers of mango trees, where they are also known to live, says Jake Cash, the zoo’s director of marketing and communications.
OddStory’s Hang Two mango-flavored brew celebrates arrival of two-toed sloth at Chattanooga Zoo
“Sloths love mangoes — just like humans — and the crisp, citrusy bite of a Mango West Coast IPA makes it the perfect summer sipper,” Butler says. “The name ‘Hang Two’ is a playful nod to Boysenberry’s two toes and her laid-back habit of hanging out in just about any tree she can find.”
OddStory produced only two batches of the popular brew, which is available on tap at both locations of the brewery and in cans at the zoo for a limited time, until it’s gone. Butler says she expects it to “hang around” through the end of September.
The brewery hosted animal ambassadors from the zoo for a “Giveback Night” in June, when OddStory highlighted the organization throughout the month. In addition to customer donations from those events, the brewery also donated a portion of every four-pack of cans sold, raising a total of $2,160 for the zoo as of July 1, she says.
Along with serving as fundraisers for the zoo, collaborations with OddStory and other area breweries serve as opportunities for the zoo to introduce the public to its newest inhabitants. When the zoo welcomed a new giant anteater several years ago, Tailgate Brewery crafted “Ants on a Log,” featuring a giant anteater on the can and flavors of celery, peanut butter and raisins evoking the childhood snack, Cash says.
“It’s a way to raise awareness about the zoo in general and just to help get ourselves in front of people who might be interested in the zoo,” he says of the brewery collaborations. “It also just kind of helps us tap into each other’s audiences and lift each other up and just let Chattanoogans know about some of the cool stuff going on.”
Find OddStory at oddstorybrewing.co and the Chattanooga Zoo at chattzoo.org.