Even if the idea of sipping on a hoppy beer fails to leave you jumping with joy, chances are fairly good that you will, at some point, end up at one of Chattanooga’s many breweries, searching the menu for the most palatable beverage option among a sea of IPAs. Lucky for those of us who don’t consider ourselves craft beer connoisseurs, most Scenic City breweries offer a range of options beyond basic brews.
Amber White, a manager at OddStory Brewing Co., recommends easing into craft beer with a tropical sour. OddStory’s Sky Island is a complex brew featuring the bright fruit flavors of guava, pineapple and mango. Or try Tidbits, a sweeter fruited sour that’s inspired by the strawberry shortcake popsicles sold by ice cream trucks, White says. Five Wits Brewing Company’s Frieda Kettle Sour is another fruity option made with fresh strawberry and pineapple puree.
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TailGate Brewery’s Chattanooga taproom offers gluten- and grain-free cider and seltzer options on tap year-round, although both are brewed at separate locations of the Nashville-based brewery. You’ll also find cider and seltzer at Hutton & Smith Brewing Co., where bartender Leslie Eselgroth recommends that people who don’t love beer try the brewery’s fruited sours. For wine drinkers, she suggests Alunogen, a sour that’s barrel-aged in chardonnay with notes of dried apricot, tropical fruit, nuts and toasted oak.