Rounding out its second year on Chattanooga's Northshore, Heaven & Ale's formula of part tasting room, part retail shop, and part beer garden continues to attract regulars and newcomers alike. Soon they will open a second location in Ooltewah's Cambridge Square development and the owners look forward to more growth in the coming year.
When owner Joe Winland created his tasting room and growler shop concept, his primary goal was to balance variety and freshness, give customers the opportunity to sample beers in the spirit of a wine tasting room and to allow people to taste the beer before buying to ensure they are taking home something they love.
“There is a craft beer for everyone’s taste, and we try to showcase that,” Joe says, “We have everything from sweet to bitter, light to dark, familiar to wild. ‘Craft’ doesn’t always mean weird, wild, and crazy,” continues Joe. “Craft really just means the beer is brewed with fresh, high-quality ingredients and with a certain amount of love. Whether it’s a light lager, a juicy IPA or a rich stout, craft beers are an overall better product.”
Heaven & Ale features 24 carefully selected craft brews on tap which rotate regularly to focus on freshness, seasonality and variety. They sell growlers to-go as well as pints and flights to sip and enjoy in the shop, outside on the deck or in the beer garden. Heaven & Ale also does on-site catering for weddings, corporate parties, backyard bashes and everything in between.
So what’s a growler and why drink beer this way? “A growler is a 32 or 64 ounce reusable container for draught beer,” Joe says. “And because our beer is always fresh and our growlers are properly treated, it’s as close to a tasting experience in a brewery’s taproom as you can get. I think I’m like a lot of beer drinkers. When I’m given a choice, I almost always choose draught beer. Growlers let you take fresh draught beer anywhere.”
Events to look out for at Heaven & Ale are Tuesday night pint nights, with deeply discounted pints and food trucks; brewery tap takeovers, with specialty brews, giveaways and lots of craft beer chat; and seasonal beer pairing dinners.