Wesley Keegan considers himself “long-winded” when talking about TailGate Brewery. I prefer to say he is an exceptional conversationalist conveying his passion for the company he founded.
TailGate Brewery offers craft beer and pizza with eight locations across the state, including the one here in the Southside District in Chattanooga.
The former home-brewer-turned entrepreneur knew he needed to learn about every aspect of the job, because it’s more than creating a great beer. It’s about creating an experience his customers can enjoy, an atmosphere where people will feel comfortable and develop a team that understands and delivers high quality service.
Keegan forged that team and together they’ve been thriving.
He opened his first taproom in Nashville in 2014. A sprawling 7-acre campus, with a large taproom, outdoor bar and pizzeria and production brewery. He opened his second taproom in 2016 in Nashville’s Music Row neighborhood. Keegan now has eight taprooms across Tennessee including the one here in Scenic City.
Recently, TailGate Brewery’s signature beer – TailGate Orange won a gold medal in at the 2025 US Open Beer Championship. During a recent phone interview Keegan said he was thrilled, not just for himself but more so for his team.
“We told everybody, we made a big deal about it, and we shared it with our guests and the public because it’s the team that does the work,” he said. “I didn't brew the beer, not this time. But the team did the work, and they did a great job.”
He said what made it more special was the fact that TailGate Orange is a craft beer they make every day. Something his team pulled off the shelf and sent.
We didn't take TailGate Orange to market and say hey this is our core beer; it just happened.
“I mean we’re making world-class beer, throwing it on the shelf and people can buy it and that’s just freaking great,” he said. “We didn't take TailGate Orange to market and say hey this is our core beer; it just happened that we were making it in the taprooms and it soon became our best seller.”
In addition to world-class beer TailGate Brewery has a menu of appetizers, wings, sandwiches and salads, but their main item is craft made pizzas. Keegan said he didn’t know a thing about making pizzas. So, he set out to learn everything he could about the process.
“I started talking to every pizza operator I knew,” he said. “I applied the same principles I did when learning how to become a brewer. I went to pizza kitchens, pizza conferences and learned everything I could from vendors. Our principal with beer is, we do it great or we don't do it at all. Our business model is to be the best brewery in Tennessee. And we took the same approach to pizza.”
This past Saturday, I walked into TailGate Brewery. The craft beer taproom is housed in an iconic downtown building next to the historic Choo Choo Terminal Station. Inside the brewery was decorated with Harry Potter themed items.
Keegan had mentioned the Chattanooga taproom was hosting a wizards themed Christmas popup named Station 9 ¾. Electric candles and flying brooms hung from the ceiling as if in motion reminding me of the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizards.
The pop-up had its own special cocktail menu. One cocktail – Sorting Cup – is an Espresso Martini with cool foam which revealed which house of with or wizards you belonged to.
The Chattanooga taproom features 30 different beers on draft, a scratch pizza kitchen, and a large double-decker patio. Downstairs there is a 7-barrel brewhouse in the basement. All the employees are locals and the Beer Brewer, Greg Brazier, was the brewer when the building used to be the Terminal Brewhouse.
I walked up to the counter and was greeted by Gray Dodson who is the manager. I ordered the Detroit style Whipped Ricotta pizza, which Keegan recommended and a TailGate Orange. I also asked to try their Lager Projekt beer.
Keegan said Lager Projekt was developed over years, adhering to the Reinheitsgebot German tradition, made from heritage, summer barley, poured from a traditional, hand-made side pour handle, and served in custom engraved glassware.
I expected the Larger Projekt would have a heavy taste, but this was light, delicate with floral undertones.
I tried my sample. I expected the Larger Projekt would have a heavy taste, but this was light, delicate with floral undertones.
“Did you like the Lager Projekt?” Dodson asked.
“It’s exquisite,” I replied. “In fact, after I finish my TailGate Orange, I’d like to try Lager Projekt paired up with your pretzel bites appetizer.
The TailGate Orange was light and tasty. My nose detected the hint of orange which tickled my palate with just a touch of sweetness.
My jaw hit the floor when my pizza arrived at my table. Thick crust with crisp edges, well-placed touches of tomato sauce, pepperoni and sausage and of course the luscious, whipped Ricotta cheese topping the pizza. The spiciness and bite of the pepperoni and sausage paired well with the sweet notes of the TailGate Orange. The creaminess of the Ricotta cheese brought all those flavors together.
Keegan said the Detroit style Whipped Ricotta was the best. He was right!
After two slices, I boxed the rest of the pizza to-go. I finished my TailGate Orange and got my pretzel bites with a Lager Projekt.
Pretzels tend to be quite chewy. But these were tiny pillows of softness topped with salt and served with nacho cheese dip and mustard. The pretzel bites added another dimension to the Larger, a hint of bread and herbs. The nacho cheese was smooth, and the spiciness crept up slowly but was gentle at the back of my throat. The mustard was tart but the perfect partner for the pretzel bites.
“How is it?” Dodson asked.
“This is a fantastic pairing,” I said. “It’s delicious, seriously, my mouth is having a field day.”
We talked about the headquarters in Nashville. Dodson said all the beer canning takes place there and they offer tours of the facility.
“If you’re ever in Nashville you should take a tour,” she said.
“I will,” I replied.
Guests can choose their samples or learn about the beer from the servers.
I asked about their beer flights. Dodson said guests can choose their samples or learn about the beer from the servers who can tell them about the various beers and their flavor profiles. Before heading out I was looking at the various beer offerings. Two of them caught my attention. I asked to sample the Mountain Shandew and later the Gose-Ade Fruit Punch.
The Mountain Shandew is what you might think it is – a beer version of Mountain Dew. It smelled like Mountain Dew and tasted like one as well.
“The fruit punch tastes like red Gatorade,” Dodson said.
“OMG, it does,” I replied. “These are both dangerous. I could drink several of these and be in trouble.”
If you’re a Tennessee Titan fan, you can watch their games at the taproom and Trivia Night is every Thursday at 6:30 p.m. I know I’ll be returning to try their garlic fries and chicken wings and their TENN Golden Lager. TailGate Brewery will be open on Christmas Eve from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. and close on Christmas Day.
TailGate Brewery
- 1464 Market Street, Chattanooga, TN
- (423) 654-3850
- Website: www.tailgatebeer.com