The Terminal Brewhouse

When this blog was created, I reserved the right to post about all the brew pubs, the breweries and the restaurants that I wanted to. (I even reserved the right to post about the nightly brew if I felt like it!) Having this ability lets me bring some really amazing stories to the reader(s) of this blog. So many brew pubs and breweries have amazing stories that are just waiting to be told. Not that I'm the one that will tell the stories but I can steer you in the right direction to hear that story yourself. One such story is that of The Terminal Brewhouse.

To warn you, I'm only going to hit the high points in this post. The reason isn't that there isn't a lot to tell but the just the opposite -- the story is so well told by The Terminal on their website and I really don't know if I could do it justice.

After spending the day introducing Nicole to Lookout Mountain, we decided to check out one more local establishment before we left Chattanooga. She had done a little search for local brew pubs as we went uphill and I had been thinking about the choices for a large portion of the time we were having fun at the higher altitude (don't tell her that). My mind kept going back to the picture she showed me of The Terminal Brewhouse. It was of the bar area and you could catch a glimpse of the brewery behind the bartenders and I knew that this was my kind of place. The exposed brick and the view of the tanks from three floors up had me sold from the start.

I plugged the address into the GPS and we started down the mountain to try and find the potential gem. Nic's iPhone is apparently much smarter than my car and led us to the correct location after I had driven down a street that was clearly not in the right place. We pulled into E 14th Street between the hotel and the brewhouse and found our place in the gravel parking lot.

We saw a cool staircase at the back but we are front-door fans and walked around so that we could get to walk through the entire restaurant on the way to the green roof deck out back. I made a stop by the restrooms and aimed for the bee (if you know what I'm talking about, you probably appreciate the fact that I added that). As I walked out of the restroom toward the stairs that I would be going up, I noticed a map on the wall showing of a number of micros around the country that held similar philosophies as The Terminal.


Going up the stairs to get to the deck, I stopped more than once to take everything in. As a builder, I noticed a number of things that would normally slip past many people but clued me in on the commitment to sustainability that the owners have taken. There are great views of the architectural details of the building and the brewing equipment that we craft brew seekers love to look at. Exiting the door at the back of the second floor (there are three floors with tables and the brewing equipment is located in the basement) took me out onto the deck that is adjacent to the green roof which has picnic tables as well.

This is where the only bad thing about The Terminal surfaced and to be true to the good and the bad, I have to mention this. There was a time between sitting down and our order being taken that no one talked to us. Granted this was probably only for 8-10 minutes but for two people that had skipped lunch and had a four hour drive fast approaching, it seemed much longer. I attribute this to it being a Sunday afternoon and the Brewhouse being much busier than the management probably expected.


Once the waiter came around we got some waters on the way while we looked over the menu. Nicole wasn't in the mood to try a beer so I went ahead and ordered the Belgium White - "The White Shadow" to change her mind. While waiting we enjoyed the view from the deck and commented about how many people out back looked like they were regular patrons. The parking lot confirmed this as we watched almost everyone that drove up walk right in as if they knew exactly where they were going.

Opening the menu and trying to order was an experience in itself. The descriptions all come to life and the only thing on the menu that isn't named something interesting is the "CHEESE DIP" but then again, who calls cheese dip "CHEESE DIP"? Another thing to note is that most of the dishes had beer pairings for those who want to add to the experience. Someone (the one who didn't want one) kept stealing sips of my beer claiming it the "best beer she had ever tasted" while we placed our orders. I ordered our waiter's favorite sandwich "THE MACHO MAN" and Nic went for a bowl of french onion soup and the brewhouse salad with chicken.

Our waiter brought out a second beer for me to try, the American copper ale - "Terminally Ale". The Malt notes in this copper were a bit strong for my tastes but it sat really well and paired nicely with my sandwich when it came out. I will admit to like the white a little better but fans of good ambers will not be disappointed. I didn't see a sampler on the menu (I may have overlooked it) so my beer reporting is limited to the full pints that I ordered. And my ordering was limited due to the driving I knew I would have to be doing when my shift rolled around. I regret that I learned after we left that I could have bought a growler for $4 and had it filled for another $14; it would have been well worth that for a half-gallon of beer to enjoy later in the week.

Our food came out and didn't disappoint. Not much that I can say about it other than it was great. My sandwich was well put together and I could tell that the chef put a ton of thought into the items on the menu to make each one not only unique but memorable. Nic enjoyed her salad and soup as well; she didn't have to tell me, I knew by the noticeable lack of conversation once the food arrived.

We wrapped up our meal, paid and ventured back inside to the bar because I wanted to try something I saw on the menu that caught my eye. A while back I had BLT Bloody Mary and every time I see bacon flavored vodka mentioned, I want to try it. At The Terminal, they have their own flavor infused vodkas that you can order from the bar. These sit in clear glass sweet tea dispensers (what are those called Nic?) behind the bartender, one for each flavor - bacon, cucumber and jalapeno/habanero. We sat down and I ordered a taste of each one as Nic rolled her eyes. I'm not a fan of liqueur and there are only a few drinks that I like (with the Bloody Mary being one of them) so I only intended to taste each one and see what my initial reaction was.

We tried the cucumber first and it was a little green tasting - kinda like putting cucumber slices in water instead of a lemon, it gave off a faint hint of the added ingredient. The third was the bacon flavor and it was faint to say the least; Nic noticed it more than I but it didn't live up to my expectations. We only had a taste of each and that was what we'd planned on having so the portions we were given looked barely touched and sparked the interests of our brewhouse fellows. An older couple and a guy sitting next to me all wanted to know more about the second one that we tried, the jalapeno/habanero. To me, vodka itself burns but this stuff will light you up and everyone wanted to have a go. We all tried and we all ordered something to put out the fire.

So much goes into enjoying a brewpub, microbrewery or brewhouse. The atmosphere, the beer, the food if you have any and even the cushion on the chairs can play a role in what you take away. When a location remembers these things and makes the effort to put thought into each one, it shows. The Terminal Brewhouse is the total package. These guys get it. I'm not sure that there is another establishment that I enjoyed having a beer at any more. I might be caught driving back up just to make another visit.

Beer Score: 8 (out of 10)
Atmosphere: 9(out of 10)
Food: 7(out of 10)
Local Commitment: 10(out of 10)
6 E 14th St, Chattanooga, Tennessee 37408 (423) 752-8090

http://terminalbrewhouse.com/
http://twitter.com/terminalbrew

-Todd