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Nestled in the heart of St. Elmo is The Tap House, a brewery + bar that will celebrate five years of business (and a whole lot of changes since opening) on Sat., April 9.
If you’ve been in town for a while, you may remember that The Tap House opened as a craft beer bar. Since then, it’s grown to add wine + food, and now, a few more exciting additions are on the way…
🍺 What’s new + on the horizon
- The spot recently got its liquor license, so while it will remain beer-centric, The Tap House now offers a limited liquor lineup with offerings like Chattanooga Whiskey + Gate 11.
- By the end of summer, owner Chris Calhoun hopes to open up a 21+ lounge inside of the space. The lounge will also be available for private event rentals.
- Calhoun also hopes to start up brewing classes once again, but that likely won’t come until the fall.
🍺 Fun facts
- Looking at the extensive food menu — filled with several items that are named after the drink they pair well with — you’d never know that the kitchen is the size of a food truck. (We can confirm that this is true: it’s tiny.)
- The bar located inside of the 21+ lounge was originally from the Victorian Lounge at the Chattanooga Choo Choo, which is now closed.
- Empyreal Brewing — the brewery that’s part of The Tap House + brews its beers — only does 30 gallon batches at a time (if that means nothing to you, think of it like this: 30 gallons = ~2 kegs)
- Lots of the bar’s interior is homemade or repurposed. For instance, the staircase that previously graced the space is now a bar after being taken apart + reused.
Of course, we couldn’t end this article without a little friendly competition. Owner Chris Calhoun claimed that The Tap House has one of the best burgers in town. Our challenge? Try it out against your favorite burgers from other local spots (perhaps during the upcoming Chattanooga Burger Week?) and share your rankings with us.
