The opening night crowd at Mantra Artisan Ales in Franklin
Local beer lovers have been excited about the news coming out of Mantra Artisan Ales ever since the announcement that brewmaster Derrick Morse was partnering up with Maneet Chauhan and her husband Vivek Deora to create the new brewery at 216 Noah Drive in Franklin. Now the wait is over — Mantra has officially opened the taproom after weeks of furiously brewing several varieties of innovative ales to prime the taps.
Crowds lined up before the doors opened to be among the first to sample Morse's creative brews, but don't worry if you missed out on the grand opening because the taproom will be now be open Wednesdays through Saturdays going forward. (Hours: 3 to 9 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and noon to 9 p.m. Saturday.)
And if you don't feel like schlepping all the way out to the nondescript industrial strip center that houses the attractive taproom (which you really should consider visiting), Mantra is bringing the party to the big city this week with a series of tap takeovers all over town.
Here's the schedule so you can plan your drinking itinerary:
Mon., Nov. 16:
Craft Brewed
2502 Franklin Pike
5-10 p.m.
(14 Mantra taps)
Tues., Nov. 17:
Hops and Crafts
319 12th Ave S.
5-9 p.m.
(four Mantra taps)
Wed., Nov. 18:
Frugal MacDoogal
701 Division St.
3-7 p.m.
(six Mantra taps)
Thurs., Nov. 19:
Hop Stop
2909 Gallatin Pike
6-9 p.m.
(10 Mantra taps)
Fri., Nov. 20:
Filling Station East
904 Main St.
4-8 p.m.
(10 Mantra taps)
Notice that there are a whole lot of different beers being featured at some of these tap takeovers, and Morse has been brewing almost around the clock to come up with a huge offering of new beers. In addition to its six core beers, Mantra is featuring nine more seasonal varieties for their big coming-out party. Check out this impressive list:
Core beers
Saffron IPA, an American style IPA (6.2% ABV)
Amour Rouge, a Flanders style red ale (6.2% ABV)
Japa, a milk chai stout (6.0% ABV)
Avec Moi, a Belgian style sour ale (4.7% ABV)
Battleground Farmhouse Ale, a saison wit blend (5.1% ABV)
Nouveau, a Belgian style amber (6.2% ABV)
Seasonal selections
Summer Salt, gose (4.2% ABV)
Tart le Blanche, Sour Saison (4.3% ABV)
reinCOWnation, milk stout (6% ABV)
Tamarind Pucker, sour beer with tamarind (4.1% ABV)
Brett Project L, all brettanomyces lambicus beer (5% ABV)
Delayed Reaction, brett saison (5% ABV)
Weird De Garde, bier de garde (5.5% ABV)
Sun Salutation, mango chili witbeir (5% ABV)
Revolutionary, American pale ale dry-hopped with simcoe (5.4% ABV)
It might take more than one sitting to get through all of these, so plan accordingly.
