USA, TN: Marrowbone Creek Brewing Co. aiming at opening in Ashland City by the end of the year

Chris Morris morphed his house into “a lab for experimental fermentation” in what a friend of his dubbed, “the ultimate quarantine project”, The Tennessean reported on September 2.

He’s ramping up to open Marrowbone Creek Brewing Co. by the end of the year.

Morris, a 15-year brewer with a longtime appreciation of local beer-makers, will co-own the upcoming company with his wife Julie Morris and family friend Ryan Jensen.

“It’s something we’ve always thought about,” he said.

Opting to move to Cheatham County from East Nashville last year, Morris explained that he “realized Ashland City doesn’t have anything like that, and that it would be a great place for it.”

He had a habit of driving up and down the local streets, surveying which buildings could make cool breweries.

The one that ultimately came up for lease was on his list, at 240 S. Main St. in Ashland City.

The Ashland City Beer Board recently approved the new business permit request.

“We just kind of looked at each other (and said) ‘let’s make this happen,’” Morris said gesturing to Jensen, a former events coordinator at Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville.

Jensen, who began experimenting with brewing ciders and other beverages, said the co-owners wanted to pursue an opportunity to turn Morris’ brewing hobby into a business, with his own skill of organizing events.

“Most brewers point to a time in their life where they tried a beer and just kind of, a light bulb went on,” Morris explained of his draw to try brewing.

For him, the “light bulb” moment was a Belgian beer he tried in Philadelphia that took his thinking to the next level. Attending other local breweries also piques his interest.

Morris highlighted Belgian-style and Hefeweizen beers among his favorites, and his wife is “the biggest cheerleader” of the hazy IPA.

He plans to have some of those beers on tap — a combination of year-round options and seasonal rotations — at Marrowbone Creek Brewing Co.

Though there isn’t an opening date set in stone, the owners plan to launch the business in a two-phased approach: The front half of the brewing company will serve as a taproom with craft-beer takeout — including six-packs and growlers — among other things. The back half of the building, which previously stored classic cars, will be used as a gathering space for the public and for events.

That portion is on track to open in the spring.

Morris and Jensen hope to use the space flexibly, including for receptions, business meetings or casual activities like hosting trivia nights or corn hole. Jensen pointed out that even if the back space is booked for an event, the front portion of the brewery will still be open to the public.

Noting some neighbors who can’t access broadband at home have had to find a coffee shop every day to get work done, Morris added that the brewery could also serve as a “hangout space.

“(We) welcome everybody,” he said. “It’s going to be neat.”

They plan to have something for everyone at Marrowbone Creek Brewing Co.

“We’re trying to be an active part of this community,” Jensen said. “I think that space is perfect for it,” he added. There’s “nothing out there quite like it.”

03 September, 2020