Highly Anticipated Taproom Opens in Dallas
Beer lovers, you’ve got a new place to check off the list. After much anticipation Manhattan Project Beer Company’s taproom is finally open. It is located about a mile west of Downtown Dallas at 2211 Sulphur Street.
Inside visitors can look forward to 16 beers on tap, with a mix of permanent favorites and rotating specialty brews. Outside there is a beer garden and space for live music.
“We want to be a brewery where you can be super comfortable,” co-founder Misty Sanford said. “You can have a date night if you want, where it’s a little bit of an intimate setting, or you can have a big group, have a great time and be a little rowdy outside.”
Manhattan Project Brewing Company started as a small venture with Misty, her husband Karl and longtime friend Jeremy Brodt. When Misty and Karl got married back in 2010, the three decided to concoct a special brew for the wedding celebration. It was the first beer they ever made together. After months of testing and tweaking they came up with a signature Belgian dark. Later branded “Inception,” it would go on to win multiple awards.
“We had a backup wheat beer for the wedding in case it didn’t turn out,” Misty recalled. “Everyone loved the Belgian so much, nobody drank the wheat until [the Belgian] was gone.”
Before long, beermaking became an obsession for the group. It was around the time when craft beer was just gaining popularity in Texas. Misty had a job that required a lot of travel. On weekends and vacations she and Karl would spend time checking out local breweries and seeing how the business worked.
By 2013 they had settled on the name that was inspired by a passion for science, and possibly created over a few beers. In their first competition, their light IPA “Hoppenheimer” took first place in the American IPA category.
Fast-forward a couple of years and their beer business was booming – so fast, in fact, that Misty says it nearly broke them. They got help from Addison’s Bitter Sisters Brewery, which temporarily allowed them to use tanks. Then it was on to Hop & Sting Brewing Company in Grapevine, which also let them use its canning operation. Now they are happy to finally have their own brewery and taproom.
Manhattan Project Brewing Company’s taproom is open 7:30 a.m. until 10 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 9 a.m. through midnight on weekends. They have partnered with Flower Mound’s Edison Coffee to provide coffee for guests not quite ready for beer before noon. Those looking for a bite to eat will be able to enjoy Thai fried chicken from Thai Bird. It will be the first retail location for the restaurant that plans to open a Fort Worth stand-alone location next year.
Looking back, Misty says she is excited about how the Dallas-area beer scene has grown over the past decade. Now that state laws have been changed to allow more to-go sales, customers can leave with not only a growler of their favorite beer, but also a six-pack.
For those looking to stay a while, Misty says the taproom and beer garden were carefully designed to appeal to all different kinds of groups. She wants everyone to enjoy themselves and be comfortable. That’s why there was one small detail that she insisted on from the beginning.
“Picnic tables are so uncomfortable, and they seem to be at every brewery,” she said. “I’m made sure that, with the exception of one area, every seat in our taproom has a back.”
Manhattan Project Beer Co.
2211 Sulphur St.
Dallas, TX 75208
This post is sponsored by Full Clip Craft Distributors.
