- Saturday, March 01, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
For those in the southern Indian city of Chennai who regularly head for Puducherry (a former French colony in the south, also called Pondicherry) to enjoy sea, sun and chilled beer, there is yet another reason to make them excited.
Catamaran Brewing Co, the first microbrewery of Puducherry, is set to flag off a beer bus connecting the Union Territory with Chennai, the capital of the adjacent southern state of Tamil Nadu, the Hindu BuisnessLine reported.
The first-of-its-kind beer bus will make its first trip on Saturday (22) and will take people to enjoy a three-course meal, unlimited craft beers and a tour of the brewery, the report said. The price has been kept at Rs 3,000 (£29.35) per person.
However, unlike what many social posts are claiming, the beer will not be provided in the bus and only after seeing the response for the opening trip, the company plans to make it a regular thing.
The founder of Catamaran Brewing Co., Prasad Radhakrishnan, said the idea first came up when a customer jokingly asked for a transport service as it would be safer for tipsy visitors who drive from Chennai to Puducherry to taste the beer which is cheaper.
“The idea is to transport people safely from Chennai to Puducherry, make them experience the nuances of craft beer, and drop them back to Chennai safely on the same day. It’s a good way for groups to come in,” he was quoted as saying by The Hindu BusinessLine.
The report also added that last week, the company published a promotional flier for the “beer bus” and it became viral on social media in no time.
Even Radhakrishnan was surprised by the heavy response saying that they had not expected it.
“Some people are even asking us to operate the bus on a regular basis,” he told the news outlet laughing.
It was in 2017 when Radhakrishnan started working on the Catamaran Brewing Co. project with his business partner Rangaraju Narayanaswamy. The researched on breweries, looked for places, worked on a brewery licence, and also arranged funds form trusted sources such as family and friends, The Hindu BusinessLine reported.
But things got delayed even after they got the licence in 2019 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The company was eventually launched in September 2021.
Catamaran Brewing Co. offers craft beer in nine varieties, including among others, Indian Summer (a Belgian Witbier), Hopsunami (an Indian Pale Ale), Chingari Cider (a dry apple cider), and Vox Populi (a dark lager).
Radhakrishnan said craft beers are meant to be savoured and not binged upon like commercial beers.
He also said the beer trip is also educational, as brewers will help visitors understand how a grain is transformed into beer. The travellers will also see how beer goes with some of the finest food items.
Radhakrishnan, however, was particular saying that no beer will be served on the bus.
“We are going to have a zero-tolerance policy and no alcohol will be served in the bus. Passengers who disturb others will be dropped off at the nearest bus stop,” he told the news outlet.
