Martin House Brewing Company
220 S Sylvania Ave 209
Fort Worth, TX 76111
Phone 817 222-0177
Looking for something to do in Fort Worth TX? We recently visited and taste tested craft beers at one of the Breweries in Fort Worth, TX. The brewery is named Martin House Brewing Co.
As you may know I prefer the darker style, and my wife leans toward the hazy IPA. We arrived mid-afternoon on Friday and we each ordered a flight. Our bartender offered some samples as well.
First thing to comment on is the high number of in-house brews they offer at all times. Some locations have 6-8, they had about 25 active taps with a good variety of styles. We sampled several brews:
· Everything’s Peachy Green – Blonde Ale with Green Tea
· Friday IPA – IPA American
· Pet Heads
· The Imperial Texan Red Ale – Imperial/Double
· Bockslider – Bock – Single / Traditional
· Crispy Crew Lager – Dark Rice Lager
· Martin House Pils
My wife’s favorite was the Friday IPA and mine was the Crispy Crew Dark Rice Lager. I can’t remember ever having a Dark Rice Lager before, so this was a nice find.
While it’s not my cup of tea, their Sour Pickle Beer made in conjunction with Best Made Pickle company may be one of their most popular brews. You can find it in many stores across the Metroplex. Our Brews Sampled and Favorites
Brewery Ambiance
Martin House Brewing has always been designed for socializing. Some of the taproom tables are the picnic variety where table sharing occurs with smaller parties. There is an area that has sofas and comfy chairs, as well as several smaller tables for two or four people. Table games can be found in the bookcase.
They have always had a large outside area, but now they have a covered seating area with 25 picnic tables that has recently been constructed. The manager says that large electric fans and tv’s are to be installed soon. A large music stage is also under the new roof.
And they are absolutely dog friendly there, both inside and out!
One benefit of being on the river is the unobstructed view of the sunsets. If you have not given yourself this gift, plan a trip to enjoy a pint and sunset soon.
Food
On our visit, the food truck outside served a variety seafood-based dishes. We already had dinner plans, so we did not order from the truck, but we saw several people eating inside as well as a line outside, indicating the food was good. The food trucks will vary depending on the day you visit.
Merchandise
Martin House Brewing had several shirts styles designed primarily with their Martin House Logo They had tshirts, pint glasses, hats, stickers, and tin signs available.
I
I admire their thinking to include the scan code to bring you to their taps on hand list.
Brewery Manager Interview
Martin House Brewing Company manager Interview Watch video on Facebook
MHB: I’m Karla the tap room manager. I’ve been working here since the first year they opened. And I love working at Martin House Brewing.
AMAH: When did they open?
MHB: They were established in 2012 and opened a few years after that.
AMAH: The last time we were here, the brewery was only open two days a week. You guys have expanded a lot since that time.
MHB: Definitely. We are now open 7 days a week. The old tap room in now all production area. They stay running sometimes 24/7.
AMAH: Wow! That is good news for y’all. Who started MHB?
MHB: Three owners started when they were in college. They were frat brothers who started home brewing. They decided to start a brewery when they were in college. Their girlfriends at the time made them develop a business plan. They had certain guidelines the guys had to meet. They were all living under the same house at the time.
The Martin bird is the only bird in nature that will move out of their nest in order for the next bird to move in. That is how the name came about, as well as one of the owners having the last name of Martin. The owners wanted to replicate the family traditions of welcoming new people to their home.
The brewery is both pet family and family friendly. You can see the dogs and kids up and down the aisle.
AMAH: Who comes up with the beer names?
MHB: A little bit of everybody. Sometimes it’s Shugg, our marketing guy. Sometimes it’s a lot of guys watching movies one night saying that is a great line, we need to come up with a beer for that. Our Heads are Falling Off is from the Dumb and Dumber movie and someone picked that line one night.
AMAH: Have you gotten to name one?
MHB: No not yet.
AMAH: How many brewers do you have?
MHB: We have three now. We promote from within and if someone is promoted up, someone fills that spot moving them around and up. We are growing fast.
AMAH: You stated that you were a volunteer.
MHB: Yep, working for beer. I had that sign - will work for beer. I was not much of a beer drinker when I started, but then I started sampling all the non-beer flavored beer and my interest grew.
AMAH: How many employees do you have now?
MHB: Over 100. The Tap Room has about 30 people, leaving 70 for the production and distribution side of the business.
AMAH: As accountants, we love to see business grow and to see healthy businesses. Most breweries have favorite charities they work with. Does Martin House have any?
MHB: We help several local organizations as they come up and request donations. We also have an internal program where they will match any contribution an employee makes to a charity.
AMAH: The patio that is here now was not the last time we were here.
MHB: Correct. The space was occupied by another company, and we recently took it over. It was the previous tenant’s storage space. It didn’t look like a patio back then. We have the picnic tables and will soon have large fans and flat screen tv’s. I’ve seen parents come out and their kids bring skateboards and bicycles to enjoy the space while Mom and Dad enjoy a beer.
AMAH: We ride on the other side of the river.
MHB: You can stop by for one to refresh and bring a few cans with you to enjoy after your ride.
AMAH: Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us, Karla. Images here
Paragraphs here
About the Authors
When I first started dating my wife, we enjoyed popular domestic beers. I am sure visiting a craft brewery was her idea. Our taste buds rejoiced as we sampled the various brews. It did not take long before our tastes diverted – the darker ambers, reds, porters, and stouts for me, IPA, Hazy IPA, and pilsners for her.
When we retired, we decided to visit as many of our National Parks across this country. It seemed a natural fit to visit breweries in the many cities we travel through as we drive to the parks.
We currently reside in Fort Worth, Texas. Texas has about 300 micro-breweries, and the Metroplex has over 80. Which means we have a whole lot of day trips ahead of us to visit our local breweries.
