Bad Martha Brewing Co. recently announced the grand opening of its second Bad Martha Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room. Located in Falmouth, Mass., the new brewery builds on the success of the company’s flagship Bad Martha Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room on Martha’s Vineyard and incorporates unique new elements designed to delight local craft beer fans on the mainland and expand canning production capability. The official grand opening to welcome the general public was September 6.
Bad Martha Brewing opened its first Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard in 2014 and quickly became a top destination for thousands of craft beer fans annually. The early success led to expansion to bars, retail locations, festivals and events on and off the Island. Since 2014 the brewery has won 11 awards at the International Beer Festival, beating out many of the world’s best-selling beers. All Bad Martha Beer is uniquely brewed with hand-picked wild grape leaves grown on Martha’s Vineyard, so there is a piece of the island’s soul infused in every sip.
Bad Martha Brewing plans to now brew and can all its beer in the new, state-of-the-art facility in Falmouth and will continue to brew beer on premise at Bad Martha Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room in Edgartown for consumption in the taproom there. Previously, the company contract brewed its beers for commercial sale and distribution with Mercury Brewing in Ipswich, Mass., noting Edgartown beer was not contract brewed, except for three flagship beers that became commercially available.
The beer has grown to a point that requires in-house brewing and canning. The 15-bbl system at the Falmouth brewhouse can easily be augmented to a 30-bbl system to keep pace with growth.
“We are thrilled to welcome craft beer fans to our new brewery and hope it will become part of the Falmouth and surrounding area community,” said Jonathan Blum, CEO and founder of Bad Martha Brewing. “Of course, we’ll welcome tourists in season, and we hope this new brewery will earn the support of locals who are seeking a comfortable, laid back, family- and dog-friendly environment to relax throughout the week.”
According to Josh Flanders, general manager for both Bad Martha Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room locations, “We’ve distilled all the elements that craft beer fans want today: delicious, hand-crafted seasonal beers made with local ingredients and a bucolic gathering place with a fun vibe.”
Visitors to the new Farmer’s Brewery can enjoy free samples of award-winning beer including seasonal varieties, purchase brew by the glass or a flight paddle and even take home a growler (64-oz glass container) or a crowler (32-oz can) or four-pack, 16-oz cans of select styles.
“We look forward to taking visitors on a tour of the brewery and they can even watch their favorite beer canned right on the spot to take home,” said Flanders.
Surrounded by beautiful landscaping, flowers, native plants, hops and herbs from Mahoney’s Garden Center, the brewery has a lush, beer garden atmosphere. Guests will find:
- plentiful indoor and outdoor patio seating;
- a tasting bar flanked with Bad Martha mermaid bar taps;
- barrel-top tables;
- a loft lounge area and a life-size sculpture of the mischievous Bad Martha mermaid herself.
Also new for the Falmouth location is a wood-burning firepit and outdoor space heaters to keep guests cozy on chilly spring and fall days. The brewery plans to install big screen televisions in the fall for customers to enjoy sports with their local craft beer, pizza and other creations by the chef. There are bike racks plus ample parking and the building is handicap accessible.
The star attraction at Bad Martha is the delicious, award-winning and satisfying beer created by Jacobi Reid, master brewer at both the Falmouth and Edgartown brewhouse locations.
“Our craft beers are made with the freshest and finest local ingredients from surrounding farms. We plan to offer at least 16 different varieties of beer flavors and styles on a regular basis at the Falmouth brewhouse,” said Reid who personally selects the best ingredients including fruits, berries (cranberries, blueberries, beach plums, wild cherries and strawberries), Organic honey, chocolate, oysters and roasted coffee beans among others to incorporate into his tasty beer recipes. Cranberries come from Reid’s family farm. The signature ingredient to all Bad Martha beer is hand-picked wild grape leaves grown on Martha’s Vineyard.
The brewery will be hopping throughout the year with live music by local Falmouth artists, weekly trivia contests with prizes, fun classes led by Bad Martha Master Brewer Jacobi Reid, old-fashioned board games like checkers, plus cornhole leagues, a bocce court, bingo and yoga among others.
It took more than a year of planning and a talented team to get the new brewhouse ready for the public. Every aspect was meticulously thought out, from building design to construction, equipment, seating, local hiring, employee training plus beer and food recipe development.
Just like the flagship location in Edgartown, the farmer’s brewery in Falmouth was designed by an award-winning Boston architect, built by the Amish in Pennsylvania and erected on site with local carpenters and construction crews. Bad Martha’s signature post and beam barn design for Falmouth is larger with a 15-bbl brewing system that can expand to 30 bbls and incorporates new canning equipment that enables the brewery to brew beer freshly, right on the premises. The mainland location helps Bad Martha Brewing broaden its distribution reach too.
Bad Martha Brewing moved into 16-oz cans in 2018 based on the success selling Vineyard Summer Ale and because cans are better for beer freshness and are more environmentally friendly.
The company is also expanding its team and has hired Calantoni ‘Cal’ Scarfone as assistant brewer in Edgartown, Kevin Gardner as assistant brewer in Falmouth and Aaron Smith as chef in Falmouth.
Bad Martha Brewing’s motto is Get Bad. Do Good. The company’s goal is to not only create delicious high-quality craft beers but also run the business centered on socially responsible practices. In addition to using the finest local ingredients found throughout Falmouth, it will provide spent grains to local farmers and give back to the community by donating a portion of profits to a local charity. Among other charities, Bad Martha Brewing has already donated $17,000 to the Island Food Pantry on Martha’s Vineyard to help them in their mission to feed the hungry.
“We want to support the communities in which we live and do business and are we’re planning to identify a local area Falmouth charity to donate to once we are up and running,” said General Manager Josh Flanders.
The brewery plans to give a discount to support those who give their service to the Falmouth community and our nation, including U.S. active duty military and veterans, teachers, police, fire and ambulance workers, on all non-alcoholic merchandise and food. For updated details check badmarthabeer.com.
Upcoming news planned for 2020
The company has more exciting news on tap for 2020. It plans to build the first, Bad Martha Oyster Shack for freshly shucked oysters plus daily and evening New England Clam Boils and a Clambake once a week. The Oyster Shack would be open in-season from Memorial Day through Columbus Day.
The brewery plans to partner with local food trucks periodically to bring delicious local food to brewery patrons.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.