Martha’s Vineyard, MA – Bad Martha Brewing Company of Martha’s Vineyard has introduced (508) IPA, a new and hoppy IPA named after the Island’s eponymous area code. The Company also said that Bad Martha Beer continues to expand and is now available in Connecticut in addition to Massachusetts and Rhode Island, where the beer may be found in over 500 locations.
According to Bad Martha Master Brewer, Jacobi Reid, the new (508) IPA is 7% ABV (alcohol by volume), with 70 IBUs (International Bittering Units) and has aromatics of grapefruit and tangerines. The flavor profile is tropical fruit and citrus with a subtle hint of a biscuit malt backbone and finishes off with a little hop bite but no lasting bitterness. (508) IPA is delicious alone or paired with food spicy dishes, such as ethnic foods, pizza or pastas. The new beer will be sold in six-packs and at restaurants and bars, alongside its highly popular Vineyard Summer Ale, Martha’s Vineyard Ale (an English Special Bitters), Honey Ale (made with organic honey from the island) and Island IPA (which has 50 IBUs, is less hoppy in character and is 5.5% ABV). The Company plans to introduce a Double IPA later this year, offering customers three IPAs to choose from, and a Coffee Porter, made with Chilmark Coffee from the island.
Reid plans to introduce a number of other new beers sold just at Bad Martha Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room located in Edgartown, Martha’s Vineyard. These include a Jalapeño Cucumber Kolsch made with local jalapeños and cucumbers and a Cranberry Vienna Gose made with cranberries that Reid’s family grew and harvested. Reid has just introduced Peach Pale Ale made with fresh peaches and a Choco Nitro Stout made with Not Your Sugar Mama’s local chocolate. He also is brewing favorites such as Expresso Ale made with Chilmark Coffee, Beach Plum Dubbel, made with local beach plums, Honey Helles made with Martha’s Vineyard organic honey, and an Imperial Oyster Stout made with Katama Bay oysters. All Bad Martha Beer is uniquely brewed with grape leaves grown on Martha’s Vineyard, so there’s a piece of the Island’s soul infused in every glass and bottle.
“We are focused on offering delicious award-winning beers with unique flavors that distinguish Bad Martha and provide something for every beer lover. The Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room is a bit of an experimental laboratory, allowing us to get creative and innovate with flavors. When we find something that’s very popular with our customers there, we will then bottle it and sell it commercially. It’s fun to interact with customers and get their feedback every day. That’s allowed us to offer beers we know will be a commercial success and it’s exciting to see how quickly we are growing across the region,” said Jonathan Blum, CEO and Co-Founder. “Our goal is to not only create delicious high quality craft beers, but also run our business centered on socially responsible practices. We are using the finest local ingredients, providing spent grains to local farmers, and donating a percentage of our profits to hunger relief charity. We are well on our way toward growing Bad Martha Beer into a dominant regional microbrewery based on this business model,” added Blum. Bad Martha Beer’s motto is ‘Get Bad. Do Good.’”
Blum is CEO and Co-Founder of Bad Martha Beer, founded in partnership with Peter Rosbeck, long-time Island resident. Blum has been a seasonal island resident for 28 years. The two first launched Bad Martha Beer in 2012 at Boston’s Baseball Tavern, and opened Bad Martha Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room on Martha’s Vineyard in 2013. A 23-year senior executive at Yum! Brands, Inc. and PepsiCo, Blum decided to retire from the world’s largest restaurant company to focus on building his craft-beer company across New England.
In just two years, Bad Martha has won eight awards at the International Beer Festival, beating out many of the world’s best-selling beers.
Bad Martha Beer Awards:
- Gold for Martha’s Vineyard Ale (ESB Category) 2014
- Gold for Martha’s Vineyard Export Lager (Dortmunder Category) 2014
- Gold for Martha’s Vineyard Pumpkin Pie Bock (Fruit & Spice Lager Category) 2014
- Silver Bad Martha’s Vineyard Summer Ale (Light Ale-Golden Category) 2015
- Bronze for Martha’s Vineyard White IPA (Belgian Witbier Category) 2014
- Bronze for Martha’s Vineyard, Tim’s Beach Plum Ale (Fruit & Spice Belgian Category) 2014
- Bronze for Martha’s Vineyard, Roscoe’s Brown Ale (Brown-Porter Category) 2015
- Bronze for Martha’s Vineyard Belgian Blonde (Belgian-Saison Category) 2015
About Bad Martha
Bad Martha’s flagship ale, Martha’s Vineyard Ale, teases the senses with a devilishly dark honey hue, a smooth caramel flavor and a seductive floral aroma. Brewed with premium English malt, the finest English and American hops, and Martha’s Vineyard grape leaves, Martha’s Vineyard Ale lures you in with approachable flavor and light to medium body. It is delicious to drink with steak, burgers, sandwiches, tacos and burritos.
Vineyard Summer Ale is made with wild Vineyard grape leaves, premium Pilsner malt and Saaz hops to provide a bright golden glow, clean pilsner malt flavor and subtle Bartlett pear aromatics. Its refreshing, light body makes it the perfect ale to pair with seafood, shellfish, or chicken dishes.
Island IPA gets its tropical essences from Cascade and Citra hops. Subtle hints of tangerine flavor combine with the string golden sun-kissed color for a tantalizing experience that is enjoyed best on its own, or with pizza, or spicy Italian, Mexican or Indian meals.
Vineyard Honey Ale is a sultry Golden Ale, blending Martha’s Vineyard organic honeybee honey with come-hither Pilsner malt and a kiss of German noble hops, providing a light and refreshing ale year-round after the summer has passed.
About Bad Martha Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room
Surrounded by beautiful landscaping, flowers and native plants, the Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room is a bucolic setting for craft beer fans. The post and beam barn was built by the Amish in Pennsylvania and erected onsite in a 5-day barn raising in 2014. Visitors can enjoy free samples of award-winning beer including seasonal varieties, purchase brew by the glass or a flight paddle, enjoy farm-local cheese, vegetable and charcuterie platters, outdoor patio, games, live music and take home a growler.
The Farmer’s Brewery & Tasting Room brews about twenty varieties of beer during the season between May and November and also uses local Island ingredients such as organic honey, local fruits (blueberries, beach plums, wild cherries, cranberries, pumpkins, and strawberries), chocolate, oysters, jalapenos, cranberries and roasted coffee beans.
If one of these recipes is well-received by Tasting Room customers, it is then contract-brewed at Mercury in Ipswich, MA, bottled, kegged and sold commercially. The Farmer’s Brewery is located at 270 Upper Main Street, Edgartown, MA 02539, (508) 939-4415.
About Bad Martha’s Lore
In 1602, mischievous winds drove Bartholomew Gosnold’s ship to Martha’s Vineyard. As legend has it, he scoured the Island for ingredients to brew ale for his crew. Alas, he found none…and he fell asleep on the shore one evening. Under the light of the moon, he awoke to a sensuous mermaid with jet black hair and a devilish grin. Sitting at water’s edge, she beckoned to Gosnold. The closer he got, the further she swam away – tempting him to follow. So he did. Finally, he found himself in a field brimming with lush Island grapes. These would be perfect for wine, he thought. But nay, he was a good Englishman, so these grapes became the secret ingredient for a robust, refreshing beer. Gosnold never saw the mermaid again. He went to his grave wondering if he ever saw her at all. Today, we brew every handcrafted beer as Gosnold did, with grape leaves harvested on the Vineyard and a splash of mermaid mischief. Naturally, we had no choice but to name our beer after the elusive siren who started it all. Bad Martha.