Jason Moore
Martin House Brewing Co. helped get the ball rolling in the craft beer world on the west side of the Metroplex.
Prior to them, Rahr had a monopoly in the area and they have paved the way for many other breweries in that area to get started. Martin House got its namesake from the native Texan bird, the Purple Martin, who makes its nest in shared houses.
Their goal as a company is to create beers that people share while they are making great memories. Martin House has a decent portfolio of brews, and now have eight year-round beers, one of which is a single hop IPA series called, Cellarman’s Reserve.
The beer I will be talking about , Salty Lady, which is its take on a traditional gose-style beer was originally released in 2014 on draft and for growler fills only, but was put in cans in July of 2015. Martin House does Salty Lady a little differently by kettle souring the base beer, then various salts and coriander are added and finally it’s fermented with its house saison yeast.
Salty Lady pours a fizzy yellow with stark white head sitting atop the golden brew. It’s pretty hazy at first, but settles out after 30 seconds or so and your left with a slightly cloudy finished product.
I get a good amount of tart citrus notes and semi-sweet wheat in the nose. There’s not a whole lot of depth in the aroma, but it’s pleasant.
Following along slightly with the nose of the beer, I get a quick punch of tart lemon flavor, it has a malty backbone though, almost like an unsweetened lemonade. I am getting some saltiness and earthy tones from the coriander, also some interesting spice-like notes, but they are more subdued than the other flavors.
