Homegrown pride, local flavors fuel growth of Fort Worth craft beer scene
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Fort Worth has grown into the 13th largest city in America, fifth largest in Texas, but its craft brewery scene may be its most aggressive expansion.
It is bringing people together for one thing: to enjoy good beer.
“I go to the grocery store and go to the bar over here and you see everybody you know all over the place,” said “Shugg” Cole, brand manager at Martin House Brewing Company. “It doesn’t feel like we’re this big giant city.”
Craft beer by definition, according to Collin Zreet, co-owner of Funky Picnic Brewery and Cafe in Fort Worth, is beer made by a brewer that is small, independent, and traditional.
To date, Fort Worth has nearly 20 breweries in operation. North Texas is closing in on 100 establishments, Zreet said.
Each brewery is different, some function as production locations for brewing and canning beer, others have a taproom attached and there’s a handful that serve as a restaurant hybrid brewpub model.
Every establishment has their own styles and flavor profiles, but if it’s from a local craft brewery its authentic to where its coming from, Zreet said.
“In a sense, it’s beer made with purpose,” he said. “We’re making beer with local ingredients and when people see that, it really resonates with them, because that keeps a lot of business and a lot of the money right here in Fort Worth.”
Slow and steady
When Rahr & Sons Brewing Company opened its doors in 2004, it started Fort Worth’s march into the modern craft brewery era.
In the early days, Texas law only allowed small breweries to sell their beers at bars, restaurants and grocery stores. Taprooms were not a thing then. All breweries could do was give customers tours of their facilities.
A decade after Rahr & Sons started brewing in Fort Worth, the Texas legislature shook up the local craft beer world. Laws were passed allowing craft breweries to to sell its product on its own premises. This led to many breweries opening taprooms so consumers could come directly to the source and try different flavors the local breweries were offering.
This was the moment the Fort Worth scene came into its own, Zreet said.
“That’s a huge thing about craft beer, is being able to talk with your customer and see them face-to-face and be able to talk beer and just being able to interact,” he said.
As the taste for local brews grew, so did the Fort Worth craft beer scene. It recorded a major milestone when Sandra Murphy was named the first female head brewer in the Metroplex in 2019. Murphy was appointed to the position at Panther Island Brewing. She is now head brewer at Fort Brewery & Pizza.
The distinction took Murphy by surprise, she said, finding about the honor two months before it was announced. The unassuming brewer preferred to work in the shadows. The title has certainly pushed her out of her comfort level.
She recognizes that being a trailblazer comes with responsibilities. It means paving the way for others to follow, she said. She has been more vocal, she added, as she has accepted her newfound position.
“I’m blessed to have it,” Murphy said. “Definitely trying to do the best job I can with it.”
Water, hops, grain and yeast
It is tough to tag a craft breweries’ style or flavor profile because their options are unlimited.
Craft breweries make everything from Indian pale ales, stouts, lagers, sours, pale ales, pilsners, wheat beer and many other combinations.
Martin House Brewing Company has taken this to another level: releasing a new beer every week “and will distribute around 60 different brews during the year,” said Cole, the brewery’s brand manager.
Consumers might find selections such as buffalo wing sauce, lemon icebox pie, cookies flavored or the popular “Best Maid Sour Pickle Beer.” It’s always about having something new and fun for the customer, he said.
Besides the intricate flavors and endless combinations with craft beer, Cole said the fact breweries are part of its communities as they serve neighbors help push their popularity.
The sky-is-the-limit approach to brewing beers makes pinning down the Fort Worth craft beer scene to its unique thing a tough task.
The North Texas craft brewery industry is still searching for a distinct identity, said Brian Brown, co-author of the book “North Texas Beer: A Full-Bodied History of Brewing in Dallas, Fort Worth and Beyond.”
Brown said certain elements of the Fort Worth craft brewery scene call back to the history and culture of the city, rather than certain flavor profiles.
Businesses like Cowtown Brewery, Panther Island Brewing and Funky Picnic Brewery and Cafe, hail back to certain historical notes of Fort Worth, such as Cowtown or Funkytown. The closest the scene has come to having distinct flavor is perhaps “Texas-style” beers tied to the Lone Star State, Brown said.
In reality, its more about the people in the Fort Worth craft brewery scene than anything else, Brown said. Fort Worth is much more laid back and has a welcoming atmosphere, which contributes to why customers keep coming back.
Raise a glass
The popularity of craft breweries will always rests on the idea that people like having a beer made where they live, said Charles Scudder, a home-brewer and certified beer judge.
There’s something unique about the water in Fort Worth and how it goes with any beer style, Scudder said. Whatever that may be, it makes it taste like its from Fort Worth and unique to where its directly produced.
People tend to have pride for their hometown, Scudder said, and if a beer can be crafted with local ingredients that not only benefit residents but businesses around town..
“You’re able to support a local business, made for you by people who live in your community, sometimes with ingredients from your local community and made for the palate of this place,” he said. “And that’s a really cool thing.”
For anyone wanting to venture into the world of craft beer, Scudder says trying a flight of beer is a good entry point. A flight is essentially small servings of different styles of beers for consumers to get a taste.
Most breweries have flights available and beyond that will give out free samples on items if you ask, he said. From there, its kind of a playground where consumers can experiment and try different beer styles and flavors.
“There’s a beer out there for everybody,” Scudder said. “It’s just about finding the style that you like, because there’s so much creativity and there’s so many different ways to make good beer.”
