Ice cream and beer sound like our favorite summer treats on a hot Texas day. Thanks to two Fort Worth businesses, there’s now a sweet, creamy ale to satiate beer and ice cream fans all over D-FW.
Melt Ice Creams and Martin House Brewing Co. launched a major collaboration this week. Melted: Rocky Roads And Waffle Cones Ice Cream Ale is their second team effort. Martin House’s taproom has already sold out of its allotted cases of the special ale, but the beer will be distributed to different retailers and craft beer shops listed on their site this week.
Melt co-owner Kari Crowe-Seher says Martin House reached out to Melt pre-pandemic to create a flavor, but after COVID-19 hit, Melt chef Brooke Pinentel pitched making a rocky road-flavored ice cream for the store, which would then be the inspiration for the beer flavor. The store never had a classic rocky road flavor, so they created Rocky Roads, which features slivers of almonds, marshmallows and chunks of homemade, Oreo-style cookie mixed in a chocolate ice cream base.
“Rocky road was an ice cream that was invented to lift people’s spirits during the Great Depression,” Crowe-Seher says. “We released ours in March and kept it on our menu through all of this as a reminder that there are good times ahead.”
Shugg Cole, director of marketing for Martin House, says that the team tasted Melt’s new flavor and tried to capture all the different elements of the Rocky Roads ice cream. What they ended up with is something he said they’re very proud of.
“When you sip it, you’ll get the almond and chocolate upfront. Then the sweetness and marshmallow flavor hits you on the back end,” he says. “It’s not a dark, heavy beer, though.”
Martin House and Melt’s collaboration comes at a time when a lot of folks are longing for a sense of community. Crowe-Seher says Martin House is known for that, so it’s always a pleasure teaming up with them. Martin House has previously teamed up with Fort Worth’s Best Maid Pickles to create the Sour Pickle Beer.
Cole said the Martin House team frequently takes advantage of opportunities to support local businesses in Fort Worth. He says the city has an amazing community and wants to make sure the world knows about it.
“It’s important to support each other always, and most certainly in these more difficult times we’ve seen for local businesses lately. Plus ice cream just makes you smile,” Cole says.
