Name: Funkwerks, Inc.
Location: Fort Collins, CO
Type: Production brewery
Available in DC Market: No
What you need to know: Started in 2010 by three friends, Funkwerks only produces two beers on the regular, a saison and a witbier. Homebrewer Gordon Schuck, one of the brewery’s founders, won a gold medal at the 2007 National Homebrew Competition with his saison. This brewery also is housing Crooked Stave, a new start-up brewery; this is pretty generous considering they just got their own start. One of the three founders of Funkwerks maintains the Legal Libations blog, which is a very entertaining ready.
Beer #1: Funkwerks Saison
Notes: Funkwerks has a “what to expect” portion for its beers, so rather than try to guess what you should expect from a beer I haven’t had, here’s the skinny from the source: “This tawny orange beer pours with a rocky white head. Aromas of passion fruit, tangerine, and black pepper hit the nose. Flavor is a cascade of orange, lemon verbena, ginger and pepper. And in a second it is gone, finishing with a dry and lingering bitterness that awaits another sip.” Sounds tasty to me. Not a ton of saisons at GABF this year, so if it’s your style, be sure to stop by.
Beer Advocate: A- (24 reviews)
Rate Beer: 95 overall, 88 style
Beer #2: Funkwerks White
Notes: Again, Funkwerks offers some notes here: “This beer pours with a voluminous white head from a high percentage of raw wheat. Aroma is of orange zest and orange blossoms combined with hints of saffron. The flavor is crisp, clean and dry with a supple tartness. A summer brew that is great year-round.” I like that they add both orange and grapefruit zest to this beer, as well as chamomile. Makes it a little bit different than the standard orange zest and coriander. Additionally, this beer is fermented with saison yeast, which should dry it out a bit and really bring out the fruitiness of this beer.
Beer Advocate: A- (9 reviews)
Rate Beer: 90 overall, 98 style
Summary: This is probably one of the youngest breweries at SAVOR, and although their beer portfolio isn’t huge, the two beers they’re bringing are intriguing. I’m interested to see how the saison yeast they ferment their two production beers with finishes. I’m especially curious to try the White because it sounds like a beer that is different from others in the style. Definitely worth stopping by to try. Also, be sure to read Legal Libations. It’s a great read.
This profile is a part of the DCBEER.COM SAVOR Brewery Profile series. For more information, follow the link to see profiles of all 2011 SAVOR participants.
Beer Review Disclaimer: The beer reviews found on Beer Advocate and Rate Beer do not represent the opinions of this site. We provide these in the hope that they will serve as a resource showing what some craft beer fans have thought of the beers. These reviews can be a helpful guideline, but are not the be-all end-all about a beer’s strengths or weaknesses.
