Winter warmer, Funkwerks style!

We are happy to share another beer cocktail recipe, courtesy of Ray Harvey over at Ace Gillett's.

The Dark and Stormy Beer:

1 1/2 ounces of dark rum
a dash of Fee Brothers Bitters
1 lime wedge
fill the glass with Funkwerks White

Whatever you are in the mood for, Ray can mix you up a drink you are sure to love! Ace Gillett's is located below the Armstrong Hotel, 239 S. College Ave., in downtown Fort Collins.

Fall becomes winter at Funkwerks

Most residents of Colorado can relate to the following quote: "If you don't like the weather, wait five minutes." The temperature here can change quickly and without warning, whether it's for better or worse. However, there is one consistency I have found in the Colorado weather, and that's that Halloween is always a very pivotal time in the transition from Fall to Winter. This year was no exception - the first snowfall for Fort Collins happened less than a week before All Hallows Eve, and quite a snow
fall it was!

While winter has its perks, the cold weather has most certainly and somewhat unfortunately limited our taproom attendees to mainly inhabiting our indoor area, leaving our outdoor patio unoccupied and covered in snow. On the bright side, the chilly weather gives us an excuse to cozy up and enjoy activities indoors without the guilt of missing out on a beautiful day. This month Funkwerks would love for you to join us inside as we take part in a handful of special events coming up around the Northern Colorado area.

This Tuesday, November 1st at 6pm, Funkwerks is proud to announce that we will be teaming up with Jax Fish House for a delicious beer dinner. Located in Old Town Fort Collins, Jax is well known for it's fresh seafood and oyster bar.

Another exciting event we're involved in is being held at the West End Tavern in Boulder this Thursday, November 3rd beginning at 6:30pm. As a part of West EndTavern's Satellite Tap Room' series, Funkwerks is taking over, bringing our taproom to their tavern. This event will feature 10 of Funkwerks beers on tap and three representatives from Funkwerks will also be in attendance to answer questions and discuss beers. For more information, check out the West End Tavern's website.

We are pleased to join 'Save the Ales' this year, which is being held on Thursday, November 17th, from 5:30-8pm at the Walker Fine Art Gallery in Denver. Organized by the Colorado Conservation voters, this is a beer tasting held to support pro-conservation policy in the Centennial State and admission is $35 per person. Funkwerks will be one of 12 local breweries at this event, and it's a great way to discover new brews while raising awareness on protecting the local environment. Tickets are still available for purchase. Please visit the Colorado Conservation Voters website. 

Whether it's at an event, or in the taproom, we hope to see you out and about, or rather in and around, soon!

-Nicole

Meet the Canton Cure

Ray's Canton Cure

As we mentioned, Ray Harvey of Ace Gillett's has come up with several beer cocktails utilizing Funkwerks beer.

Here we have one of our favorites, the Canton Cure:

1 ounce of vodka
3/4 ounce of triple sec
1/2 ounce Canton ginger cognac
fill with Saison over ice
stir gently

Look for recipe cards in the taproom soon.

Whatever you are in the mood for, Ray can mix you up a drink you are sure to love! Ace Gillett's is located below the Armstrong Hotel, 239 S. College Ave., in downtown Fort Collins.

Nicole recovering from an explosion of hop dust

Here at Funkwerks we take pride in our work. From great beers to great service, we always hope you’re enjoying your experience with us, whether it’s visiting our taproom or enjoying one of our beers at another location.

 Our head brewer, Gordon Schuck, puts a lot of work into developing the recipes and brewing our Belgian ales. However, he’s not the only one getting his hands dirty brewing in the back. In fact, I think you’d be quite surprised to know who else has been involved in the brewing process to produce some of our celebrated beers. One person that may come of no surprise is our assistant brewer, Andy Mitchell. While he’s helped Gordon brew many times, he’s also had the opportunity to brew one of his own recipes. The largely popular ‘Cochon’ was Andy’s first home-brew recipe that he was able to brew on a large scale for us here at Funkwerks. Although we may be a little biased, we think it turned out delicious!

A trio you might not expect to have been involved in the brewing process is our taproom ladies! That’s right- Jean Parker-Renga, Laura Szumilas and myself have also had the opportunity to try our hand at professional brewing. While we followed Gordon’s recipes and were guided by him the whole way, we were honored to be a part of the process. Jean and Laura helped brew our flagship Saison and I got to assist in the brewing of our Tropic King. Gordon led the front of house gals through the whole process offering us an abundance of knowledge (and patience) as we learned something we had never had the opportunity to take part in before!

Lastly, Carolee Davis also had the opportunity to brew with her now husband. Carolee and Gordon worked hard to to make Mon Tresor (My Treasure), which they brewed for their special day. Enjoy, you two!! But as they are so kind, they’ve also brewed enough to share with us in the taproom, so expect it to be released soon!

Please be sure to check out our events page here at the Funkwerks website as well. We’ve got plenty of things coming up that take place outside of the taproom and are sure to be a good time. From beer dinners to fundraisers, something’s always happening around here, and for that we’re grateful!

Thanks for checking in!

-Nicole












Nicole with recovering from some blinding hop dust

Our second GABF!

We will be pouring at GABF this weekend for the second year! This year we will have our flagship Saison, White, Tropic, and our Belgian Resistance. We will also have our Saison and White paired in the Farm to Table pavilion. Please stop by and say "hi" if you were one of the lucky to grab tickets to this event!

In the mood for beer and a cocktail?

Well you are in luck!!! Our good friend Ray Harvey at Ace Gillett's has outdone himself once again in the creation of Funkwerks beer cocktails. The expert drink mixer has envisioned 10 dreamy cocktails sure to please just about everyone.

If you are in the mood for something light and refreshing, try the White Shandy made with the Funkwerks White, Sweet Tea Bourbon and a fresh-squeezed lemon, or the Bocci Beer that teams the Funkwerks flagship Saison with orange juice and amaretto.

Other delicious creations include the Dark-and-Stormy Beer that couples the White with dark rum and ginger beer, and the Beer-and-Sand that pairs the flagship Saison with scotch, orange juice, Heering Cherry Liqueur and Ruby port.

Whatever you are in the mood for, Ray can mix you up a drink you are sure to love! Ace Gillett's is located below the Armstrong Hotel, 239 S. College Ave., in downtown Fort Collins.

Look for recipes here on the website and in the taproom soon.

As always, enjoy!!!

- Jean

Hello fall!

We’ve had a great summer here at Funkwerks- a big thanks to everyone who has come out to bask in the sun on our patio, or take shelter in the often-welcome air conditioning of our taproom.

For those of you who haven’t been in to visit us recently, we’ve added a couple more beers to our menu, including the Chardonnay Barrel Blonde, Cochon, and Motif.

Our Chardonnay Barrel Blonde is the second barrel aged beer we’ve released here, and it has been very popular since it’s first tapping less than a month ago. This beer combines the flavors of our flagship Saison with the rich, smoky aromas of brettanomyces and a light oakiness from the Chardonnay barrels. Sitting at an 8.2% ABV, and with it’s unique complexity, this beer is quickly becoming a favorite.

Cochon has been received with excitement as well. Cochon (meaning “pig” in French) is a Saison-American pale ale hybrid. It showcases the traditional fruit and pepper notes of our house Saison yeast, as well as a slight citrus flavor and bitterness due to the addition of Cascade and Centennial hops. With an ABV of 6.3%, this beer may be our Saison answer to all those hop heads out there!

Our newest beer, Motif, was tapped just this week. It is a high gravity Saison that starts with a blend of Belgian and German malts combined with cane sugar and brown sugar from Malawi and rounded out with German, Belgian, and Czech hops. Flavor notes of candied apricots, black pepper, rum and ginger are purely from a unique Saison yeast strain and a warm primary fermentation. The finish is dry and crisp with a noticeable alcohol warming. It was brewed by homebrew competition winner Jeff Blackburn here at Funkwerks.

Also, for those of you who were with us when we first opened, you’ll understand the excitement behind this taproom news: Cherry Saison is almost here! Our beloved seasonal is almost back for round two. Due to be released at the beginning of October, there has been a buzz around Funkwerks since we mentioned it was being brewed. Be sure to follow us on Facebook for the most up to date release date!

We look forward to the Colorado fall- cooler weather, colorful trees, football… and some new brews for you (and us) to enjoy!

Hope to see you soon!
-Nicole