December 26, 2011
Fort Collins, CO

Boxing Day, a Monday off of work with family visiting, means all of Fort Collins is touring the open breweries. A trip to O’Dells got sidetracked due to over-population of the tap room and we landed at Funkwerks down the street. This is a new brewery – open less than two years – founded by two men who met at ‘brewery school’. Avid home brewers, they decided to open their public venture focusing on Saisons. Saisons are Belgian ‘farm-house ales’ – summer wheat beers with complex, fruity profiles. We ordered a Funkwerks Flight, filled with six of their regular production beers.

The Casper was described as a “light session beer”; a ‘session’ beer is one that can be drunk in concession, one after another, over several hours. This beer’s Pilsner and Saphir hops gave delicate fruity edges to a full-mouthed light beer. Not particularly note-worthy, but tasty and refreshing. As smooth as the description claimed, it was a great offer for appetizers or a night requiring less of a kick in the pants at 5% ABV. The White beer was a version of a Belgian White. The initial aroma was described as ‘orange zest and ginger combined with hints of saffron’ but came off much less appetizing, putting the first taste at a disadvantage. The 6% wheat beer was bitter and had an effervescence but the finish was less ‘tangy and dry’ and more sour and off. This was not a favorite.

The simply named Saison had a varied initial aroma that opened up to a full-tongued tanginess, ending in notes of the citrus it was so heavily infused with. The 6.8% ABV sits with a strong pepper presence allowed it to be well-paired with steak or a mightily citrus-infused dinner, but fails as an evening sipper due to its complexity. The Tropic King was an Imperial Saison – a 7.2% ABV full of New Zealand hops and the house yeast. It was full from first aroma to finish with a variety of fruit flavors. Deeper in caramel notes than the Saison, the flavored hops overcame the spicy pepper notes, thinning out the middle body of the flavor profile.

The Helter Spelter was a 7.2% amber Saison with spelt malt. The toasted characteristics were present in both the aroma and flavor, followed briefly by an apple-cider influence. A middle palette punch faded to a chewy presence and sadly disappeared. The Mon Tresor was made for the brewmaster’s wedding and we expected a full-flavored brew. This was brewed in the French Biere de Garde style using German malts and German noble hops. It did boast a sweet malty aroma that led to a partnered smoothness of flavor, sweet and thin, melting away to a forgettable and disappointing presence.

The Funkwerks flight tasted of bold attempts by these two amateur brewers overly eager to figure out a brilliant recipe. They were all pleasant to drink, but the Casper was the only brew we would consider re-ordering. The operation is small, new and impressive in its ambitions. We ordered the Crooked Flight next, a set of beers brewed by a different brewer, partnered with Funkwerks. This was a set of experimental beers using a wild yeast strain named Brettanomyces.

The Surette Crooked Stave was a ‘wood-aged farmhouse ale’ with a bright bubbly aroma and a flavor that skipped a first taste and melted into a sweet middle-body and a sour finish. Simple enough to display the wildness of the yeast and the earthiness of age. At 6.2% ABV, this would lend itself well with a side of sharp cheddar and simple crackers.

The Wild Wild Brett series is a highly experimental set of sour beers – there have been four so far. This flight carried the Yellow and the Green, the third and fourth of the series. The Yellow was “Inspired by savory sweet combinations of southern Indian cuisine”. The coriander dominated the aroma and turmeric overtook the flavor. Reminiscent of the Tropic King from earlier, the body was wide and finished sour, somewhat unassociated to the alteration of sweet honey and bitter aged influences. The play of flavor should be paired with the origins of the beer’s influence – spicy samosas, naan and even bold salsa and chips. The Green version was made using Australian Galazy hops. The write-up included a description of ‘dank tropical fruit hop characteristics’, intriguing our sense of variety. The strong aroma was peaty, hoppy and enticing and the flavor tasted almost purely of distilled hops – not so bitter as to taste sour but with caramel overtones and a shining full body. The only beer there pulling an immediate liking from both of us. I found thyme, butter and grapefruit flavors but Matt had a more difficult time identifying them in the 7.0% beer.

We have found that the simpler the profile, the more appealing the beer. In an attempt to break new ground it seems as if Funkwerks is trying every spice in the kitchen. Instead of adding interest to the flavors however, the flavor itself is lost in a bombardment of notes and profiles. This last experimental flight can be excused for its complexity but was somehow simpler than the Funkwerks flight, proof of the different brewer’s different approach to flavor. By letting the natural hops flavor dominate, the not-so-sour beers in the Crooked flight were interesting but not overwhelming. We recommend Funkwerks follow in the footsteps of their partner and focus more on creating a stellar and simple saison with variants on the original, instead of a crop of highly diverse and intensely flavored versions. With the knowledge that great beer speaks for itself, but a spice rack belongs in the kitchen, we believe Funkwerks will find its foundation squarely in the plethora of micro-brews in Colorado.