Funk Factory Geuzeria Tasting

Funk Factory is focused on exploring the traditional production of Lambic beers, in the setting of Madison, Wisconsin. It all started in 2011 when brewer Levi Funk filled a barrel in his basement – fast forward 9 years and they are now one of the most watched breweries in America. Funk Factory strictly recreate the process of traditional Lambic producers like Cantillon, capturing beer in a similar style but with all the complexity and nuance of the local Wisconsin microflora. On Thursday 3^rd September we shall be sharing 7 rare bottles with you, with complimentary cheese and charcuterie provided. This beer is very rarely seen in the UK, don’t miss it!

Each guest will receive a third of a pint of Oude, Pruim, Cervino Reilsing, Biere De Coupage, Cherry Meerts, Meerts and Fluer Du Nord. Whole bottles will also be available to purchase to takeaway.

Descriptions of each beer, as told by their creator Levi Funk, are below:

Oude – Blended from only three-year-old M.T. stock, its flavor is emblematic of the most mature barrels in our cellar. More aging time does not always equate directly to “funkier” in our experience and process, but it does usually lead to interesting flavors of sweet and spicy oak, mustiness, and tart fruit flavors due to the evaporation, prolonged wood exposure, and slow oxidation through the wood staves. Oude is bottled with lower carbonation than most of our beers, so with that in mind, we invite you to experience what it’s like to pull a nail and sample beer directly from an old barrel!

Pruim – Pruim is a new Méthode Traditionnelle (MT) beer aged on over 3 lbs/gal of purple plums from Barnard Farms in Door County, WI. They’re a family-owned farm and have been sustainably growing some of our favorite cherries, apricots, peaches, and plums in the area since 1972. We love working with them, and using their fruit in our beer has always led to outstanding results. Last summer they brought down 500 pounds of plums, and we designed a blend of 18-30 month-old spontaneous beer around them. After processing the plums and refermenting them in the beer for two months, the tannic skins and sweet flesh contributed a gorgeous coral color, as well as a crisp, rounded juiciness to the already complex beer.

Cervino Riesling – Cervino is a project that further blurs the line between beer and wine. For this iteration, we selected seven Méthode Traditionnelle barrels and blended them with freshly pressed Riesling grape juice sourced by our friends at Wollersheim Winery, allowing a natural refermentation to occur with the spontaneous yeast and bacteria contributed by the beer. Although Riesling wine is rarely aged in oak, the barrel-aged beer provides a welcome spicy and saccharine counterpoint to the crisp, underripe nectarine flavors lended by the grapes to capitalize on the best of both worlds.

Biere de Coupage – Like last year’s blend, the 2019 Bière de Coupage vintage incorporates elements of young and old: our fresh, hoppy foeder-fermented saison and mature, barrel-aged spontaneous beer. This year, saison represents 57% of the composition which contributes mild supporting bitterness, lingering minerality, bright citrus zest flavors, and a subtle earthy spice. The barrel-aged component makes up the remaining 43% of the blend, and is comprised of three 2 yr-old barrels. These give the beer a mature acid profile, musty oakiness, and complementary stone fruit flavors. Overall, this batch has slightly less acidity than last year’s blend and brings more refreshing saison characteristics to the forefront while maintaining a thoughtful balance with the denser, funky flavors contributed by the barrel-aged spontaneous beer.

Cherry Meerts – Meerts is our take on the style of beer traditionally derived from the second runnings of Lambic. Our modern interpretation begins with Pilsner malt, raw wheat, and Saaz hops, which is brewed using a turbid mash and long boil, and fermented in French oak foeders with our wild yeast. This version was then refermented on Montmorency cherries for two months prior to bottle conditioning.

Meerts – Meerts is our take on the style of beer traditionally derived from the second runnings of Lambic. Our modern interpretation begins with Pilsner malt, raw wheat, and Saaz hops, which is brewed using a turbid mash and long boil, and fermented in French oak foeders with our wild yeast prior to bottle conditioning. You will find a delicate balance between lemon tartness and rustic earthiness inside its marigold yellow pour.

Fluer du Nord – French for "Northern Flower," Fleur du Nord is a blended saison fermented with a mix of saison yeast strains, cultured microbes, and the spontaneous yeast and bacteria that reside in the walls of our 40 hl French oak foeders. After fermenting and aging, it was bottle conditioned using wildflower honey sourced from Northern Wisconsin.