The lifelong friends who founded Funkytown Brewing discuss the strategic planning that propelled their brewery to success.

01:34 Beer Myth: Are lighter colored beers healthier? Learn the truth behind beer color’s correlation with calorie content so you can savor your brews without compromising on flavor or falling for inaccurate health claims.

06:09 Funkytown Brewery Interview: Funkytown Brewery’s Richard Bloomfield (co-owner and CEO), Gregory Williams (Director of Sales), and Zachary Day (Director of Brewery Operations) discuss their journey from childhood friendships to opening and running a successful brewery together, emphasizing the strategic thinking it took to get where they are today. They discuss customer palates as it relates to brewing beers with “strong” flavors as opposed to palatable, low ABV, low bitterness, and low astringency characteristics that cater to individuals new to beer, in addition to the role of community and entrepreneurship in their business journey and the nuances of scaling a brewing operation from home to larger production. They also discuss the business lessons they learned at Barrel & Flow, their experience with the Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream's Brewing & Business Experienceship, the concept of contract brewing and brewery incubators, and their path to partnering with Pilot Project in Chicago.

This is a beer podcast, after all, so they also crack open some beers with Brain and Katherine and talk about the creation and evolution of Funkytown’s offerings, starting with Hip-Hops and R&Brew, Funkytown's beer that started it all: smooth and mellow with notes of citrus orange, fresh strawberry, and lychee. They talk about various hops like Citra, a popular choice in the hop world, and discuss their experience with various beer styles, expressing their current stance on not producing trend-driven IPAs to stay true to their vision. You’ll also hear insights into their brewing process, including flash pasteurization and hop additions, and the importance of trial and error in achieving the desired flavors in their beers.

53:32 This Week in Bad Customer Behavior: What do you do when two people are aggressively making out on a couch when your brewery is about to close for the evening? And why would people do that in the first place? Katherine describes the awkward and outrageous antics of two patrons in a public space, and answers the question: what is a beer shop to do to maintain a PG environment in the face of excessive PDA? This segment promises a cringe-worthy tale that may make you both chuckle and squirm in your seat at the same time.

Learn more about Funkytown Brewery at https://www.facebook.com/funkytownbrewery.chicago/ 

Learn about Pilot Project and their current brewery partners: https://www.pilotprojectbrewing.com/breweries 

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If you enjoyed this episode, then please tell at least one friend about the show! And if you’re a brewer or know any brewers who would like to share their story on the podcast, then email craftybrewerspod@gmail.com. We’re always happy to hear from you!

BUY OUR MERCHANDISE and learn more about Crafty Brewers on our official website, https://craftybrewerspod.com 

You can also follow Crafty Brewers on Instagram at https://instagram.com/crafty_brewers_pod 

Crafty Brewers is produced by award-winning podcaster Cody Gough. He insists that we tell you that in this episode, you’ll learn about: craft beer, craft brewing, Black-owned brewery, entrepreneurship, Chicago brewing scene, beer myths, craft beer culture, beer color and health, beer flavors, craft beer in Black communities, American pale ales, beer tasting, beer festival, beer entrepreneurship, Pilot Project, Sam Adams Award, Samuel Adams Brewing the American Dream's Brewing & Business Experienceship, craft beer success, beer industry, beer business plans, craft beer branding, brewery partnership, craft beer market, beer community, beer styles, beer marketing, beer production, palates, and beer distribution.