Largely influenced by the Chicago craft scene and 90's Hip Hop and R&B, Funkytown Brewery started home-brewing in a family garage. The brewery later launched in 2021 with a mission to introduce craft beer to underserved communities and provide a deeper understanding of different beer styles, tasting notes, aromas and colors. Today, Funkytown Brewery aims to serve craft beer deserts and add diversity and representation to the shelves of established retailers.

“Through trial and error we finally came up with this one day through not having the right yeast we wanted and substituting that…Then tasting the final product and that’s exactly what we were going for, something that is really tropical notes and when you drink it it’s easy to drink it’s smooth.”

“We were the only Black people bringing craft beers to parties and we noticed there was a lane and opportunity to explain beer, the taste, the why, the labels to these underserved groups…So they can see themselves in the brand.” RIch Bloomfield

“The attraction is going to be you seeing yourself within that product…So you go in there and have people look at the label and they will be like that has to made by Black people. And that is a great feeling when you go into a place that left you out and hasn’t been marketed towards you at all, and then you go in there and find a space that is dedicated to putting you on the map.” Zack Day

Funkytown’s beers can be found at more than 100 locations around the Chicago area.