For three years now, Funky Buddha Brewery has been feeding South Florida’s thirst with innovative brews, great food, and can’t miss events. The much-lauded brewery — South Florida’s biggest, and now one of the state’s as well — has helped to define a craft beer scene that has seen meteoric rise in recent years. Now, it’s time to celebrate: And the brewery plans to do just that on June 11th from 2-10pm at the Three Years & Brewing Anniversary Festival, held in Jaco Pastorius Park adjacent to the tap room. This epic, day-long brouhaha will feature groovy live music, a dozen of the best food trucks in South Florida, nearly 100 beers on tap, and an exclusive release of two new bottled beers.
Year three gave Funky Buddha and South Florida plenty of reason to party:
- 2015 saw Funky Buddha become one of the country’s “regional” breweries, a designation defined by producing and selling over 15,000 barrels of beer (FBB sold 19,500, a number that equates to over five million pints).
- The brewery opened its signature restaurant Craft Food Counter & Kitchen inside its tap room and launched a successful banquets program in its newly minted private events space.
- It undertook major projects with important brands such as Whole Foods Market, Tap 42, and Sierra Nevada Brewery, which tapped FBB to head up the Southeast collaboration beer in its national “Beer Camp Across America” release.
- Funky Buddha released its first new year-round brand in three years, Hop Stimulator Double IPA, in bottles and on draft, and launched a line of monthly 22oz releases dubbed the “Little Buddha Small Batch Series.”
- The brewery’s continued growth and success has translated into over 120 new jobs in the City of Oakland Park and continued revitalization of Main Street, now home to nearly a dozen new restaurants and businesses.
- Most importantly, Funky Buddha continued to pour its heart and resources into producing the best beer possible, and the result was a massive distinction: the Gold Medal in Specialty Beer at the coveted 2016 World Beer Cup for Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. In its 20th year, the World Beer Cup judged submissions from 2,000 breweries from across the world, presenting over 6,600 beers. Funky Buddha is deeply honored to receive this important award.
“This year has been monumental for us in terms of quality, growth, and maturity as a brewery,” said KC Sentz, Funky Buddha’s co-owner and General Manager. “I’m incredibly proud of our hard working and dedicated team and what we’ve been able to accomplish. Year four is going to be even more exciting.”
As far as the festival, this year’s incarnation will be even more exciting as well. With its new location in wide open Jaco Pastorius Park, the event will boast an improved layout including over 1,000 square feet of tented space to escape the summer sun with a cold brew in hand. Miami’s The Problem Kids will headline the event with their own brand of hip-hop funk. A curated group of South Florida’s best food trucks will include crowd favorites such as Chaco’s Chinese Tacos, Sidecar Kitchen, Rolling Chefs, and Spring In Roll Out. Confectionary innovators Rhino Doughnuts will provide sweet fulfillment on site.
Nearly 100 beers will flow from the taps throughout the day as well. Funky favorites such as Maple Bacon Coffee Porter, More Moro Blood Orange IPA, and Last Snow will return. New brews will also take center stage, including two collaborations: “Salty Buddha,” a mash up with Delray Beach’s Saltwater Brewing that combines a sour German-style ale with real sea salt from the South Florida coast, and “Tip ta’ Tip,” a blend of two ales brewed last year at Short’s Brewing in Michigan and at Funky Buddha, which were barrel aged and combined to resemble a unique take on an old fashioned cocktail.
Also new is “Barrel-Aged Chocwork Orange,” an Imperial Milk Porter with real orange peel and cocoa nibs aged for six months in Heaven Hill Bourbon barrels; and “Three Years & Brewing Anniversary IPA” brewed with mosaic and vic secret hops, mango, and Champagne yeast. Both beers will be sold in 22oz bottles exclusively at the event.
“Our festivals are an exciting time for our brew team to showcase the passion they pour into each one of our beers,” says co-owner and head brewer, Ryan Sentz. “With new beers and returning favorites, we’re always trying to one up what we’ve done before. It’s something that we take great pride in.”
Three Years & Brewing Anniversary Festival takes place on June 11, from 2-10pm in Jaco Pastorius Park in Oakland Park. Admission costs $8 (no advance tickets). Under 21 will not be admitted. For complete details please visit funkybuddhabrewery.com.
Media inquiries: John [at] funkybuddhabrewery.com
ABOUT FUNKY BUDDHA BREWERY: Founded in 2010 in Boca Raton, Florida, Funky Buddha Brewery® is committed to producing bold craft beers that marry culinary-inspired ingredients with time-honored technique. Its lineup includes year-round brews Floridian Hefeweizen and Hop Gun IPA, along with specialty releases such as No Crusts Peanut Butter and Jelly Brown Ale and the highly sought after Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. Its Oakland Park production brewery opened in June 2013 and distributes draught and bottled beer to retail outlets throughout Florida.
