Making craft beer takes time, patience and teamwork.

In Logan Square, a trio of brewers is also adding funk and culture into the mix. Over the last few years, Funkytown Brewery has grown from a garage setup into a world beer competition winner.  

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

It was their pale ale called Hip Hops and R&Brew that kick-started the trio into the craft beer industry.

“Through trial and error we finally came up with this one day through not having the right yeast we wanted and substituting that,” said Rich Bloomfield. “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.”

Bloomfield along with Greg Williams and Zack Day run Funkytown. 

“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,” Bloomfield said. “So they can see themselves in the brand.”

What started as an idea in 2017, became a reality when they founded Funkytown Brewery in 2021 — landing a spot at Pilot Project Brewing, 2140 N. Milwaukee Ave., a communal brewhouse that makes and sells their beer. 

“We didn’t want to be put in a box. Funky, generationally, the word has always had a positive connotation with music or something creative,” Bloomfield said. “And then we thought about our perspective as Black people there’s the Funkadelics from the ‘70s.”  

The business partners says those big names represent Black culture, something they are driven to showcase in their brand.

“The attraction is going to be you seeing yourself within that product,” Day said. “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.”

The labels from Funkytown Brewery pay tribute to Black cultural influences. (WTTW News)

And the creativity of the beer’s labels says it all. Some are inspired by Chicago with names like Woo-Wap-Da-Bam, an amber ale that is a Chicago slang word meaning “so on and so forth.” Or their seasonal Homecoming Brew, which represents the spirit of Historically Black Colleges and Universities week.

“It’s medium body, a little bit more sweeter, small dry finish with carmel, bread notes,” Day says of the ale.  

The friends say it has taken determination and sacrifice to turn their dream into a business.

“I’ve seen them from the beginning being these goofy kids to being responsible, having good paying jobs,” Williams said. “Also, doing things they never thought they would do which is making beer.”

They hope to one day open a storefront of their own.

“It’s not only for us breaking barriers as breweries, it’s about getting more people into it as well and seeing themselves in that space,” Bloomfield said.