Levi Funk Transitions Over Funk Factory Tap Room to Black Rose Blending Company

I believe most people who follow Funk Factory know that over the last couple years Kyle Metz has been running the show. He has overseen the day-to-day operations, but also created most all of the blending concepts, fruiting, and naming of our beers. A few years ago, he asked if he could do some Saison blends, which you have seen in the South Sea Mountain, then Bee and the Barrel, and recently in two Saison Botanique releases. A year ago, Kyle started working on some stuff you haven’t seen and has packaged “Black Rose Blending Company” blends. Originally these were going to be Kyle’s side brand within FFG, but the conversation matured and Kyle told me that he would like to one day own his own blendery and taproom. So, that’s what we started working on.

Kyle taking over ownership of the space and starting Black Rose Blending Company is a natural succession to this physical space, and feels like a progression and evolution of what we have developed here. He is obviously a very talented blender and I am excited for you all to see what he has been working and will continue to grow. Selfishly, I am also excited as this will allow me to continue Funk Factory lambic beers here just as we did two years ago when we moved our Meerts foeders up to BlackStack Brewing.

What Is Black Rose Blending Co?
“The concept for Black Rose has been evolving in my head for the last couple years. At its core, I wanted an outlet to explore mixed-culture beers similar to what we had been making at Funk Factory, but less tied to Belgian lambic traditions. Personally, I am more fascinated with the saison and farmhouse niche of the brewing world and the freedom of exploration that it provides. In addition, I have a growing interest in wine and other natural ferments, and I wanted the option to be able to explore those fields as well.

Black Rose will be a multi-faceted creative outlet for me, as I will also be the driving force behind the art direction. The intent is to offer thoughtfully produced, small batch ferments in a location that cultivates creativity and experimentation.” – Kyle Metz, Black Rose Blending Company.

Find Out More
We would like to do a final FFG taproom event on Dec 30th, in the spirit of our annual holiday party, and I hope you can all make it for a final “Cheers” to FFG taproom and future “Cheers” to the new BRBC taproom.

I really appreciate the support and encouragement over the years, and I am excited to see what Kyle continues to build in this space!

-Levi Funk