Samuel Adams’ charity arm, Brewing the American Dream, aims to provide mentorship and finance to food and beverage businesses around the United States.  Every year, the program’s Brewing & Business Experienceship arm encourages brewers from throughout the country to apply for the chance to receive unmatched access to brewing and business resources from Samuel Adams specialists, including founder and brewer Jim Koch.

One lucky craft brewer is chosen to visit the Samuel Adams Boston Brewery, work with a team of mentors, and collaborate with Samuel Adams on a speciality beer. The winner will also be flown to the Great American Beer Festival, the year’s premier craft beer event, to shadow and enjoy alongside Samuel Adams.

The Brewing & Business Experienceship was decided live at the annual Crafting Dreams Beer Bash in NYC for the second year in a row.  Five finalists from across the country were asked to share their brewing and business stories with judges and beer enthusiasts.

Funkytown Brewery in Chicago has been chosen as the beneficiary for 2023.

Funkytown Brewery is a proudly Black-owned business started by childhood and lifelong friends Rich Bloomfield, Zack Day, and Greg Williams who share a love of their city of Chicago and home brewing.

Funkytown Brewery began homebrewing in a family garage, heavily influenced by the Chicago craft culture and 90’s Hip Hop and R&B.  Later, in 2021, the brewery opened with the goal of introducing craft beer to underprivileged populations and providing a broader awareness of diverse beer kinds, taste notes, scents, and colours.  Funkytown Brewery’s current goal is to provide craft beer deserts while also adding diversity and representation to the shelves of established merchants.

“We are so proud to announce Funkytown Brewery as our latest Experienceship winner,” said Jim Koch, Founder and Brewer of Samuel Adams. “Not only was their signature ‘Hip-Hops and R&Brew’ a standout among voters at the Crafting Dreams Beer Bash, but their mission of expanding the craft beer community to underserved groups really resonated with us.”

“Winning Brewing the American Dream’s Brewing & Business Experienceship feels amazing at this stage of our business as we are taking the next steps to expand operations and increase awareness of our brand,” said Rich Bloomfield, Funkytown Co-Founder. “We’ve been around since October 2021, so working directly with Sam Adams provides validation, exposure, and mentorship that will help us successfully transition Funkytown to the next level.”

Samuel Adams has supported its charity lending partners by giving beer than $99 million in loans to more than 4,100 small business owners in the food and beverage industry since the launch of Brewing the American Dream in 2008.

Funkytown Brewery will collaborate with Samuel Adams in Denver for the Great American Beer Festival and in Boston to create a unique collaborative brew in the coming months.

SOURCE: AmericanCraftBeer
PHOTO CREDIT: Supplied