Wicked Weed's sour barrel house and tasting room will be home to 500+ sour barrels

Wicked Weed’s Funkatorium to Open Friday, October 10th at 4pm.

October 6, 2014

ASHEVILLE, NC – Wicked Weed Brewing Funkatorium Opens Doors to the Public on Friday, October 10th at 4pm.

In just four days, Wicked Weed Brewing will open the doors to their second location, the Funkatorium. Despite its close proximity of just 3 blocks from their original brewpub, this wild and sour tasting room boasts an entirely different feel. Designed to pay homage to the Belgian influence in sour and wild beer, the Funkatorium’s ambiance more closely resembles a Belgian bar than an American brewpub.

“We wanted to create a place that not only showcased our love of Belgian and sour beer, but also created a full experience,” commented Walt Dickinson, Keeper of the Funk and Head of Brewing Operations. “We wanted them to feel like they had just stepped off the streets of Brussels and into our bar.”

Ambiance is not the only item that will set the Funkatorium apart from the original Wicked Weed. While the brewpub is dedicated to showcasing a large variety of beer styles including hoppy West Coast ales and barrel aged beers, the Funkatorium will pour predominately sour and farmhouse style ales from their 16 taps and 2 traditional hand pumps.

“There is an enormous movement towards drinking and enjoying sour beers in the US,” said Walt. “We are honored to be a part of the shift that is happening and believe that educating and exposing people to sour beer is our responsibility. We want drinkers to come to the Funkatorium to see and touch the barrels, learn the smell of a wood cellar and really become intimate with this amazing style of beer. I can’t think of anywhere else on the East Coast where people can enjoy 16 different brett or sour beers while gazing at the 500 barrels from which those beers came.”

The food at the Funkatorium will also reflect a very different vision than Wicked Weed’s brewpub. Head Chef Cardiff Creasey developed a menu designed for tasting with a focus on each item’s ingredients rather than their place in the meal.

“I set out to create an experience when I developed this menu,” stated Cardiff. “Food items are on the menu under categories such as sweet or savory, composed or earthy. I want people to be able to taste their sour beer and have the opportunity to pair it with am earthy item and see how the flavor changes. They can then pair it with the sweet item and compare the difference in taste. This menu allows individuals to build their meal around the beer and not the other way around.”

The Funkatorium is located on 147 Coxe Avenue in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. The doors will open to the public at 4pm on Friday the 10th. To find out more information about specific items on the Funkatorium menu or to find hours of operation, please check the Wicked Weed Brewing website at www.wickedweedbrewing.com

ABOUT WICKED WEED BREWING

Wicked Weed Brewing is an Asheville, North Carolina based brewpub that consistently hosts 20+ beers on tap including hop forward, West Coast style ales, open fermented Belgians, and barrel aged sour beers. Opened in December 2012, Wicked Weed is striving towards becoming the largest producer of barrel aged beers in the Southeastern US. Wicked Weed Brewing was awarded a Gold Medal at the Great American Beer Festival for 100% Brettanomyces Serenity Farmhouse Ale in 2013. In addition to Serenity, Wicked Weed is known for producing Freak of Nature Double IPA, Coolcumber Ale, Tyrant Double Red Ale, Hopburglar Blood Orange IPA, Dark Age Bourbon Stout and Black Angel Cherry Sour. Most recently, Wicked Weed began small scale statewide distribution of kegs as well as bottles of barrel aged sour beers to major metropolitans in North Carolina. Learn more at www.wickedweedbrewing.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WickedWeedBrewing