Funky Fauna Artisan Ales enters the wild Central Oregon beer scene
Central Oregon's burgeoning beer scene added a few new entrants in our most anticipated new breweries of 2022. Funky Fauna Artisan Ales is the brainchild of co-owners Michael Frith and Danielle Burns. Funky Fauna is a small-scale operation producing from a two-barrel brewhouse. The current range includes a hazy pale ale, a house German-inspired "Oregon" lager somewhere between Pils and Helles, a dry-hopped lager, and a farmhouse IPA, mixed-fermented with saccharomyces ale yeast and a brettanomyces blend. The latter is especially recommended for fans of Belgian's hoppy Orval Trappist ale.
The start of Danielle and Michael's good-beer adventure dates back to 2012 when they were living in downtown Denver, just a short walk to places like Our Mutual Friend, Great Divide, Denver Beer Co/. and Crooked Stave. "Great Divide was more of an introduction to the community driven atmosphere of a local taproom, which is ultimately what we fell in love with and what led us to exploring other breweries and diving deeper into different styles of beer," writes Michael. "We started hanging out there multiple times a week and began getting to know the bartenders pretty well; it was always a comforting feeling being in their small, cozy taproom surrounded by people that lived in the area, and that's the vibe we are going for with Funky Fauna."
Michael started homebrewing about this time too. While working in the cannabis trade, he volunteered to work on Our Mutual Friend's sensory panel, and eventually was hired for a paid brewing gig there in 2017. Michael also attended the Siebel Institute to earn his classroom brewing knowledge while volunteering at OMF.
The couple moved to Central Oregon in 2018, initially working for a new startup brewery, then departing to develop a business plan that led to the opportunity to start their own brewing operation. From the start, Funky Fauna has been a collaboration between Danielle and Michael, with Danielle working the creative side while Michael focuses on brewing and day-to-day operations. Danielle designed the taproom and also does the marketing, merchandise, branding, and label design. Funky Fauna is also designed to represent a specific place and time, using local ingredients, with the goal of being an extension to their journey through beer and the Pacific Northwest.
The brewery's initial offerings were a lager, west coast IPA, and a multiple mixed culture beers that went straight into oak barrels for aging, all brewed with Mecca Grade malt and hops from Crosby Hop farm to keep them 100% Oregon. The brewery's two-barrel system allows them to either fill one oak barrel at a time, or to fill one of four stainless two-barrel tanks with "clean" (without brett or bacteria) beers. The doors to the brewery's taproom opened December 11th, 2021. Like just everyone else, there's been plenty of work to cope with the current pandemic. There's some outdoor seating in front of the brewery, and tables are reasonably spread out. Funky Fauna's small-scale operation so far means no distribution, so all beers are sold 100% through the taproom.
The couple chose the "Funky" descriptor because it could be related to their passion for Brettanomyces fermented beers, as well as love for authentic spontaneously fermented lambic/gueuze from Belgium, and also as an expression encouraging and promoting individuality. Michael's visit to the legendary Cantillon lambic brewery was the source for part of his inspiration for Funky Fauna: "We were introduced to wild/sour/funky beers on a trip to Belgium where we got to visit Brasserie Cantillon. Everyone told us we had to go there, and once again, the atmosphere, ambiance, and obvious dedication to their beer was forefront and had us hooked. Something about being in a quaint, dimly lit barrel filled room is also just romantic!"
For the time being, a road trip to Sisters will be necessary to sit down and sample Funky Fauna's beer range. The brewery is located on the north side of Sisters in a small industrial park at 211 E Sun Ranch Drive, Unit 101. The brewery currently doesn’t have any plans to distribute outside of Sisters.
