The Boston Area is no stranger to beer festivals once the weather warms. But there's a new kid in town craft aficionados are going to want to pay attention to.
The Springdale Barrel Room and Night Shift Brewing are teaming up on “We’re Funk’d Weekend” – "a first-of-its-kind celebration of sour beer, community, and charity." During the weekend of Saturday, July 8, participating restaurants, bars, and breweries in Cambridge and Somerville will turn over a bulk of their tap lines to "wild, funky, and acid-forward beers" from dozens of independent, yet-to-be-named American breweries.
A portion of proceeds from each bar will be donated to that bar’s charity of choice.
“We’re bringing together friends, brewers, and bars to raise our glasses for some great causes,” said Sam Hendler of Springdale.
Anyone paying attention to craft beer as of late will see the parallels between this event and the Funkatorium Invitational hosted by Wicked Weed -- an annual event that this year, because of their recent sale to Anheuser-Busch InBev, has seen nearly 50 breweries pull out, including Springdale and Night Shift.
"With the recent news that Wicked Weed has been acquired by AB InBev, we, like many others, informed them that we wouldn't be participating in their Funkatorium Invitational this July," Jack's Abby's marketing coordinator Arley Donovan told me. "That being said, we knew that a lot of the participating breweries had already dedicated time, staff and beer to this event. So, we want to create an event where these small, independent, sour-focused craft breweries could come together and celebrate their craft."
The weekend will build up to a festival celebrating independent sour beer brewers on Sunday, July 9, to benefit the Multiple Sclerosis Society and Easter Seals MA.
The venue for the festival, as well as the official list of participating breweries, is still in the works.
