Tap Handle #712: Funky Buddha (Constellation Brands)

January 22, 2019

Tap Handle #712: Funky Buddha (Constellation Brands) - Hop Gun IPA

Tap size: 11.25"
Rarity: none
Mounting: 3/8" ferrule on 5/16" anchor bolt

I wasn't actively pursuing this tap, but when it showed up as part of a group of taps I purchased, I was happy to add it to the collection. It features a profile of Buddha, based on the Spring Temple Buddha statue, with a large round area front and center, that allows a label to be attached with the brewery name and beer variety. There are no markings on the tap itself to indicate that it belongs to Funky Buddha. These were made in a variety of colors, and none of them are rare, although some of the labels can be hard to find. There are actually two versions of the tap, but the differences are in the sculpting and color...they are very minor and hard to detect. You can in fact find many of these on the secondary market at very affordable prices.

The Spring Temple Buddha is a statue depicting Vairocana Buddha located in the Zhaocun township of Lushan County, Henan, China. Construction began in 1997 and was completed in 2008. At 420 feet, including an 82 foot lotus throne, it is the tallest Buddha statue and the second-tallest statue in the world as of 2018. Taking into account the 82 foot pedestal/building atop which it is placed, the monument has a total height of 502 feet. The designer of this giant Buddha statue is Lin Shengbiao, who is a Chinese arts and crafts master. The project as a whole was estimated to cost around $55 million, $18 million of which was to be spent on the statue. It was originally estimated to consist of 1,100 pieces of copper cast, with a total weight of 1,000 tons. Beneath the statue is a Buddhist monastery. The Spring Temple Buddha derives its name from the nearby Tianrui hot spring, whose water, at 140 °F, is renowned in the area for its curative properties.

Spring Temple Buddha information courtesy of Wikipedia.

Click through to read more about Funky Buddha Brewing, their Hop Gun IPA, and to see more photos of this venerable tap...

Funky Buddha Brewing traces its founding back to 2007 in Boca Raton, Florida when the husband and wife team of Ryan and Giani Sentz purchased R & R Tea Bar. Ryan, who was an enthusiastic home brewer, expanded the tea bar into a lounge-like hangout and began serving craft beers. As word spread, the popularity of the Sentz's business outgrew their small space. After moving to a larger space in 2010, they re-opened for business as the Funky Buddha Lounge & Brewery. The brewpub continued the tradition of hookahs, kava, live music, comedy, and lounge atmosphere, but melded it with a new and original take on craft brewing. Utilizing a one barrel brewhouse - barely larger than most homebrew setups - Funky Buddha’s vision of culinary-style, creative beers became a reality. The first batches were an instant hit: beers like Rum-Soaked Oak-Aged Red Ale, Orange Creamsicle Wheat, Ginger Lemongrass, and more attracted fans of craft beer looking to try something new.

Then, a few months later, Sentz created a beer that broke the mold: Maple Bacon Coffee Porter. This rich beer had it all: smokey/salty bacon, rich and sweet maple syrup, and roast coffee. It was breakfast in a glass. It also tapped perfectly into the craft beer renaissance sweeping sites like Beer Advocate and RateBeer at the time. With a small initial bottle release, Maple Bacon Coffee Porter was traded across the country and internationally, with beer lovers as far away as New York, California, and Denmark commenting on the intense flavors Funky Buddha Brewery had managed to cram into a porter. Almost overnight, Maple Bacon Coffee Porter became the number one rated porter on Beer Advocate, while Funky Buddha became one of the top breweries in the world, an impressive feat for a less than one year old brewpub brewing on such a small system.

With the demand for Funky Buddha’s beers skyrocketing, invites flew in from around the country to attend prestigious beer festivals such as Extreme Beer Fest in Boston and Brewvival in Charleston. In 2012 they contracted with Cigar City Brewing to help brew and bottle beers. Realizing that he’d never be able to meet the demand for his beer at the Lounge, in 2013 Ryan talked his brother KC - a former engineer for Motorola and salesman - into joining the company and helping to start up another location in the Oakland Park Culinary Arts District. The new 110,000 square foot facility consisted of a 3000 square foot taproom, and a 30-barrel, three-piece brewhouse, which allowed nearly 45,000 BBLs of capacity, and made Funky Buddha the largest craft microbrewery in South Florida. The taproom featured a modern look, with flat-screen TVs behind the bar displaying beers currently on tap, and high-top table seating to comfortably accommodate hundreds of guests, while a bocce ball court and plenty of cornhole boards kept visitors entertained. Large glass windows separated the tap room from the brewing warehouse and allowed a view of the brewing process. The smaller, original Boca Raton location became a test lab for creating experimental brews.

By 2015, distribution had been expanded state-wide, and the brewery started racking up awards. Maple Bacon Coffee Porter won the gold medal in the specialty beer category at the 2016 World Beer Cup. In 2017 their brown ale, No Crusts, was awarded a silver medal at the 2017 Great American Beer Festival. That same year the brewery began to distribute nationally outside of Florida. This was due in part to the sale of the brewery to Constellation Brands, the third-largest beer brewer in the United States, which owned brands such as Corona Extra and Modelo Negra, for roughly $80 million. The sale did not include the original Boca Raton location, which Sentz retained ownership of while still running the day to day operations at Funky Buddha with Giani and KC. Eventually Ryan did sell the Boca Raton location to his friend and fellow brewer Allen Steen, who re-branded it as Robot Brewing Company.

In 2018 Funky Buddha took advantage of the brewing and canning capacity at Ballast Point, another Constellation-owned company, launching its product in cans for the first time. Funky Buddha utilized Ballast Point’s Virginia brewery for canning until they completed installation of a canning line later that year in their own facility. The brewery had nearly doubled production by the end of 2018. Another benefit from Funky Buddha’s sale to Constellation Brands was added sales support. Part of Funky Buddha’s sales team merged with Ballast Point’s southeast sales force, and are now part of Constellation Brands’ Craft & Specialty Division. The more than 15 member team worked to deepen the company’s reach in Florida while also helping it expand to Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

Funky Buddha Hop Gun IPA delivers a payload of Galena, Cascade, and Nelson Sauvin hops that burst forth with an unmistakably heady aroma. Flavors of grapefruit, honey, melon, and pineapple mingle with a malt body that balances caramel and biscuit character with a pronounced dry finish. Recommended food pairings are washed rind cheeses, chipotle chicken wings, Thai red curry, hoisin-glazed roast duck, Moroccan-spiced lamb chops, and fresh-baked cherry pie.