We’ve been led to believe that donuts are a morning indulgence and that beer should be reserved for sporting events and late evening socializing. Funkytown Donuts and Drafts is breaking those barriers by purposefully pairing brews and donuts seven days a week.
I recently caught up Funkytown Donuts founder Brandon Moors as he finished mixing a batch of soon-to-be-fried dough at his downtown locale. Moors brought out his newest release: The Fort Worth Weekly, our paper’s first namesake donut. The donut is a palate-pleasing, chocolate-y smorgasbord that boasts hefty servings of Nutella and orange marmalade. (Everyone at our office dug it.)
The donut meister is used to knocking out quirky, crowd-pleasing donuts. His first business opened three years ago near the Hospital District. Downtown Fort Worth was a logical next step for his second storefront, he said. Moors decided to add beer to his offerings to please the late-night crowds and because the world could benefit from more beer and donut pairings. (Fun fact: You can grab a pint of beer or glass of wine from Funkytown Donuts and Drafts and stroll around Sundance Square. There are no open container law restrictions in the area.)
“All the beers we serve are made in Fort Worth,” he said. “The craft beer industry is great. We just collaborated with Martin House for their S’mores Stout.”
To keep the local brews fresh and seasonal, Moors runs his beers off pony kegs. Sours, fruity beers, and HopFusions’s Feisty Red Head have all been popular with locals and tourists, he said. The downtown location means Moors’ staff often acts as de facto beer ambassadors for Fort Worth. That job entails pointing the craft beer unwashed toward one of several area beer breweries.
Donuts and craft beer are kindred spirits, of sorts. Both source grains and yeast and follow a similar creative process. Guacamole donuts might have flopped, but Moors has other ideas to dip into. Later this year, he plans to collaborate with Panther Island Brewing for a donut beer. The details aren’t official yet, but the recipe may or may not involve tossing heaps of Funkytown donuts into the Northside brewery’s grain mash.
“We want to push the envelope,” Moors said. “We try to hit a couple of different [notes and textures] with our donuts: sour, sweet, bitter, crunch. The more things we can hit, the more the flavors pop. Everything we do is meant to be fun.”
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On Tap this Week:
Fort Worth Weekly Donut
Funkytown Donuts and Drafts 132 E 4th St, Fort Worth, TX 76102
