The building at 1900 E. Lincoln Ave. sits just east of Old Town, and two of its units matter here. For 15 years, Unit B was the Funkwerks taproom. In Unit C of the same building, Seed & Spirit Distilling has been growing, malting, distilling and aging whiskey since the company started in 2022.
Unit B now holds the Seed & Spirit lounge. Its grand opening weekend ran Oct. 9 through 11, 2026, almost a year after Funkwerks poured its last pints in that room.
The space went to a business that was already making its product at this address. That explains most of what the new room is like, including why a whiskey distillery pours other breweries' beer at the bar.
Funkwerks' brewing left before its taproom did
On Sept. 30, 2025, Funkwerks announced it would close its East Lincoln taproom. The Coloradoan reported that the brewery's long-term lease was ending that year. Co-founder Brad Lincoln told the paper the founders had reviewed the brand and its future before deciding to close the Fort Collins facility.
The taproom was the last piece of Funkwerks still in that building. The Denver Post reported that the brewery opened in 2010 and that its beer had been brewed at Denver Beer Co.'s Sunnyside production facility since 2024. Brewbound listed Funkwerks as part of Wilding Brands, a Colorado craft beverage group that also includes Denver Beer Co., Stem Ciders and Formation Brewing. Brewbound also reported that the beer would keep reaching shelves through distribution after the taproom closed.
So by the closing party in early November 2025, the beer had already been made somewhere else for about a year. Unit B was a front room for a product brewed in Denver.
The distillery needed the space for production
Seed & Spirit took on the space for a different reason. It wanted to make more at this address, and a bar was not the goal.
Founder and head distiller Joel Gustafson explained the expansion in NOCO Style's October 6 announcement:
"When we were presented with the opportunity to expand and bring all aspects of the distilling and aging process under one roof, the choice was easy. The ability to launch an unexpected tasting room experience was a bonus for us."
NOCO Style describes the expansion as putting every step of the process in one building: malting, brewing, distilling, aging and bottling. In the magazine's words, "The lounge came along for the ride." Gustafson calls the company's approach "seed-to-spirit." Seed & Spirit grows its own corn, malts grain in-house, and ages and packages everything on site.
This is the opposite of where Funkwerks ended up. Funkwerks had moved production to Denver and kept the Fort Collins taproom. Seed & Spirit kept production in Fort Collins and added the taproom space. The room now belongs to a business that makes its product in the same building.
Here is how the address changed hands, in order:
- 2010: Funkwerks opens in Fort Collins.
- 2022: Seed & Spirit Distilling starts up, with its distillery at 1900 E. Lincoln Ave., Unit C.
- 2024: Funkwerks beer starts being brewed at Denver Beer Co. in Denver.
- Sept. 30, 2025: Funkwerks announces the taproom will close as its long-term lease ends.
- Early November 2025: Funkwerks holds a closing party in the taproom on Nov. 1.
- Oct. 9 to 11, 2026: Seed & Spirit opens its lounge in the former Funkwerks space with a grand-opening weekend.
A distillery bar that pours local beer
If you went to the old taproom, expect a different menu. The lounge's food is built around raw and wood-fired oysters, mussels, fresh seafood and meats, along with vegetables from Rough Cut Farm, Gustafson's own farm in Fort Collins. NOCO Style reports that he worked with a local chef on the menu. The lounge's own page calls it an "Always Happy Hour Bar" and makes the point that there is "absolutely no reason to wait until 5:00."
Whiskey is the specialty. Even so, the former brewery taproom still pours beer. A rotating list called Taps Around Town features beer from local breweries, plus wine and nonalcoholic options. Gustafson told NOCO Style the lounge "will also elevate and support other local breweries and distilleries."
The main tap is a collaboration that ties the distillery to the biggest name on this side of town. Party-Time Lager was made with New Belgium Brewing. Gustafson told NOCO Style it uses Whiszcal barrels in the brewing process. He said it would roll out around Fort Collins in the fall and that the lounge would always have it on tap. Funkwerks' taproom was a Fort Collins outlet for beer brewed in Denver. Its replacement pours a lager made with a Fort Collins brewery.
Sundays have their own menu. Brunch comes with cocktails and a build-your-own Bloody Mary bar. The house mix uses locally grown, fire-roasted tomatoes, and the bar has a rotating set of locally made pickled vegetables. The lounge's description reads: "Build it mild. Build it spicy. Build it ridiculous. We won't judge… much."
The patio stage is programmed into spring
The patio is the biggest change from the old taproom's routine. Seed & Spirit has partnered with Mishawaka Presents, and NOCO Style reports that the partnership will bring live music to the patio through the fall and into next spring, mixed with local theater, comedy, special events and community gatherings.
"Being able to bring in local entertainment pillars, like Mishawaka Presents, is a great way to collaborate with other businesses and activate our patio stage throughout the fall and into next spring with music," Gustafson told the magazine.
The plan to keep a patio stage busy through the winter matters more than any single show. It means the lounge is planning for November through March. The venue has not posted a named lineup for the coming weeks, so the Seed & Spirit events calendar is the place to check dates before you go.
The patio is also set up for families. The lounge page describes a Kid Zone so children have somewhere to play while adults stay at the tables.
Planning a visit
The lounge keeps shorter hours than a typical restaurant, so check the times before you go:
| Detail | What's listed |
|---|---|
| Address | 1900 E. Lincoln Ave., Unit B, Fort Collins |
| Thursday to Saturday | 3 to 9 p.m. |
| Sunday | 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., brunch service |
| Monday to Wednesday | No lounge hours listed |
| Reservations | Booked through the lounge's online reservation link |
| On tap | Party-Time Lager plus rotating local beers |
The lounge serves the patio and seafood menu Thursday through Sunday. You'll find the reservation link and the current food and drink menus on the distillery lounge page.
The distillery's site also lists bottles, merchandise, and whole grain or hammer-milled malt for sale. It says an online store is coming soon. That malt comes from the in-house malting the expansion was built around. It is the clearest sign that this building is still a working production site, even though the beer that used to be made here is now brewed in Denver.
The lounge page also mentions one detail you can check on any clear evening: Longs Peak is visible from the distillery.
When a building's current tenant expands into another unit, the address tends to stay what it already was. 1900 E. Lincoln is a good example. Commercial and industrial space is a big part of what we do at Michael Jensen | Fort Collins Real Estate, and a tenant already in the building is often the most likely next tenant or buyer. If you own or lease flex or industrial space in Fort Collins and want to know who might want it next, I'm happy to talk it through over a Party-Time Lager.
