What does it take to start a brewery during the heart of a recession, and in less than three years become a nationally recognized, state-wide distributor that can hardly keep up with demand? We didn't know either. Which is why the Business Report caught up Brad Lincoln of Fort Collins-based Funkwerks, the winner of the Best Small Brewer Award at this year's Great American Beer Festival in October. Lincoln shared a few of the ways that he and co-founder Gordon Schuck have found success in the Northern Colorado market, and why it takes more than great beer to start a brewery.

Question: Rather than offering multiple kinds of beers for different palates, you decided to offer only Saisons (a Belgium-style beer). Was this a business decision or simply a taste preference? How has having a limited selection benefited your business?

Answer: It was a business decision. We met in brewing school, and Gordon had won gold for his Saison in 2007, so we knew we wanted to focus on Sasion. We don't actually use that same recipe; it's a different recipe we use, but we knew we were going to focus on Saison and we thought this was a great town to do it in. Neither one of us were from here. Gordon was living