About Us
Local Beer in Wake Forest, NC
Blackbird Brewery Beer
We at Blackbird Brewery understand that craft beer is no mere beverage. Each drop, each pint, is a form of history, anthropology and sociology. We are students and teachers of the culture and process of brewing. We do not just deal in tanks or barrels or kegs, but in magic and transformation—of our art, craft and chemistry—by every subtle aroma, each fleeting moment.
We explore flavor development through challenging and lesser used traditional techniques combined with the newest discoveries and ingredients we can find. Our highly customized 7bbl brewhouse houses an automated mash mixer and decoction capabilities giving us more control over recipe variables and the ability to process local non-malted grains. We also squeezed in tank designs for adjuncts, fruit, high hop loads, massive malt loads, and natural carbonation in horizontal tanks. This means authentic European styles, expressive IPAs, tart fruit beers, barrel aged stouts and barleywines. Read on to see what local beers we are brewing!
In addition we offer prosecco and cider on draft, fine wines by the glass, and an assortment of non-alcoholic drinks. Making a trip here for something particular? We do our very best to keep the beer page updated but it’s always best to check our live inventory before traveling.
Looking for our distribution page? Visit our Wholesale Requests page to submit your request for distribution within the Triangle Area.
Modern West Coast DIPA is almost like a concentrated form of an IPA with higher malt and hops, but the challenge is to make it clean and balanced and still fit the dry and drinkable modern profile. Extra light German pilsner malt is used as the base and then we amped up our kettle additions and triple dry hopped it for an overall 8lb/bbl hopping rate (our usual is 3-4lb/bbl). El Dorado and Nectaron hop oils were added to the kettle and fermentation, and then Citra, HBC 586 and Riwaka were added a couple more times post ferment. Because of the high degree of attenuation and ABV, it’s actually more dry than our standard IPAs but the concentrated flavor tells your palate otherwise! Only 3 kegs were made.
- Style: West Coast Double IPA
- ABV: 9.4
Saison Du Héritage was brewed out of love for authentic Belgian Saisons. We did our best to pay our respects to the tradition and methods of brewing this style of beer. Utilizing local rustic malts such as spelt and red wheat from Epiphany Craft Malt in Durham, along with doing a traditional step mash. This beer consists of a blend of 2 saison strains from Belgium and is full of luscious fruity esters. This beer is also naturally carbonated to heighten the drinking experience and flavor. A votre santé mon amies!
- Style: Farmhouse Style Ale
- ABV: 5.7
The kristal ship is being filled. A thousand hops, a thousand thrills. A million ways to spend your time. So we’re simplifying things here and giving you a crisp and clean IPA with just Citra hops. “Kristal” on a German beer label means clear beer! We decided to make a spin on our fan favorite Yellow Submarine and create The Kristal Ship, a clear 100% Citra hopped ale. Perfect for warm sunny days on the horizon and another flashing chance at bliss.
- Style: West Coast IPA
- ABV: 7.2
McKenzie hops are a new variety out of Willamette Valley Oregon, known for its bright citrus with some underlying pine/resin. This Pale ale is single decocted with a good dose of local wheat and hopped exclusively with McKenzie.
- Style: American Pale Ale
- ABV: 5.2
Blood, Sweat, and Swears is the result of a fantastic collaboration brewed by several ladies in the biz, for International Women’s Day and the annual Triangle Pink Boots collaboration. This Cold IPA is fermented at lower temperatures with 3470 lager yeast from Fermentis, a base of California Calrose sushi grade rice, 6 Row, and Briess Brewer’s Malt and the 2023 Pink Boots Hop Blend from Yakima Chief Hops (YCH) (varietals include HBC 638, El Dorado, Ahtanum, and Idaho 7), plus Strata hops and Simcoe hops.
- Style: Cold IPA
- Collab: RDU Chapter’s Pink Boots Society
- ABV: 6.5%
Commonly called “half-dark”, this is a midway point between a Pilsner and Dark Lager. Imported Czech pale and crystal malts were double decoction mashed, then hopped like a Pilsner with Czech Saaz and Kazbek hops. Naturally carbonated and clarified from 11 week maturation in a horizontal tank.
- Style: Czech polotmavý Amber Lager
- ABV: 4.8
Inspired by the empty hole in our hearts as we await the ‘24 Festbier release this fall, we needed something to scratch the itch of a malty, slightly bigger lager that still maintains good drinkability. Single decoction mashed and brewed with 50% Pilsner malt, the remaining 50% is a blend of Maris Otter, Munich, Vienna, and a touch of dark crystal malt. Hopped with German Perle, fermented as dry as we could get it and naturally carbonated from 6 weeks in a horizontal tank.
- Style: Spring/Maibock
- ABV: 6.5
We made a deliciously silky milk stout with chocolate barley and rye malts. After fermentation, we dosed the beer with Saigon cinnamon sticks and freshly roasted Honduras and Ugandan coffee beans from Black and White coffee roasters.
- Style: Milk Stout
- ABV: 5.0
Pride of Spitalfields pub holds a special place in my heart and this beer is an homage to a fun filled night at a boozer of a London pub. The night was filled with plenty of laughs on top of a slight roast from some English lads yelling “You’re Toast Mate!” This beer is perfectly sessionable coming in at 3.5% ABV, and has a delightful malty backbone that is reminiscent of a freshly toasted baguette. Balanced and easy to drink and perfect for any occasion, even if you’re getting roasted by your friends. So don’t be a tosser and order yourself and your friends a proper pint of this beer.
- Style: Pub Ale
- ABV: 3.5
Whether you speak the best Italian (eye tal yun), 2nd best, or heck maybe even 3rd best Italian, this beer is made to put a little zip and zest in your step and may even make you want to waggle your hands when talking. It takes notes from and is crafted similarly to its brother, German Pilsner, but with lower IBUs and gets its own unique aroma from a dash and a chef’s kiss of Saphir and Spalter hops added post lagering. Saltui & Grazie for drinking this one heck of a fun beer.
- Style: Italian Pilsner
- ABV: 5.0
A collaboration with Proximity Brewing and Glori Cocktail Bar in Durham. Both companies are newly opened, independent and black owned businesses in Durham who share our passion for the beverage industry and elevating quality and culture. We crafted a Double IPA with pineapple puree and Citra cryo hops for their Blacktoberfest event. A showcase of balance, large portions of malt, oats, and hops combined with fruit puree meld seamlessly in a creamy and tropical delivery that’s dangerously smooth and easy to drink.
- Style: Hazy DIPA
- Collab: Proximity Brewing and Glori Cocktail Bar
- ABV: 8.5
Learning and speaking a new language is hard, even more so when you’ve imbibed on a few alcoholic beverages. For those bold enough to attempt said feats this beer is for you. We brewed this Mexican lager with flaked Maize and Pilsner malt and then conditioned it on freshly squeezed lime juice, zest, and Pink Himalayan sea salt. Refreshing waves of lime and hints of salt transport you to warm sunny days. As a warning, this liquid vacation of a beer may increase your craving for chips and salsa.
- Style: Mexican Style Lager
- ABV: 5.0
Pronounced “Poe-Tie”, the Māori word for “Hat”. This brew is the sequel to Get These Hats Off Me Hazy IPA and another example of the many hats we wear here at Blackbird. We consider ourselves multi-skilled and this beer is another incredible demonstration. This Hazy IPA is brewed with thiolized yeast and hopped with New Zealand grown Riwaka and Freestyle Farms Motueka hops.
- Style: Thiolized Hazy IPA
- ABV: 7.5
We are welcoming summer with sunshine in a glass. This ambrosia salad inspired sour ale was brewed with a glorious amount of pineapple, orange, apricot and marshmallow, giving your palate the delicious notes of ambrosia salad. Served in our tulip glass for maximum aroma. Cheers to summer sun!
- Style: Sour
- ABV: 4.5
Modern, West Coast IPAs are one of our favorite styles. We went tried and true with the “holy trinity” hops of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe. Fermented bone dry with balanced bitterness to produce clean, clear hop juice. If you had any doubts before, we are sure they’re gone. Blackbird is your home away from home and where I belong.
- Style: West Coast IPA
- ABV: 7.0
Our first of what will become many attempts at Euro Pils. These are special beers that require extra steps and know-how on the brewhouse and an 8-week minimum maturation in tanks. German malt step mashed with a single decoction, hopped with Hallertau Mittelfruh and Saphir and then naturally carbonated and lagered in horizontal tanks.
- Style: German Pilsner
- ABV: 4.8
So, what are you doing back at Blackbird? Well, I sat back and thought about the things we used to do, the beer I drank with you, the cheers, and many brews. I’m so in love, Girl You Know Wit’s True. We are channeling Milli Vanilli, but this beer is a classic, crushable Belgian Witbier with wheat, coriander, and orange peel. Order a pint and know my love is for you.
- Style: Belgian Witbier
- ABV: 4.5
Classic German style wheat beer. 50% of this beer is made from wheat grown at Perry Family Farm in Rolesville four miles from the brewery and malted at Epiphany Craft Malt in Durham. Brewed the hard way, this went through five mash steps including two decoctions to get every bit of character these malts have to offer. Naturally carbonated and unfiltered.
- Style: Hefeweizen
- ABV: 4.8
The classic light and crisp German ale, drinks like a lager but with unique stone fruit, salt cracker and chalky aromas you only find in Kolsch. A special selection of malts and hops we don’t share with our other beers, a special yeast strain, tricky alkaline, and 3 week cold conditioning to settle into its personality makes this a one of a kind beer style we can’t get enough of.
- Style: Kolsch
- ABV: 4.5