Local Beer in Wake Forest, NC

Hey, they laughed at Louis Armstrong when he said he was gonna go to the moon. Now he’s up there laughing at them. We’re always reaching for Gold with our recipes so here’s another trial. Featuring large quantities of flaked wheat and “chit” malt for a fluffy body, a new yeast strain to experiment with options and levers to pull with recipe development and hopped with NZ Nectaron, Citra, and Mosaic. Come on, take my hand, we can do this.

The first variant of our “Cacao is my Safe Word” Milk Stout. Fermented with raspberry puree, then rested on Ucayali Peruvian cocoa beans we roasted in house. Chocolatey up front with a pleasant, sweet raspberry pop in the finish. Fun fact, the farmers who grew the cocoa use the profits to restore parts of the Amazon Rainforest that were deforested.

Collaboration with Cape Side Brewing in Southport, NC. Our first intern from Wake Tech, Alan, went on to start his own brewery and they’re opening this year. He and his crew came back to brew this with us to help them get some beer on tap for their opening. We double decoction mashed local Century malt from Epiphany Craft Malt in Durham, giving this pilsner a rich golden hue. It was hopped in the kettle with Czech Saaz and Kazbek and dry hopped with Most. Lagered in a horizontal tank for 12+ weeks and poured on a Czech Lukr faucet.

Be a wanker! Have yourself a proper pint or three of this full bodied, chocolatey, roasty, and well balanced dark libation that’s only 4.0% ABV

Each team member at Blackbird gets a chance to choose a beer style, work with brewers on the recipe, and spend a day creating it themselves on the brewhouse! This one was Kenne’s turn! He wanted to create Blackbird’s first barrel-aged beer. We made an insanely dark and decadent imperial stout, aged it for 20 months pushing Kenne to the limits of his patience. We then balanced its aged complexity with a fresh pop of flavor by resting it on locally roasted Sunny Days coffee.

This one goes out to all the lovely people celebrating dry January. Did you know that in December each year, breweries receive the new crop of hops from the pacific northwest making January the most ideal month to drink IPA. We’re not trying to tempt you or anything. This one is brewed with the newest crop of Krush, known for its candied pineapple and overall potent character.

This amber lager utilizes our cereal mashing vessel, one of the unique customizations on our brewhouse. We can turn just about any starch into fermentable sugar without the need of malting or pre-gelatinization in a malthouse. 30% of this beer comes from the same white corn flour restaurants use to make their own tortillas. It ended up being extremely challenging to make and both our brewers relied on years of experience to nail each target by the end of the 12 hour process.

I got five on it. Literally five nickels at a time because they’re stuck together. Duct tape doesn’t sub as a coin wrapper, but you don’t know til you know. This sticky icky Pale Ale was brewed the hard way, a long step mash with a single decoction to enhance the malt to help it stand up to the dankest fresh Strata and Idaho #7 hops from the recent harvest. Also did you know a nickel weighs 5 grams? Whoa.

We’re raising a glass for someone who will always be part of Blackbird Brewery’s story—our friend and former bartender, Kari Hoover. For seven years, Kari faced breast cancer with remarkable strength, and even in the hardest times, she continued to uplift those around her with her vibrant spirit. Kari never got the chance to brew her staff beer, but she always said she wanted it to be pink. This season, we’re making that dream a reality. Crafted with passionfruit, guava, pineapple, and hibiscus. The brew carries a vibrant pink hue that reflects Kari’s kind and joyful personality. 5.5% ABV

If you’re rollin’ up to Blackbird squad deep, look no further and start things off with a round of this fire Westy. This one’s fruity and soft, showing off the newest crop of neo-mexicanus Krush hops and balanced with some Citra.

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.

Some say it’s always better to be overdressed, but who cares as long as you’re enjoying a beer in a pool. Dress your best, we won’t judge either way. Our pilsners are special beers that require extra steps and know-how on the brewhouse with extended maturation in the cellar. German malt is step mashed then hopped with Hallertau Mittelfrüh and Saphir. Naturally carbonated and lagered in horizontal tanks. Perfect for the most formal and informal parties.

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.

This was the very first pilsner we ever brewed and was awarded the bronze at the US Open Beer Championship in 2023. The name is an homage and gentle reminder of our biergarten rules. Eight weeks of tank time, Riwaka and Motueka hops, a pilsner that drinks with cool top notes of lime, citrus, and NZ terroir. Don’t throw rocks!

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 three week cold conditioning to settle into its personality makes this a one of a kind beer style we can’t get enough of.