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, 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.
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.
- Style: Hazy IPA
- ABV: 7.4
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.
- Style: White Corn Mexican Vienna Lager
- ABV: 4.9
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.
- Style: Pale Ale
- ABV: 5.55
A message from our brewer Mikey: While the holiday season is upon us it’s a firm reminder to slow things down, catch our breath and celebrate the successes and failures of this year coming to a wrap. This is that special reminder to be thankful for the people we have in our lives that make everyday worth living. I’m grateful for all the peers I have in the industry that help me make better beer. My buddy Zac from Marlowe Ales shared his expertise which turned into this recipe. Copious amounts of flaked oats and wheat help give it a soft plush mouthfeel. It’s heavily hopped with mid-harvest Riwaka hops and a splash of Citra. Heaps of ripe tropical fruits bounce wildly on your tongue as you take each sip.
- Style: Hazy IPA
- ABV: 7.0
Even thrill seekers like Bodhi need a beer break once in a while. This one uses Citra hops for a bright, lemony, grapefruit, citrus vibe with a supportive dank and resinous undertone from Mosaic. You could jump out of a perfectly good airplane, but it would be a lot easier enjoying a well executed West Coast IPA like this one. Utah, get me two! 6.8% ABV
- Style: West Coast IPA
- ABV: 6.8
Feel the rhythm! Feel the rhyme! Get on up, it’s bobsled time! This West Coast IPA tries its hand at some cooler brewing techniques. Essentially a rice lager, we cereal mashed short grain sushi rice and fermented it cold with lager yeast before warming it up to be dry hopped like an IPA. Hopped with NZ Motueka, Citra, and tropical terpenes from Australian Galaxy hops. 6.8% ABV
- Style: Cold IPA
- ABV: 6.8
A rice lager worthy of legend. Tales of the battles between Habu and Mongoose while enjoying this timeless libation are just where the lore begins. Traditionally brewed using our mash mixer to gelatinize short grain sushi rice. Over half the alcohol in this beer comes from rice and the rest is from pilsner malt. It’s hopped with floral Lorien hops and lagered for several weeks until naturally clarified.
Check out our blog about this deliciously light and delicate beer!
- Style: Rice Lager
- ABV: 4.7
We paid tribute to a cult classic beer made for over 40 years by one of the pioneers of craft brewing. This pleasantly bitter and old school red IPA is dry hopped with freshly harvested whole cone Cascade. It takes about an hour to stuff them into the tank and another hour to get them back out, which is a huge pain in the butt but totally worth it for this special winter time IPA that probably couldn’t be made any other way.
- Style: Celebration-Style IPA
- ABV: 7.2
Let’s face it….the holidays are stressful! From shopping to traffic to competing with your neighbors for the best light display, it can feel like the most stressful time of the year. But don’t fear, reindeer! One of our seasonal beers is here to help ease the pressures of the holidays. We’ve crafted this festive ale with fresh ginger, cinnamon, cassia, nutmeg, allspice, and clove – all the warm and ugly sweater fuzzies to get you into the Christmas spirit, and remind yourself what matters most: beer so delicious, so pure, and so damn tall, even Jesus can touch it!
- Style: Spiced Amber Ale
- ABV: 7.3
Dunkels are a staple on any Bavarian beer menu. Malty but with great drinkability, it’s designed to be consumed by the liter. Getting the majority of its color from higher kilned Munich-style malt, this single decocted brew was patiently lagered and weighs in at an approachable.
- Style: Amber Lager
- ABV: 4.7
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
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.
- Style: German Pilsner
- ABV: 4.8
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 three 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
