Hive 56

Hive 56 is a dark sour ale aged with honey in an oak foudre for eighteen months. The beer is deep mahogany in color with aromas of strawberries, lemon, and tropical fruit; notes of dark chocolate, raspberries, and figs present themselves upon the first sip, followed by a lingering tartness.

We brew this beer with a blend of dark Munich malt, chocolate wheat, midnight wheat, and roasted barley, and hop with Cascade and Northern Brewer. Hive 56 undergoes initial fermentation with our house yeast; we then transfer the beer to a foudre with Brettanomyces bruxellensis and fresh honey from our Allagash beehives. Over the course of the next 18 months, the Brettanomyces transforms the honey, resulting in a beer with bold, roasty flavors, and a hint of tropical fruit.

Beer Details

Grains: Munich Malt, Chocolate Wheat, Midnight Wheat, Roasted Barley

Hops: Cascade, Northern Brewer

Yeast: House & Brettanomyces

Serving Temp: 40-50°F

Ideal Within: Four years

Availability: Limited

Package Size: 375 mL, Draft

ABV: 7.7%

Available in:

375 ml

DRAFT

What is: Wild Beer

What we call wild beer, many other people call “sour” beer. This is purely a preference, and not any hard and fast rule. But we wanted to explain why we feel like “wild” works a bit harder than “sour,” and what wild beers are to us.

Barrel Aging: The Vessel as an Ingredient

“Selecting a barrel is as much a part of the brewing process as hop selection, malt selection, or yeast,” says our Brewmaster, Jason Perkins. “It’s another opportunity to add unique flavors.”