1554 Black Lager beer uses a lager yeast strain and dark chocolaty malts to redefine what dark beer can be.

A surprisingly bright taste and a dry, chocolaty finish -- one evocative of dark brews enjoyed in Belgian taverns 500 years ago. Not a porter, not a stout -- it's 1554.

Enlightened Dark Ale
1554 defies the style guidelines of modern beer. Although dark in color, 1554 is not a porter, stout, schwarzbier or bock. Rather, it is a rebirth of a lost beer style called zwert (Flemish for black), which uses gruit for bittering. The oldest reference to zwert beer comes from 1285. However, our brewing inspiration came from a book published in 1554, which was the height of popularity for zwertbeer. First released in 1998, our whimsical improvisation includes a variety of specialty dark malts, a dash of licorice root, and a European lager yeast that’s fermented at ale temperatures.