Stalagmite is one of two beers brewed in collaboration with the Alstom Brothers of BeerAdvocate for the 2014 Extreme Beer Festival (of which Dogfish is proud to be a sponsor of!).

Both beers were brewed with the same base Schwarzbier recipe, Mesquite Powder, and Calcium Carbonate treated water to infuse minerally-goodness into each beer.  Calcium Carbonate is the primary mineral in the composition of Stalactites and Stalagmites, formed over thousands of years as water filters through the earth and drips into caves below the ground.  Calcium Carbonate also can be used in brewing to harden water, which ultimately brings out hop character and helps make a clean crisp brew.  Stalagmite was brewed with Dutch caramel syrup to bump fermentable sugars in order to boost ABV.  While adding subtle caramel notes, this syrup also lightens up the body of the beer (as all of the sugars are fermentable) and lets the Mesquite Powder come forward in the flavor.  Mesquite Powder is made from ground up pods of the Mesquite Tree, and adds a nutty hazelnut like sweetness to this unique black lager.

Stalagmite will be tapped at the brewpub in conjunction with the 2014 EBF in Boston, MA on Friday, 3/21/14.