After all their hard work brewing the perfect Belgian cherry barrel ale, The Mount Si Brewing Society wanted a label that matched the whimsy of the brew. The ale was on its way to the National Homebrew Competition and needed something eye-grabbing and fun.

According to the brewers, “We made a beer that is a Belgian Dark Strong like Chimay Blue or Westleveteren 12. It had an original gravity of 1.111 (ie, it is 1.111 times as dense as pure water, which is 1.0). We then added ripe cherries from Dave’s family orchard in eastern Washington, and then conditioned it in a barrel that we acquired from Rogue in Issaquah.”

Because of the 1.111 original gravity, they decided to call the ale “It Goes to Eleven,” but in Flemish, which translates to “Bier Elf.” Once their Flemish-speaking member pointed out that if you removed the space between Bier and Elf, you’re left with a word that roughly translates into “drunken elf,” the group knew they’d found their choice of name and since the beer was homebrew and not constrained by government restrictions in advertising, the result was a silly, sloshed, fat elf with cherries on his ears.