Photo credit: Dogfish Head
Rock and roll is here to stay. When Danny and the Juniors sang these lyrics back in 1958 rock was still new and no one could know just how integral the medium would become around the world. Rock has become not only the soundtrack of the world, but it has also inspired many breweries to collaborate with musicians to create signature beers for the bands that carry on the rock tradition.
Undoubtedly the most prolific brewery when it comes to producing rock-inspired beers is Dogfish Head out of Milton, Del. Headed by music lover and beer genius Sam Calgione, Dogfish Head has unleashed beers that honor such legends as Miles Davis (Bitch’s Brew), Pearl Jam (Faithful Ale), The Grateful Dead (American Beauty) and most recently The Flaming Lips with Dragons and Yum Yums.
Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne and Calgione came together to create a beer and a song based on the dragonfruit and yumberry sour brew. Not only that, but the band released the song on a special clear vinyl disk that is actually filled with the beer. The disks were released in recognition of Record Store Day, April 21. With only 100 beer-filled disks produced, they were hotly sought by beer geeks, record collectors and Flaming Lips fans.
Another rock band with a beer carrying their name is Iron Maiden. Based on and carrying the name of the band’s seminal song, “The Trooper,” the beer is a traditional English ale created with the input of Iron Maiden’s vocalist, Bruce Dickinson. The beer is brewed by the 180-year-old Robinson’s Brewery.
“I’m a lifelong fan of traditional English ale,” said Dickinson on the beer brand’s website. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when we were asked to create our own beer. I have to say that I was very nervous: Robinsons are the only people I have had to audition for in 30 years.
Not to be outdone, down under rockers AC/DC have lent their name and logo to Australian Hardrock a German Premium Lager brewed under the mandate of the German purity law of 1516. Brewed by German brewery Karlsberg, the beer was originally commissioned as a collaboration between the band and Germany-based food store ALDI.
Marketing juggernaut and rock mega-band Kiss had its own beer too. Brewed by Krönleins Bryggeri AB in Sweden, Kiss Destroyer beer was a light Euro Lager. Unfortunately, the beer suffered abysmal reviews and never really caught on.
Despite Freddy Mercury’s apparent love for Moet Chandon, Queen partnered with British brewer RnR Brew Ltd. to produce Bohemian Lager in honor of the 40th anniversary of their much-loved “Bohemian Rhapsody.” The beer was brewed in Pilzen, the heart of Bohemia, keeping with the theme and was a Czech-style hoppy lager.
Even alternative rock band The Pixies have had their own beer. The beer named Hey, was created as an accompaniment to the exhibition “Where Is My Mind: The Work of Vaughan Oliver and the Pixies”, first shown at London’s Stephen Lawrence Gallery in 2016. Hey was a bottle-conditioned IPA brewed from a late 19th century recipe that has been described as a lightly citrus, bitter ale with a very dry finish.
With all the beers based on songs and bands available out there, any rock and roll fan with a thirst for a cold beer should have little trouble finding something that tickles their fancy.
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