Here Are 10 Rock Beers to Quench Your Weekend Thirst, Ranked
When t-shirt, concerts, record sales, and Kiss Kaskets aren’t enough, where do bands turn to for more income?
Sammy Hagar is known for Cabo Wabo tequila, and Bob Dylan has Heaven’s Door, a Tennessee Bourbon (I guess “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” isn’t the best booze sales pitch), but more commonly, we see bands putting their names on the ultimate show beverage - beer.
As the weather (hopefully) warms up and we move back outside, let’s take a look at ten brews that feature a band collaboration.
Using the highly scientific method of selecting beers of interest (mostly legacy acts from my youth) and then ranking by their Beer Advocate average, I’ve come up with the following list ranked from worst to first.
10. 311 - Amber Ale, Nebraska Brewing Company
Though conceived at their studio The Hive in Los Angeles, Nebraska’s favorite sons 311, returned to their “grassroots” for the easiest name layup on this list. Working with Nebraska Brewing Company, this is an amber ale featuring equinox hops.
Not the kind of guys to only have one beer, the band also has a Beautiful Disaster Imperial IPA with Rock Brothers Brewing out of Tampa.
9. Rancid - Brewstomper, Ska Brewing
“Rancid and Op Ivy (both founded by Matt Freeman and Tim Armstrong) provided the soundtrack to our lives as we were planning out the brewery in the early ’90s,” says Dave Thibodeau, co-founder of Ska. “Their music, along with a heavy dose of an unnamed American light lager, really are the roots of what has become Ska’s World Headquarters today.”
This is one of the beers on this list I’ve tried myself as my buddy requested me to bring back a sixer of these from Durango. Described in the press release as “crushable,” it’s a light lager that went down easy. While I rarely want beer these days, this is the kind I’m looking for (no apologies to the Denver beer bros and their heavy IPAs).
8. The National - Reality Based Pils, Mikkeller
With songs like “All the Wine,” The National isn’t a band I usually associate with beer.
After guitarist Aaron Dessner collaborated with Mikkeller’s CEO Mikkel Borg Bjergsø on a Copenhagen music festival, the two teamed up for this beer. The label is by Mikkeller’s art director Keith Shore, an ode to the band’s Hudson Valley recording studio and their album Sleep Well Beast, and very well may be my favorite out of the bunch.
Sad Brooklyn dads rejoice; now you can drink Reality Based Pils in a brown bag while pushing the stroller.
7. Julianna Barwick - Rosabi, Dogfish Head
This beer has to be the most interesting collaboration on the list. Julianna Barwick is an avant-garde musician who loops her vocals to create infinite ambient choirs (last year’s album Healing is a Miracle just missed my “best of” list) and not someone I see doing a brewery collab, but here we are.
Barwick had more input than some of these other beers, and as a native of Louisiana, she chose red beans to mix with Munich and Caramel malts. Even more leftfield, Barwick's go-to ingredient is wasabi, which is also included.
This doesn’t sound like a “drinker,” but I’d like to be pleasantly surprised.
6. Sub Pop - Loser, Elysian Brewing Co.
Described as “street smart but not athletic,” Elysian collaborated with Sub Pop to celebrate the legendary record label’s 20th anniversary.
The beer’s slogan is “corporate beer still sucks,” a nod to Kurt Cobain’s shirt on this 1992 issue of Rolling Stone, which cracks me up. Not only is Elysian Brewing Co. owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev, but Sub Pop sold 49% of the label to Warner Bros. Records in 1995.
Give me a break.
5. The Flaming Lips - Dragons and YumYums, Dogfish Head
The second of three Dogfish head products on this list, this collaboration with the psychedelic Oklahoma band, this pale ale is brewed with dragon fruit, yumberry, passionfruit, pear juice, and black carrot juice.
This is also the only beer on the list to have its own songs, “The Story of YumYum and Dragon” and “Pouring Beer in Your Ear,” which frontman Wayne Coyne wrote for the beer’s release.
I see Dragons and YumYums quite often but have never bought it as SeaQuench Ale is my go-to Dogfish Head beer. So good.
4. Sublime - Sublime Mexican Lager, AleSmith Brewing Company
In celebration of their legendary album 40oz. to Freedom, fellow SoCal brewers AleSmith teamed up with the remaining members of Sublime for this beach drinker.
I’ve also had this one, a six-pack split with an old friend who had come to visit while I was in Los Angeles. As a huge Mexican Lager fan, I can say it was pretty damn good and will have you shouting, “I love the way you move, I love the way you rap BRRRUH BRRRUH” in no time.
3. Grateful Dead - American Beauty, Dogfish Head
The Dead haven’t been strangers to merchandising throughout their career, and this pale ale with Dogfish Head is the oldest beer on this list.
When it was released in six-packs for the first time a few years ago, this Deadhead was sure to pick it up. My review is that American Beauty is one of those beers that the last bottle or two sit in the fridge for a while. Take what you want from that.
2. Deftones - Phantom Bride, Belching Beaver Landing
The San Diego-based Belching Beaver Brewery has teamed up with the immortal hardcore band a few times, and this IPA is delicious. At 7.1%, it isn’t overly hoppy, and I dug the citrus notes.
This is also a PSA that you're missing out on some great albums if you haven’t listened to Deftones in twenty years.
1. Run The Jewels - Stay Gold, Interboro
The hip-hop duo Run the Jewels have by far the most exciting beer concept on this list. Last year, RTJ sent a recipe for a 6.5% hazy IPA to thirteen craft breweries and had them add their twist on each, resulting in a wide array of visions.
Stay Gold is their beer with Interboro that kicked everything off in 2017, resulting in today's growing RTJ beer list. Whether it’s CBD-infused or brewed with coconut and marshmallow fluff, there’s something here for everyone.
Is there a band beer that you love that I missed? Let me know in the comments!