Photo: PeopleImages (Getty Images)
Concerts are better with a beer in your hand. And many musicians won’t perform without something alcoholic to wet their whistles onstage. So it’s only natural that bands and breweries would get together to make sweet, sweet music (err, make that tasty brews) for their fans.
Here are eight fun beers brewed or inspired by musicians. If you seem them on the shelves at your local liquor store or on tap at your favorite watering hole, snatch them up; they’re often only available for a limited time.
Drop the spray and go for the EDM: Skrillex Music Is the Ultimate Mosquito Repellent This Summer
Music to our ears: Tom Hanks Continues His Trend of Transformative Roles in New Music Biopic
Follow Mandatory on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Artist Brews
-
Trampled American Golden Ale - Bent Paddle Brewing
Bluegrass band Trampled by Turtles has an intoxicating effect on audiences already, especially since a lot of frontman Dave Simonett's songs are about drinking, bars, and the myriad consequences of getting wasted. No wonder, then, that the six-pack of Minnesotan musicians recently made things official with Bent Paddle Brewing and announced a 4.6 percent ABV American blonde ale. It'll be available in cans (printed with the band's signature owl and song lyrics) and on draft starting May 13. Our only question is: will it make us feel as amped-up as their lightning-fast music does?
Photo: Josh Brasted (Getty Images)
-
Run The Jewels Wheat Ale - Goose Island
A one-time collaboration between Goose Island and Run the Jewels for Pitchfork Music Festival, RTJ’s Wheat Ale is probably near-impossible to find now. The 5.4 percent ABV beer was well-received for its limited run, so maybe there will be a sequel someday.
Photo: Vivien Killilea (Getty Images)
-
No Collar - Goose Island
Another one-off for Pitchfork Music Festival, No Collar was a German Helles made in collaboration with Chicago standout Chance the Rapper. The beer sported a 5.3 percent ABV and was brewed exactly one time. Like many things Chance does, it was well-received. While it’s a bummer that you can no longer get it, these pairings with Pitchfork Music Festival give you another reason to check it out.
Photo: Nicholas Hunt (Getty Images)
-
Alive or Just Brewing - Cigar City Brewing
Made in collaboration with Massachusetts metal heads Killswitch Engage, the punny Alive or Just Brewing was created to coincide with the band’s 15-year anniversary of the album Alive or Just Breathing. Checking in at a stiff 7.6 percent ABV, it's as heavy as most of the band's songs. The beer can still be found occasionally if you’re near Cigar City Brewing in Tampa, Florida.
Photo: Gina Wetzler (Getty Images)
-
Black Tongue Beer - Signature Brew
Metal band Mastodon's signature brew (heh) packs a punch at a whopping 8.3 percent ABV. The proceeds of their initial run went towards suicide prevention. There’s no telling if the band will ever brew up another batch but initial reviews noted notes of bread crust, pine nuts, licorice, and honey -- heavy just like the band’s crushing guitar riffs.
Photo: Xavi Torrent (Getty Images)
-
Har Mar Superstar’s Bye Bye 16-Ounce Personal Tall Boy Best Summer Ever Beer - Modist Brewing
If you only know one song by Har Mar Superstar, it's probably "Tall Boy." (And we bet you thought that was Justin Timberlake's voice, right?) So when the beer-bellied musician with a penchant for performing bare-chested teamed up with Modist Brewing to release a citrus beer last year, of course it came in 16-ounce cans. But, please, no matter how drunk you get on this summery, crushable brew, consider keeping your shirt on.
Photo: Olivia Hemingway/Redferns (Getty Images)
-
Doomtree - Surly Brewing
A pairing of a hip-hop collaborative with one of Minneapolis’s most celebrated breweries, Doomtree beer is 5.7 percent ABV hybrid. While it’s still technically available, the beer rotates in and out of season quite often, which can make tracking it down kind of a pain in the butt. Especially if you live outside of the Midwest.
Photo: Tim Mosenfelder (Getty Images)
-
Phantom Bride IPA - Belching Beaver Brewery
With ingredients handpicked by the band, this IPA holds its own at 7.3 percent ABV. The beer is ongoing and can be found throughout California and in Trader Joe’s. It's named after the Deftones’ song of the same title, although they really missed an opportunity not going with “Swerve City.”
Photo: Seth McConnell (Getty Images)
-
MMMhops IPA - Hanson Brothers Beer
Maybe the best pun on this list, MMMHops was brewed from the band’s own brewery out of Oklahoma. It can now be found throughout the Midwest and is a hearty 7.5 percent ABV. The brothers have since branched out with other beers, so you can now go on a Hanson-fueled bender in more ways than one.
Photo: Lorne Thomson (Getty Images)
