What do you do when you’ve made every possible piece of merchandise you can think of? You make your own drink.
With the news that Queen are launching their own beer to celebrity the 40th anniversary of smash hit Bohemian Rhapsody and the release of Ramblin Man’s 22-strong beer list, we look at 10 other bands whose latest releases will blow your mind and give you a taste for salty snacks…
**Status Quo **Named after their 1972 debut album, Quo’s Piledriver ale has been described as “malty and amber but also a touch of mango”. All well and good, but just try saying Francis Rossi after you’ve had a few.
Municipal Waste The Virginia thrashers collaborated with the Three Floyds brewery to create the Toxic Revolution stout. They’ve described it as “a black liquid wall of death in your mouth”. Well, that sounds like a day spent crying in the shower to us. That’s not the actual bottle by the way.
**Marilyn Manson **Absinthe was favoured by the likes of Vincent Van Gogh, Ernest Hemingway and Arthur Rimbaud, who enjoyed an increase in sensory awareness after necking the green stuff. Manson released his signature brand of Absinthe Mansinthe in 2007 and a standard bottle has an alcohol volume of 66.6%. That’s an amazing coincidence.
Ramblin Man Festival: The Ale list
**KISS **What’s this? KISS have made their own wine too? Well, of course they bloody have.
Iron Maiden Trooper beer is named after Maiden’s 1983 single and is brewed by alchemists at Robinsons Brewery in collaboration with the band. “I’m a lifelong fan of traditional English ale,” says frontman Bruce Dickinson. “I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when we were asked to create our own beer.” We wonder if he’s ever tempted to sing,_ ’We hurdle bodies that lay on the ground, the Russians buy another round…’_ after a heavy night on tour in Moscow. No? Anyone?
Bruce Dickinson photo by Ben Pruchnie/Getty Images Entertainment
**Maynard James Keenan ** _ Caduceus_ wine is the brainchild of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan and Eric Glomski. The 2010 documentary Blood Into Wine details the Arizona vintners’ enterprise but don’t expect see Keenan standing barefoot in a barrel of grapes.
Kerry King The Slayer fret destroyer and herpetoculturist is a co-owner of the Coldcock American Herbal Flavored Whiskey company. Their website says it’s got herbs and stuff in it but we were too busy sniggering at the name to pay any real attention.
**Mastodon **Made by the London-based Signature Brew, Mastodon’s Black Tongue Double Black IPA is the latest in a long line of music-themed beers, including the Frank Turner Believe beer and Enter Shikari’s Sssnakepit pale lager. This writer once had a sip of the 8.3% Black Tongue and woke up in a park with no shoes. On the moon.
**Motörhead **The trio have produced their own brands of wine (Shiraz, Sacrifice and Rosé), vodka (Vödka) and lager (Bastards), and is distributed straight from Hell, apparently. Best pop them in the fridge to cool down. Apart the red wine, obviously.
**Anthrax **The thrash legends have produced their own single batch, limited edition Indians bourbon in conjunction with the Kentucky-based Jefferson company. “We’ve been wanting to come up with a special item like this, something that was unusual, one-of-a-kind, not a T-shirt or hoodie or poster,” says bassist Frank Bello. Cheers. Hic.
