Hot on the tails of its 2018 foray into the whiskey business, Metallica has released its very own beer in collaboration with Stone Brewing imprint Arrogant Consortia. The partnership’s “Enter Night” Pilsner is available nationwide, and is set to launch internationally this spring, according to apress release.
The 5.7-percent ABV brew is rolling out in 16-ounce cans and draft format. Stone Brewing describes Enter Night as “a bold Pilsner that has all the elegance of a traditional Pilsner, but as if it was played through a distortion pedal.”
How exactly does that translate to flavor profile? According to its description, the pilsner is “hop-forward with sound bitterness on the finish.”
Metallica’s band members were present for every stage of the process, according to the announcement, and frontman Lars Ulrich is said to enjoy a friendly relationship (strengthened by a few drinking sessions) with Stone Brewing’s co-founder Greg Koch.
“The amount of ideals and outlooks that Metallica and Stone Brewing share are endless,” Ulrich says. “Our view of the worlds that we each inhabit, of creativity and process, and sense of place in relation to our peers and ‘The Man’ are almost identical.”
Meanwhile, Koch says Metallica was a strong inspiration when founding Stone Brewing.
“I remember seeing Metallica on the cover of a magazine just after the Black Album was released,” Koch says in the press release. “On the cover was a quote that resonated with me to this day: ‘Metallica didn’t go to number one, number one came to them.’ I loved what that meant. Do it your way and never compromise your art. If you’re great at what you do people will come.”
Last August, Metallica released its “Blackened” American whiskey in collaboration with the late Dave Pickerell, a celebrated master distiller who sadly passed away in November 2018.
Working with industry icons like Pickerell and Stone Brewing could be viewed by some as a U-turn from the band’s earlier dip into the drinks game. In 2015, Metallica released a limited edition Canadian beer in collaboration with Budweiser. It’s never too late to stick it to “The Man.”
