AC/DC did it, Iron Maiden did it, Motörhead did it and now also Metallica will do it. Hard Rock and beer seems to be the perfect fit. Metallica, a U.S. American heavy metal band which was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles, California by drummer Lars Ulrich and vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield, has now anounced its own beer called Enter Night Pilsner. The beer was developed in collaboration with Arrogant Consortia, a wholly owned imprint of Stone Brewing. “Metallica's Lars Ulrich and Stone co-founder Greg Koch even enjoyed multiple occasions at Lars' home 'discussing' (industry-speak for 'drinking') beers,” both said in a joined press release.
Enter Night Pilsner is a “traditional Northern German Pilsner with Arrogant Consortia's modern overtones of aggression.” The characteristics of the beer with 5.7% ABV and 45 IBUs reflect this aspiration. The beer was named after the refrain lyrics from Enter Sandman, one of the most popular songs of Metallica, which was released as the first single from their self-titled fifth album, Metallica in 1991 and achieved platinum certification for more than 1,000,000 copies shipped in the United States, spurring sales of over 30 million copies for Metallica and propelling Metallica to worldwide popularity.
The beer will be sold in 6oz six-pack cans and on draft and will be available in the first quarter of 2019.
"I remember seeing Metallica on the cover of a magazine just after the Black Album was released," recalls Greg Koch. "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. I view that simple quote as one of the founding philosophical elements of Stone Brewing."
Enter Night Pilsner is not the first product to be marketed by Metallica. Last fall Metallica launched American straight whiskey Blackened through its own Sweet Amber Distilling Co. The whiskey is produced by a patent-pending enhancement process to craft the product, using the sound waves to help bring some flavor elements out of the barrels.
It’s not known if the Enter Night Pilsner will create a hang-over, but hard rock fans will most likely handle it like already deceased Lemmy Kilmister, who founded and fronted the rock band Motörhead. When asked by a kid if he was getting hangovers he said: “To get hangovers you have to stop drinking!”
