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Iron Maiden are bringing their Run For Your Lives World Tour back to North America this fall, with an epic supporting
lineup that includes Megadeth and Anthrax at select stops. The tour marks a half-century for the metal legends, with the band performing songs from their first nine studio albums. But craft beer fans have an extra reason to celebrate the band’s return to the U.S.: Iron Maiden and California beer icon Lagunitas have teamed up on Trooper West Coast IPA, which will be pouring at bars across the country before each show.
Ahead of every North American tour stop, Lagunitas and Iron Maiden will bring Eddie’s Dive Bar to local watering holes across the country. Named for the band’s iconic mascot, the free fan meetups are open to everyone – concert ticket holder or not – offering a place to raise a pint, share stories, and “Up the Irons” before the show. While Eddie’s Dive Bar has become a staple of Iron Maiden tours overseas, this marks its long-awaited U.S. debut.
“The whole idea of the Eddie’s Dive Bars is that if you’re a Maiden fan, it gives you somewhere to congregate with other fans and share stories,” the band’s frontman, Bruce Dickinson, tells Rolling Stone.
Earlier this year, Iron Maiden’s Trooper beer joined forces with Lagunitas to release the limited-edition Trooper West Coast IPA, the first West Coast IPA from the Trooper label. The 6.6% ABV brew was made with new Krush hops, chosen for their “spicy tropical range of flavors coupled with even some bright cannabis notes,” according to Lagunitas’ “Brewmonster” Jeremy Marshall.
BUY ONLINE
Lagunitas Trooper West Coast IPA (Six-Pack)
12 oz. can
You can also find stores in your area that carry the collab here.
While many collabs are partnerships in name only, Dickinson was very involved in working with Marshall and Lagunitas on choosing what beer would be their first foray together. The pair’s first meeting was after Dickinson performed at the Aftershock Festival, with Marshall bringing samples for him to try immediately after the singer hopped off stage. The two sat at a picnic table in a backstage area “for a couple of hours,” according to Dickinson.
“We went through all the samples one by one, and Bruce dissected them quite impressively,” Marshall adds. “He would sip, take a beat, enter a quiet reflection, and come back with all sorts of nuanced comments about the beginning, middle, mouthfeel, and finish of each sample. I learned that Bruce has a very discerning palate.”
As for working with Iron Maiden, Lagunitas — despite being one of the leading brands in the craft beer world — knew the stakes of teaming up with a band as globally iconic as Iron Maiden. “In all of our previous collabs it felt like we were Goliath and they were David,” says Marshall. “But this time around we feel humbled. There will be people whose first impression of Lagunitas beer will be Trooper. We’ve always had strong ties to music, but never anything like this.”
Iron Maiden’s Trooper label has similarly partnered with various breweries for years, but Lagunitas was their first journey into the fabled West Coast IPA space. “What we love about Lagunitas is not only that they love beer, but they love the idea of being creative with it and the culture around it,” says Dickinson of the Bay Area beer brand. “We never just want to slap our name on a label for the sake of a collaboration. Jeremy and Lagunitas brought something to the table that we are very proud to put our name on.”
Iron Maiden The Trooper T-Shirt
“The Trooper” of course, was the second single taken from the band’s 1983 studio album, Piece of Mind, and its name — and memorable cover art — continues to resonate with fans today.
Lagunitas also offers limited edition Trooper co-branded gear, ranging from t-shirts to dog collars here.
Coinciding with the Eddie’s Dive Bars events in the U.S., Lagunitas launched a “beer roadie” contest, offering fans the chance to compete for an all-expenses-paid position to manage Lagunitas’ presence at the New York and Los Angeles stops of Iron Maiden’s Run For Your Lives Tour. Out of hundreds of applicants, Lara Mirinjian came out on top to become Lagunitas’ first Beer Roadie, helping bring the pre-show experience to life for fans.
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