We’ve been all around the beer and the music spectrum with the “artist and a six pack” series here at Backyard Road Trips, tirelessly working to try and find the best beer and music pairings available for you today! From session beers and the Carpenters to emo and sour beers, it’s been quite the journey. Much time was spent laboriously sipping various craft beers of all kinds and listening to a variety of music. Such tough work. Strap on your seatbelt because this time we’re cranking it up to 11% ABV with heavy metal and a six pack!
These beers are pure metal! Either the ABV is cranked at 10% or above, or they ooze heavy metal in one way or another. For the music component, many of these are well-known groups that in some circles may be considered hard rock or classic rock. We’re not sacrificing goats this time or listening to Norwegian Death Metal. But in any case, both for the beer and the music, it rocks!
AC/DC For Those About to Rock and Vitamin Sea’s Triple Spring
Does AC/DC count as heavy metal? Probably not, but see this. If it’s metal enough for Butthead then it’s metal enough for Backyard Road Trips. How better to start off this six pack than with a bang, literally? Other than the 1812 Overture, not many songs can pull off cannon fire as part of a riff, but the title track does just as well as Tchaikovsky. Since many of these tracks start with the classic Angus Young guitar riffs, this album is a force to be reckoned with. Anthemic!
Matching the strength of the classic album is Massachusetts’s powerhouse brewery, Vitamin Sea. Their Triple Spring Triple IPA leads off with a bang at 10.2 ABV% but goes down so smooth. Due to the high ABV, this beer is a bit sweeter than their typical IPAs, but still has the juiciness and haziness that they specialize in. Taking this beer slowly, the beer mellows just like AC/DC does in comparison to some of the other metal acts out there.
Iron Maiden The Number of the Beast and Tree House Brewing Company’s Tree of Life
From Iron Maiden’s classic “Eddie” and “The Trooper” logos, they scream heavy metal! Skeletons, devils, demons, oh my! Even those not familiar with the music know the art. The Number of the Beast is classic Maiden! It features such tracks as Run to the Hills and Hallowed Be Thy Name. Tree House’s logo, similar to Iron Maiden’s, is known by folks who haven’t even tried their beer! At 11.8% this beer kicks it up a notch. It’s a barley wine, which is typically sweeter anyway. While some barleywines may go overboard, not Tree House. Everything they brew is fantastic and where a barleywine is typically not my go-to brew, they do a great take on it. (Note: yes, I know Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden brews his “Trooper” beer, but that would be too easy a pairing!) With this high ABV Barleywine and Iron Maiden, both are definite inclusions in this heavy metal and a six pack.
Testament Signs of Chaos: The Best of Testament and TRVE Brewing’s Scorn
Testament is the least known of the bands on this list but the most “metal.” The long hair and wailing guitars define this band’s sound. Couple that with graphics of skulls, druids, and demonic things (along with a striking font for the band’s name) and it’s a match made in metal. Testament’s sound morphs from classic thrash to a more guttural sound on tracks like “Dog Faced Gods” with vocals barked by lead singer, Chuck Billy. This album represents the best of their career from their first 15 or so years.
TRVE is a can’t miss brewery. It’s out of Denver and prides itself on being a heavy metal brewery. Funny thing is this pale ale is light, hoppy, and tasty, nothing resembling what a heavy metal beer would presumably taste like. Last summer, my wife and I had the pleasure of visiting the TRVE brewery. It’s a narrow space with a long bar and walls painted black. Interestingly enough, much of their beer tends on the sour, wild ale, and farmhouse side of things. One of my favorites was Cosmic Crypt, a farmhouse pale ale. These were right up my wife’s alley too, as she prefers these flavors to the juicy or hoppy IPAs. We enjoyed a few beers with metal blaring overhead as we sipped our libations. With their metal mentality and scary heavy metal can art, a TRVE is a must for this six pack.
Anthrax Spreading The Disease and Trillium Brewing Company’s Mettle
Spreading the Disease era Anthrax is ultimate speed metal. Big hair, screeching guitars, fast riffs, and high-pitched vocals and this is a recipe for 80s heavy metal (not the poppy stuff: see Poison). Although the album title may hit too close to home these days, it had to be on the list. Look at the artwork! Look at the stylings of the “Anthrax” font! This is heavy metal. Although Trillium’s Mettle doesn’t fit the ABV bill, the beer is named Mettle! And yes, “mettle” doesn’t mean “metal” but it’s close enough! Also, the beer has some cool industrial can art. Like all that Trillium does, this beer is awesome. This double IPA has a delicious, rich, citrusy flavor.
Metallica Metallica (The Black Album) and Gilded Skull’s Gilded Empire
Fun fact: this was the first-ever cassette tape that I bought. I’ll never forget my mother scouring over every line in the lyric sheet to make sure there were no swears (there weren’t any and I was 8 years old). The opening riff of “Enter Sandman” has gone down in the annals of musicdom as an altogether classic. Other tracks such as “The Unforgiven” and “Nothing Else Matters” are hits in their own right.
In addition to their canon of songs on this album, it is also known for its cover art. The all-black cover has a hologram effect of a coiled snake and the classic “Metallica” logo. This can of Gilded Skull’s Gilded Empire, a New England IPA, has the same effect. In one light, the album cover just looks black. The same with the center of the can. In another though, a skull reflects through the black background. Gilded Skull has heavy metal stylings too. Even though this beer doesn’t tip the ABV scales, it is a solid citrusy New England IPA with a slight bitterness. Both album cover and can art always remind me of these not-so-classic 1980s toys, Super Naturals! They’re hologram-rific! This brewery is lesser-known, but still is an important addition to heavy metal and a sick pack!
Motley Crue Dr. Feelgood and Carton Brewing Company’s Cosmonaut
Showcasing the bad boy side of heavy metal, Motley Crue is all about excess. (You’ll know what I’m saying if you’ve read the book The Dirt or seen the Netflix movie.) They also made metal accessible. By the time Dr. Feelgood came out, with hits such as “Kickstart My Heart,” they helped make this once feared music mainstream. Earlier albums such as Shout at the Devil and Too Fast for Love were rawer in sound, with huge hits coming from the Dr. Feelgood album including “Same Ol’ Situation” and “Dr. Feelgood” which are almost poppy in sound.
New Jersey’s Carton Brewing’s Cosmonaut pairs well with the ‘Crue because both are excessive. Talk about excessive amounts of ingredients in this Russian Imperial Stout. It is made with freeze-dried ice cream and spices. It also tops off at 10% ABV. For me, many beers in this style are too boozy and border on the “motor oil” taste. Not this beer! It has a great flavor that tastes lighter than the ABV would suggest. The spices and I’m assuming the freeze-dried ice cream give it a nice sweetness without being too much. Similar to Motley Crue, for whom on principle alone I shouldn’t have in my cassette deck, I can’t help get drawn into the sweet sounds of Dr. Feelgood.
Heavy Metal and a Six Pack
These six beers pair best with this classic heavy metal. From the anthems of AC/DC to the familiar sounds of Metallica all the way to the intenseness of Testament, this six pack will be a hit with any metal fan. The beverages, from high octane beers to a few true metal brews, will delight any craft beer enthusiast.
