From the Beer Writer: I’m not a fan of most tribute beers or beverages brewed for famous people. Generally, it’s ego hunger or a thirst for a supplementary revenue stream that drives their creation versus any passion for beer or the art of brewing. As good as San Diego Pale Ale .394 is, local beer was not much beloved by much-beloved Padres legend Tony Gwynn. Sublime‘s Bradley Nowell penned lyrics about malt liquor and passed away in 1996 when the craft-beer movement was in its infancy. And NOFX’s “Fat Mike“…well, who cares what that buffoon knows or, more fittingly, is grossly ignorant about. Yet, they all have their own beers. Even my favorite band, Pearl Jam, had a beer brewed for them by Dogfish Head. I bought that beer…and hated it. (Fun fact: It was originally supposed to be a repackage of a Stone Brewing beer, but, the band wanted a “yellow beer” and Stone CEO Greg Koch gave them a smoked-porter-or-nothing ultimatum. The rest is history.) Truth is, few of the names on the bottles and cans of such “collaboration” beers put much of themselves into the mix, but the same can’t be said for the Deftones, who have been active participants in conceptualization and design of the beers they are producing with Belching Beaver Brewery. Each is different and based on band member ideas and preferences that are stewarded into reality by Belching Beaver’s brewing team. The latest, Digital Bath, is a hazy IPA because…get this…the Deftones guys really like hazy IPAs. What a concept. And unlike most of the lame celebrity-contracted lagers built to appeal to fans of famous people who, like their idols, know little or nothing about beer, this star collab is well-made and tastes really good…whether you’re a fan of the band or just a fan of Northeast-style IPAs.
From the Brewer: “Choosing the style for our fourth collaboration with Deftones was an easy decision. We’re all on the haze train and really enjoying the ride. I was working a lot with our barrel master and brewer Peter Perrecone on different variations for our New England-style IPAs. We were changing the malts and hops, trying new hop time additions to get that perfect flavor and, of course, haze. We had about five different renditions we were stoked on and narrowed it down from there with the band. I was pretty excited to see this beer paired with some kick-ass artwork, and the bright green can just tops it off. Our final product, Digital Bath, is brewed with Mosaic, Citra, Galaxy, and Nelson hops, plus Simcoe Cryo Hops. These are all of my personal favorite hops. This beer has juicy citrus notes and is very smooth. We hope you enjoy it!”—Troy Smith, Brewmaster, Belching Beaver Brewery