Beer and heavy metal are pretty obvious bedfellows. When one pictures the average headbanger, there’s usually a tall boy in his or her hand. While wine and spirits often have a pretentious veneer around them, beer is refreshing, satisfying and cures what ails you. So too does a blazing metal riff scratch the rock ‘n’ roll itch in a way that jazz or indie rock never can.
But in recent years, beer and metal have joined forces more frequently, and with more artistry behind their collaboration. Metal beers and breweries are becoming common occurrences within the drinker’s world. And nowhere is that more present than in Colorado, which has become a necessary stop not only for beer enthusiasts but also for metalheads of discerning taste.
“We certainly weren’t the first,” says Nick Nunns, owner of Denver’s TRVE Brewing. With its bleak Viking-esque wooden interior and its slew of flavorful metal-themed microbrews, TRVE has become a Denver staple for fans of both unique beer and extreme music.
“Brewers have always loved evil or demonic imagery. Belgium’s Lucifer is like the oldest example of that. And as for metal, 3 Floyds in Indiana was doing this long before us.”
Indiana’s 3 Floyds is known for its collaborations with extreme all-stars like Pig Destroyer and High On Fire. But within extreme metal, TRVE has definitely become as recognizable as 3 Floyds, partly for honoring more entrenched underground bands like experimental death metal crew Horrendous, occult metallers Absu, and Portland stoner rockers Red Fang. It doesn’t hurt that if touring bands contact TRVE, they’ll have a free round waiting for them on arrival.
Black Sky Brewing, a second Denver brewery and tap room, is the Judas Priest to TRVE’s Norwegian black metal. Co-owner Lila Mackey thinks beer and metal have always been an item.
“We just have more places to enjoy them now.” The brewery hosts metal bands to shred among the fermentation tanks — Mackey says it makes the beer taste better — and has thrown its own festival in the past featuring beery thrashers like Municipal Waste, Ghoul, along with local stars Speedwolf (another Black Sky Fest is scheduled for this December).
While the metal brewing trend has certainly seen more popularity in Denver, Boulder isn’t far behind. As Nunns’ observed, many small breweries like to show off their dark sides these days — Avery Brewing has its Demons Of Ale series, while Mountain Sun sports its Headbanger Helles Bock and Shadow Master Belgian Stout. And while jam band-friendly names and labels may sell better in Boulder, metal remains part of the brewing process. John Fiorilli of Mountain Sun says, “While we are known as the ‘hippie’ brewpub around town, our brewery team listens to quite a bit of metal while we work.”
As metal beer and brewing become more recognized, so increase a metalhead’s options. Iron Maiden’s Trooper Ale has become a staple of any beer warehouse, while underground black metallers like Behemoth and 1349 have endorsed their own brews. But between its long history of craft brewing and its appreciation for underground outlaw culture, Colorado has proved the perfect breeding ground for craft beer and heavy metal’s demon spawn, and will no doubt attract thirsty headbangers, and hopefully convert some of the metal-curious to the faith..
“You come here on a Friday night and it’s packed with people in their work clothes,” says Nick Nunns. “They’re attracted to quality beer. Hopefully they come here and find some metal they like, too.”
