Iron Maiden’s frontman, Bruce Dickinson, is an ardent beer geek. He’s been working with Robinsons Family Brewers since 2013 to brew English Ales under the Trooper label. Dickinson and Master Brewer Martyn Weeks decided to change it up for their fourth collaboration — leaving the bitters of English ale behind and indulging in the Belgian style ales. What they came up with they called ‘Hallowed.’
This isn’t just some celebrity endorsement of a product for profit. Dickinson has a deep love of beer and is involved in the entire process from conception to brewing the beer to drinking it. The Iron Maiden giant recounts on the Trooper website: “I’m a lifelong fan of traditional English ale; I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when we were asked to create our own beer.”
The team started out with the Extra Special Bitter called Trooper — which is still the signature Iron Maiden brew. Over the years Robinsons and Dickinson have expanded their beer brewing dreams with two limited releases, Trooper Red ‘n’ Black Porter and Trooper 666 (a higher ABV ESB) to rousing success.
“I’m a big fan of Belgian beers, so I jumped at the chance to brew my own,” Dickinson explained. “What makes this brew pretty special is that we’re adopting a Belgian yeast.” Hallowed is brewed with love and respect for the Belgian Trappist Ale and is the first time Robinsons has dabbled in Belgian yeasts. Masterbrewer Weeks lays it down, “it’s all in the yeast.” He continues, “you can sniff out a Belgian beer simply from its aromas: fruity, spicy and earthy.”
Unfortunately, this beer is going to be hard to come by. The brewer is based in Stockport just outside of Manchester, England. They plan to release the beer to the public this October for a limited run of only four months, so you might be looking at a trip if you want a sip.
(Via Ironmadienbeer.com)
