The Grateful Dead x Dogfish Head Drop New Beer — And a Vinyl Album to Go With It
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Toasting the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary this year? Dogfish Head is supplying the beer.
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The craft brewery, which turns 30 this year, is continuing its “long, strange trip” with the Dead in the form of the Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale. The sessionable, tropical-hop-forward ale is wrapped in eye-catching Steal Your Face cans that any Dead Head will recognize from across the bar. Unlike Dogfish Head’s previous Grateful Dead releases, this one will be one of the brewery’s year-round beers. Use Fish Finder to see where the beer is sold near you.
find Grateful dead juicy pale ale
Alongside the beer’s release, Dogfish Head is putting out a limited-edition vinyl compilation album of iconic Dead performances. The records are curated to pair with a Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale (or three), and will be available in select record stores beginning on Record Store Day (April 12).
“It’s kismet that Dogfish’s 30th anniversary in 2025 is the Grateful Dead’s 60th anniversary in the same year,” Dogfish Head Founder & Brewer, Sam Calagione, tells Rolling Stone. “And it’s the 10th year of Dogfish being the official beer of Record Store Day. So we said, ‘let’s really do something big for 2025.’”
The Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale is brewed using Kernza (a sustainably-oriented grain) and oat and honey granola — a nod to Shakedown Street breakfasts, says Calagione. El Dorado and Azacca hops lend some tropical fruit notes, and the final ABV is 5.3%.
find Grateful dead juicy pale ale
In short, Dogfish’s Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale is a lot like the jam band’s best work: approachable and easy for anyone to enjoy. “The rallying cry is the beer designed for Dead Heads of all ages and demographics, shapes and sizes, not just hop heads that are into bitter IPAs,” explains Calagione. “So we’re not calling it an IPA. It’s called a ‘juicy Pale Ale,’ and it’s only 30 IBU (international bittering units).”
“Grateful Dead music can fit any mood or moment, and it’s the perfect music for sitting on a back porch and sipping a cold Dogfish Head beer,” says David Lemieux, the Grateful Dead’s Archivist & Legacy Manager. “The beautiful jazz-infused strains of Eyes Of The World, the slinky blues of Easy Wind, and the lilting ballad Standing On The Moon, amongst many others, makes this live Grateful Dead compilation album essential for summer beer sipping adventures.”
Calagione says they chose long live tracks for the album to match chill beer-drinking sessions. “We’re like; this is a vinyl-only release, let’s get down with some crazy long tracks. And to that end, we’re proud to say that it’s a full-length album, not an EP that only has two tracks on the first side.
Dogfish Head kicked off its partnership with the Grateful Dead back in 2013 with American Beauty, an imperial pale ale that was re-released in 2014, 2015, and 2018. Unlike that beer, the new Juicy Pale Ale is a year-round, core beer in Dogfish’s lineup. See where you can grab a sixer with the Fish Finder here.
To celebrate the new release, Dogfish Head is also hosting a Grateful Dead bash at Brooklyn Bowl in Williamsburg, New York on March 12. The event will include a performance by Grateful Dead cover band, Bushwick’s Dead, and, of course, plenty of beer. Buy tickets here.
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