It looks as though the long running collaboration between the worlds of music and beer is going strong in the UK. British brewery Robinsons have recently announced that there is to be a follow up to its successful collaboration with the heavy metal band Iron Maiden.

There is an undeniable link between music and drinking. Imagine the venue for a gig and the image you conjure up will typically include a bar and a floor sticky with the residue of spilt pints. The type of alcohol drunk by specific music fans can be read as a signifier of a larger collective identity. Certain spirits are linked to certain genres; whiskey for example has association with jazz and blues, whilst you might expect to enjoy a glass of champagne in the interval at the opera. Collaborations between breweries or distilleries and musicians serve to further strengthen the connections between alcohol consumption and the music business on a financial level for investors, and on a cultural level for music fans.

This is the case for the collaboration between Iron Maiden and Robinsons, by collaborating with the cult band Robinsons instantly taps into the pockets of its fan base. For the fans of Iron Maiden drinking the beer of their favourite band is a way of extending their loyalty beyond the gig venue and the record shop. As for the beer in question, it is called Hallowed, and at 6% abv Hallowed is significantly stronger than the first Iron Maiden-Robinsons offering, Trooper (4.7%)  Hallowed will also differ from Trooper in its use of Belgian yeast and its nod towards the Belgian style of brewing. The Belgian influence on Hallowed is acknowledged on the label art where the bands signature mascot skeleton, Eddie, is dressed in the robe of a Trappist monk.

Hallowed will be available for four months from October.