Lars Ulrich on Paying Tribute to Chris Cornell, and Metallica’s New Beer

Metallica’s Lars Ulrich has been in the music industry long enough to remember when bands teaming with corporate brands was detrimental to a group’s image. “Remember 20, 25 years ago when the Who got a corporate sponsor for their tour? People said, ‘Ooh, they sold out, they have a sponsor.'”

How times have changed. Speaking to Variety at Los Angeles hotspot No Name, where Metallica held a launch event for the band’s new beer, Enter Night (crafted with Stone Brewing), Ulrich observed: “It’s a whole different thing now and, I think in this day and age, we just love exploring new ways to reach people and communicate. It’s fun.”

Metallica and Stone Brewing Add Another Beer to the Band's Beverage Empire

Metallica has certainly never shied away from beverage collaborations. In 2015, the band teamed up with Budweiser for a Metallica edition of the “King of Beers”in a black can. Last year, the band launched a line of whiskey that was aged with special speakers blaring their music. Heck, guitarist Kirk Hammett even released his own coffee blend back in 2017. But this time, the legendary heavy metal band from Southern California has teamed up with another seminal SoCal institution, Stone Brewing, to create a beer produced with actual input from the band.

25 most important American craft beers ever

What makes an "important" beer? To me, the definition is simple: It's one that either changed consumer tastes or how breweries approach making beer. Some of the beers below have influenced both drinkers and brewers. Others hew more in one direction than the other. Others find their power in the brand or the package even more than the beer. As you'll see, I agree with much of the Food & Wine list but also take several exceptions.

The Beer Jesus From America: Greg Koch

Koch co-founded Stone Brewing Co. in 1996 with Steve Wagner, helping to resurrect the American craft brewing scene. Since then, he’s spread its gospel throughout the world. A tongue-in-cheek “Der Bier Jesus aus Amerika” (translated to “The Beer Jesus from America”) moniker was bestowed upon him in 2014 by The Berliner Kurier, a German tabloid.