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Lagunitas goes heavy metal with release of Trooper IPA

A beer made to honor a half-century of Iron Maiden

By Mark Stock Published May 6, 2026

Guitar, Musical Instrument, Guitarist — Clem Onojeghuo / Pexels

Lagunitas Brewing Co. is about to release a new beer, one that truly turns up the volume. The West Coast IPA is made in honor of Iron Maiden, legendary hard-rock act out of London. The name comes from Trooper Beer, the band’s international beer portfolio.

Collaboration beers are fun on multiple levels and this one is no different. Coming in at 6.6% ABV, the beer touts 55 IBUs and a hop-forward profile. The beer officially drops on June 6th and will be available at many large-scale supermarkets throughout the nation.

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The timing is intentional, as Iron Maiden is celebrating 50 years on stage. There’s a new documentary about the act, Burning Ambition, and the band will even tour the U.S. again later this year. That’s worth a toast.

Many of you now about Lagunitas, a long-standing servant within the craft beer world. The California-based brewery helped popularize the IPA and got its start back in 1993. It has since partnered up with Heineken and is one of the larger purveyors on the west coast scene.

The brand is virtually synonymous with the India Pale Ale style of beer so it’s no wonder that it chose the bold category for this release. If you’re going to go head-to-head with Iron Maiden, you better bring the noise. This one certainly does that, while still maintaining a clean and crisp drinkability.

Look out for the beer in the coming weeks at stores near you. And if you’re really a fan, start sniffing out tickets for the band’s triumphant return stateside.

Contributor

Mark Stock is a writer from Portland, Oregon. He fell into wine during the Recession and has been fixated on the stuff since…

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Liquor, Beer, Wine & Drinks

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