Iron Maiden, Robinsons Brewery Deploy Trooper Beer

The devotion with which Iron Maiden fans consume the group’s music certainly applies to the group’s beer too, which works out well for Robinsons. “The fans buy Iron Maiden albums once, whereas this gives them the chance to drink the band’s beer five times a day, every day,” said  Bremner. “It’s an ongoing immersion into the Iron Maiden brand. It’s consistently thanking them for their loyalty.”

Unlike other beer and music collaborations, Dickinson actually visited the brewery several times to help with brewing the beer. When Robinsons launched the beer, said Bremner, “Bruce led the brewery tour for the beer journalists himself.”

The beer market is fairly saturated with music collaborations, with some brewers, like London’s Signature Brew, almost focusing solely on them. But Trooper was really the first one by a British brewery to show such lasting appeal and staying power.

“Beer fans can get quickly fatigued with collaborations,” Bremner said, jokingly bringing up an Oprah Winfrey Gin or a Justin Bieber Vodka. “In the UK, other bands have done this and they’ve failed time after time after time.”

In many cases, the finished beers just weren’t tasty or interesting. “The most essential part is getting a beer that the fans are going to enjoy,” Bremner said.

The majority of beers sold in Britain are 4 percent ABV or under, and when Robinsons debuted Trooper at 4.8 percent ABV it immediately began outselling older, more established brands with its richer flavor profile and “distinctive look” featuring the zombified Iron Maiden mascot, Eddie the Head, on its taps and label artwork.

Even in American beer shrines with over 120 craft brews on tap, Trooper gets noticed due to Iron Maiden’s massive worldwide reach via its social media following.

“I’ve been working in the beverage industry for 18 years,” Bremner said. “Trooper is the only beer I’ve dealt with that actually puts people in pubs – we tell the fans where to find the beer on social media, and it drives people into that pub.”

(Editor's Note: Bremner told BC that big news was on the horizon regarding Trooper, and shortly after completing this interview, Robinsons announced Trooper 666, a 6.6% ABV ale created in celebration of the 10 million pints of Trooper sold around the world and the 40th anniversary of Iron Maiden's formation.)