The Trooper Lands in Petaluma: My Day at the Lagunitas x Iron Maiden Release Party
- Randall Wilburn
- Jun 8
- 10 min read
There are beer releases, and then there are beer releases...
. ... where you find yourself standing behind a stage at Lagunitas, waiting to perform air guitar under the spiritual supervision of Iron Maiden.
On Saturday, June 6, 2026, Lagunitas Brewing Company hosted the official release party for Trooper West Coast IPA, its new collaboration with Iron Maiden's Trooper Beer brand, at the Lagunitas Taproom in Petaluma, California. The event had the essentials: first pours of the new beer, cans to-go, live music from Iron Maiden tribute band Maiden United, food specials, Trooper merch, and an air-guitar competition with a Fender guitar on the line.
That is already a strong Saturday.
But the real story was not just that Lagunitas released an Iron Maiden beer. The real story was that they made the release feel like a gathering. It was not a sterile brand activation or a random taproom promo with a famous logo pasted onto it. Lagunitas built a full Trooper atmosphere around the day: Iron Maiden visuals, an Eddie's Dive Bar banner, Maiden shirts everywhere, beer fans, metal fans, kids, dogs, and a taproom crowd that understood exactly why a West Coast IPA named Trooper needed to be celebrated loudly.
I arrived just a few minutes before my scheduled 1 p.m. brewery tour, which meant I had enough time for one very important pre-tour task: get the beer.
The Trooper West Coast IPA
The Trooper West Coast IPA was pouring toward the back of the grounds, so I made my way over and ordered my first one. I was excited to try it, but the first impression hit before the first sip. As I raised the glass, the aroma jumped out: grapefruit, floral hop character, and that familiar West Coast IPA
Then came the drink: cool, bright, hoppy, and assertive, with that back-of-the-throat IPA hit that reminds you this is not pretending to be something soft and vague. At 6.6% ABV and brewed with Krush hops, Trooper West Coast IPA is very much an American expression of the Trooper beer universe. It carries the Iron Maiden identity, but it tastes like Lagunitas doing what Lagunitas does well: making a hop-forward beer with enough personality to stand on its own.
That matters. Band-branded beers are common enough now that the novelty alone is not enough. Metal fans know when they are being marketed to, and beer fans know when a collaboration is only a label. This one made stylistic sense. Iron Maiden brought the mythology. Lagunitas brought the West Coast IPA credibility. The beer brought the bite.
The Tour Begins: Waivers, Safety Glasses, and a Blonde Mullet Wig
After that first Trooper, it was time for the brewery tour.
Like most brewery tours, it began with practicalities: sign the waiver, wear safety glasses, and do not show up in open-toed shoes. I signed the waiver without reading it, which probably means I legally agreed not to challenge Eddie to a sword fight in the brewhouse.
From there, our guide Tyler led us into an upstairs space that looked like an old bar in the best possible way. The room was covered with Lagunitas history and memorabilia, the kind of wall-to-wall accumulation that feels earned rather than staged. It had the look of a room that had collected stories over years, which is exactly what a proper brewery space should feel like.
According to Tyler, this room had served as part of Lagunitas' earlier taproom life after the company moved to Petaluma. He also told us the current facility had previously been some kind of medical-related factory or industrial site before Lagunitas turned it into a brewery. The bar itself, he said, was rebuilt using wood from a bowling alley. Across the room, an outward-tilted glass window looked down into the brewery, a detail that made the whole space feel like a strange and wonderful blend of clubhouse, production facility, and beer-soaked observation deck.
Tyler was an excellent tour guide: funny, knowledgeable, and willing to tell stories that felt half historical record and half Lagunitas folklore. He also had the honor, or punishment, of wearing a terrible blonde mullet wig for the Trooper event. This made everything better. A brewery tour is always improved when the person explaining production history looks like he may have briefly escaped from an '80s arena-rock video.
The tour tasting was woven into the experience rather than saved until the end. We were given three samples: flagship Lagunitas IPA, A Little Sumpin' Sumpin' Ale, and a mystery beer we had to guess. The mystery beer turned out to be Hop Stoopid, Lagunitas' big, bitter, 100-plus IBU hop bomb whose public beer records date back to 2007.
Most brewery tours let you try the beers after the tour is over. Lagunitas makes the beer part of the tour itself, which is the correct approach. Beer tastes better when someone is telling you why it exists. Before the next part of the tour, our group were poured a Trooper West Coast IPA, which made it my second Trooper of the day. Thank you, Tyler.
Inside the Brewhouse
Next, we headed down into the main brewery area, where the scale of Lagunitas really started to sink in. I have visited a lot of breweries recently, across the United States and in the UK, and the Petaluma operation is bigger than most of the taproom breweries I have been to. Lagunitas may have a laid-back public personality, but once you walk through the production areas, it becomes obvious that this is a serious brewing facility.
We moved through areas where Tyler explained parts of the brewing process, including grain handling and the whirlpool.
One of the most interesting parts of the tour was the R&D area. Tyler talked about the collaboration between Bruce Dickinson and Lagunitas Brewmaster Jeremy Marshall, explaining that Dickinson had been looking for the right partner to create a West Coast IPA under the Trooper banner. According to Tyler's tour account, Dickinson had considered multiple breweries, but the match with Lagunitas clicked after he spent several hours with Marshall. Publicly, Lagunitas and Iron Maiden have said the creative spark between Dickinson and Marshall was immediate, and Dickinson praised Lagunitas as a "watchword for west coast brewing excellence."
Standing inside the brewery while hearing that story gave the collaboration more weight. It was no longer just a press release about a new beer. It became clear why Lagunitas was the right partner for this specific Trooper expression. If you are going to make an American Trooper beer and call it a West Coast IPA, you need a brewery with actual West Coast IPA history.
The tour also included the less romantic but very real parts of brewing: tanks, smells, kegs, hoses, recycling, and logistics. Near the tanks, you could smell malt and beer in progress. Other smells were less beautiful, but that is brewing. Lagunitas also has a sustainability side, including recycling brewery byproducts for agricultural use, that goes out to local farmers. Beer may be fun in the glass, but getting it there involves a lot of labor, equipment, cleaning, hauling, and problem-solving.
One detail I loved was seeing how kegs are moved. Full kegs are heavy, and Lagunitas uses equipment to help workers lift and move them safely, including suction-assisted handling and carts. It is the kind of behind-the-scenes detail that makes you appreciate every pint a little more. Someone had to brew it, package it, move it, and get it into your hand.
Late for the Reservation, Still Right on Time
By the time the tour ended, I was about 20 minutes late for my 2 p.m. table reservation. Fortunately, the taproom staff still took care of me.
Food came next, starting with a very good mac and cheese starter. Later, I had a pretzel with beer-cheese sauce, which is exactly the kind of food you want while spending the afternoon drinking IPAs and listening to Iron Maiden songs outside. I also tried Pleasant Pils, Lagunitas' Italian-style pilsner, because as much as the day belonged to Trooper, the wider tap list was worth exploring.
That is one of the advantages of holding a band-beer release at an actual brewery instead of a generic event space. You can come for the collaboration but still experience the broader identity of the place. Lagunitas had the Trooper event dialed in, but the taproom still felt like Lagunitas: casual, dog-friendly, busy, and full of little weird details.
I sat there listening to Maiden United and looking around at the Trooper decorations, the special merchandise booth, and the giant Eddie's Dive Bar banner. That banner seemed like a nod toward the larger Trooper rollout and the Beer Roadie campaign tied to Iron Maiden's U.S. tour activity later in the year. The whole setup made the Petaluma event feel like the first chapter in a bigger summer story.
Early in the day, when I first heard music on the grounds, I thought the band had already started. Someone corrected me: "Oh no, I think they're just playing Maiden on the speakers."
That pretty much sums it up. When the house music and the live tribute band are both Iron Maiden, confusion is inevitable and completely acceptable.
The Air-Guitar Contest: A Bad Idea That Became a Good Story
Then came the air-guitar contest.
I was taking photos of the venue and the contest setup when I noticed that only a handful of people had signed up. The announcer started calling for more contestants. There were more slots available, and the crowd needed volunteers.
This is when the dangerous part of the brain activates.
I thought: Why not throw my hat into the ring?
That is how I ended up behind the stage with the other contestants, preparing to perform invisible guitar at an Iron Maiden beer release party.
Some people were clearly better prepared. Some had moves. Some had presence. Some looked like they had spent years waiting for this exact opportunity. I was not one of those people, but I gave it a shot.
Victor was the victor....
The performances were fun, and several contestants did a much better job entertaining the crowd than I did. I did not win. I did not even place fifth (I'd to think I was 6th ...6th... 6th...). The winner, Victor, looked the part in what appeared to be a classic Piece of Mind-era Iron Maiden raglan tour shirt. He won the Fender guitar, and from what I saw, he earned it.
As for me, I walked away with a free beer and a small cloth Lagunitas Trooper banner. That is not losing. That is field research.
Heavy metal has always had room for participation over perfection. Sometimes you nail the solo. Sometimes you make the person after you look more impressive. Both are valuable contributions to the culture.
Maiden United and the Fan Factor
Maiden United provided the live Iron Maiden soundtrack for the day, and that choice was essential. A Trooper beer release does not need background music. It needs the world of Iron Maiden around it. A tribute band turns the beer from a product into a shared fan experience.
That is also where the day felt most connected to Fermented Metal's mission. This was not just about what was in the glass. It was about how beer and heavy metal create community when they are given the right setting.
Fermented Metal also had a chance to speak with a group of fans who had taken a rideshare all the way from San Francisco, roughly 50 miles or more depending on where they started. That was a smart move for a day built around beer, and it also showed the pull of the event. They were connected to the SF Bay Area Metal meetup group, organized by Suhneel, and they came out for the same reasons many of us did: Maiden, Lagunitas, beer, and the chance to be around other people who understood why that combination mattered.
That is the part you cannot manufacture with a label alone. Metal fans show up. They wear the shirts. They bring friends. They compare stories. They take photos. They make the event into something bigger than the product.
The crowd was also broader and more relaxed than someone outside metal might expect. Fans brought kids. People brought dogs. Lagunitas has a strong dog-friendly identity, and that casual taproom atmosphere helped keep the day from feeling overly commercial. It was festive without being forced. Big enough to feel special, loose enough to feel like a Saturday afternoon at a brewery.
Why the Collaboration Works
Trooper West Coast IPA works because it respects both sides of the collaboration.
Iron Maiden brings one of the most recognizable visual and cultural identities in heavy metal. The Trooper brand already has a long history, beginning with the original Trooper beer launched with Robinsons Brewery in the U.K. and expanding into an international beer line over more than a decade. Lagunitas brings its own identity: Northern California brewing, hop-forward beer, and a personality built around music, humor, and taproom culture.
The 6.6% West Coast IPA format makes sense because it is not trying to imitate the original British Trooper ale. It is an American Trooper expression. It speaks in a California hop language. Grapefruit, floral notes, bitterness, and resin belong here. This is not just Trooper wearing a new outfit; it is Trooper translated into West Coast IPA form.
The release party worked for the same reason. Lagunitas did not just pour the beer and call it a day. They built an experience around it: tour, live music, special merch, food, air guitar, Eddie visuals, and fan gathering. It felt like a proper launch because it gave fans a reason to stay, talk, drink, listen, and participate.
Final Pour
By the end of the day, I had tasted the new Trooper West Coast IPA, taken the Lagunitas brewery tour, learned some brewery history, smelled the tanks, watched keg-handling equipment in action, eaten mac and cheese and a pretzel with beer-cheese sauce, tried Pleasant Pils, listened to Maiden United, interviewed metal fans from San Francisco, and entered an air-guitar contest I had no business entering.
That is a successful release party.
The Trooper West Coast IPA release at Lagunitas was fun because it understood the assignment. It treated the beer seriously, but it did not treat itself too seriously. It honored Iron Maiden's mythology without turning the day into a museum exhibit. It let Lagunitas be Lagunitas: big, weird, friendly, beer-focused, dog-friendly, and willing to put a tour guide in a bad blonde mullet wig for the sake of the bit.
There was grapefruit on the nose, hop bite in the throat, Maiden on the speakers, Maiden on the stage, Eddie on the banner, dogs under the tables, fans in the crowd, and one very questionable air-guitar performance from the editor of Fermented Metal.
In other words, it was exactly the kind of day this magazine exists to cover.
The Trooper landed in Petaluma. Lagunitas made sure it arrived loud.
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