Local Metal Band Launches Their Own Beer

Ramming Speed brews a black IPA. Hilarity ensues.

ramming speed

Photo courtesy of Ramming Speed/Facebook

There’s just something about hoppy beer that seems to inspire angry guitar riffs and guttural screaming. Case in point, Three Floyds’ Permanent Funeral, a boozy, tropical fruit-driven double IPA brewed in collaboration with Virginia grindcore band, Pig Destroyer, or Real Ale’s Iron Swan pale ale, inspired by Austin heavy metal icon, The Sword. Now local metal outfit Ramming Speed has teamed up with Charlottesville, Virginia’s Champion Brewing Company to launch their very own contribution to craft beer’s growing metal canon, “Black Leather IPA,” which the brewery debuted over the weekend.

Drummer Jonah Livingston commented on the collaboration to Beer Alien, describing their first-ever beer project as “a huge-tasting, toasty, hopped out, and brutally dark black IPA.” Unfortunately, the beer won’t make it back to Massachusetts, so Ramming Speed fans will just have to be content with this Youtube video of Peter Gallagher, Kallen Bliss, Snake Chuffskin (best name ever!), Ben Powell, and Jonah Livingston throwing up hand-horns and headbanging to the sound of hops being poured into into a brew kettle.