Brookston Beer Bulletin

Jay R. Brooks on Beer

  • Home
  • About
  • Editorial
  • Birthdays
  • Art & Beer

Socialize

  • Dribbble
  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Powered by Genesis

You are here: Home / Beers / Get Your Freak Out

Get Your Freak Out

August 14, 2006 By Jay Brooks

Tony Magee, the iconoclastic owner/brewer of Lagunitas Brewing has been a big Frank Zappa fan most of his life and this year marks the anniversary of the release of Zappa’s first album, the Mothers of Inventions’ Freak Out. Tony spoke with Frank Zappa’s widow, Gail Zappa (who runs the Zappa Family Trust), and obtained permission to use the colorful album cover on the beer label for their new Freak Out Ale. Very different in appearance from most Lagunitas labels, the beer nonetheless is in keeping with their rebel chic ethic. And as mentioned on the label, let’s not forget Frank Zappa’s most famous beer quote:

“You can’t be a real country unless you have a beer and an airline — it helps if you have some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least you need a beer.”

— Frank Zappa

Click on the label for a larger view.
 

Filed Under: Beers Tagged With: Bay Area, California



Comments

  1. scott says

    August 16, 2006 at 9:29 am

    That is FANTASTIC!!! I live in Pennsylvania, how can I get a case???
    PLEASE help!!!!!

    Scott Reinard

  2. Trendmonger says

    August 16, 2006 at 10:22 am

    Can’t wait to use it for Braised Venison.

  3. Justin says

    August 16, 2006 at 1:11 pm

    ya where can i get some i live in mass springfield area amherst im thinking or northampton.

  4. Frank says

    August 17, 2006 at 6:35 am

    An interesting gimmick, perhaps, but what would Frank say about his music and likeness being used to promote a beverage of he was known for not being particularly fond?

  5. Joe says

    August 17, 2006 at 12:20 pm

    as I said…this stuff totally kicks ALE!!

    You want Roxy? Go elsewhere!

  6. Tom says

    August 17, 2006 at 1:18 pm

    Hey Justin, there’s a store in Davis Square (Somerville, MA) called Downtown Wine & Spirits
    which regularly stocks Lagunitas varieties but I haven’t seen this one yet.

  7. Justin says

    August 19, 2006 at 10:09 am

    nice my girlfriend lives in somerville i know exactly where that is. ill have to check it out thanks

  8. Bob Again says

    August 21, 2006 at 2:29 pm

    I’ve heard a West Side Story – inspired brew may also be in the wroks. I feel pretty.

  9. EyeChartBrew says

    August 23, 2006 at 5:13 pm

    My only thoughts on Frank Zappa are how they relate to Steve Vai, and, by extension, Devin Townsend.

    In other words, Frank was cool, but the guys he influenced later on more than surpass Frank’s talented-yet-very “out-of-left-field” efforts…..
    //TB

  10. larue says

    September 8, 2006 at 4:34 pm

    Be sure to read the entire quote on the label

    Steve Vai surpass Zappa? in what? finger exercises?

  11. monkeythepig says

    September 19, 2006 at 1:04 pm

    > Frank was cool, but the guys he influenced later on more than
    > surpass Frank’s talented-yet-very “out-of-left-field” efforts…..

    no doubt vai and townsend would be flattered by this statement, but they’d also likely beat you in the alley behind a nightclub for such heresy… frank was, besides varese and ligeti, *the* composer of the 20th century.

  12. Len37 says

    September 21, 2006 at 2:34 pm

    American drinks and goes home…
    When will this be available??? For Holloween?
    I’ll take a case!

  13. thejonesfactor says

    October 6, 2006 at 4:01 pm

    I just picked up 4 bottles today and have 1 chillin’ in the fridge as I type.
    Great idea and I hope other ones come out.
    On another note…HERE HERE! ZAPPPA was w/out a doubt “THE” great
    composer of our time!!!

  14. SCOTCH says

    October 27, 2006 at 6:54 am

    On tap @ Bukowski in Inman Sq Cambridge, MA, excellent stuff!!!

  15. Chef Jem says

    November 9, 2006 at 12:49 am

    I first saw the familiar-looking “Freak Out” label at a natural foods co-op and being that I’m an original Zappa “freak” myself, it immediately captured my attention! However, sorry to say, I didn’t buy it. If only it were unpasteurized!
    Then again, I could cook with it and “sneak” a little taste! (Cheers Frank! I know you don’t care about what people think about you, yet I want to at least mention that your musical freedom has yet to be defined and I am still amazed after 41 years!)

  16. flans says

    February 5, 2007 at 3:51 pm

    i hear the next batch will be called LUMPY GRAVY!!
    YUMMY! crank some frank!

  17. Johnnie Midnite says

    November 6, 2007 at 7:23 am

    I just came back from Arizona where I found “Absolutely Free” beer. It was $3.99 a bottle
    and I wanted to take them home full, but forgot about the 3oz. of liquid carry-on and had
    to drink them before leaving. Tasted sweet with a bitter after taste. So…. I came home
    with two empty re-capped bottles for my room.

Trackbacks

  1. Here comes the flood - a weblog about music by Hans Werksman says:
    August 16, 2006 at 5:18 am

    Frank Zappa: Freak Out! beer

  2. The Lemurians will give you serious anxiety. « FANTASTIC WEAPON says:
    February 5, 2010 at 4:08 pm

    […] yeah…head to your nearest Safeway and pick up a Frank Zappa beer (I promise the beer is good/everything else is uncertain), check out The Lemurians, and help me […]

Find Something

Northern California Breweries

Please consider purchasing my latest book, California Breweries North, available from Amazon, or ask for it at your local bookstore.

Recent Comments

  • Return of the Session – Beer Search Party on The Sessions
  • Scoats on Beer Birthday: Scoats
  • You're Not From Around Here - Food GPS on The Sessions
  • Mark Smith on Beer In Ads #4778: Rheingold Can Quench A Dragon’s Thirst
  • Getting Ready to Celebrate St Patrick’s Day – The Blessing of Beer | Red Panda News on Beer Saints

Recent Posts

  • Historic Beer Birthday: Joseph Schlitz May 15, 2025
  • Beer Birthday: Shaun O’Sullivan May 15, 2025
  • Beer In Ads #4969: It Deserves First Prize May 14, 2025
  • Beer Birthday: Brian Stechschulte May 14, 2025
  • Beer Birthday: Dan Carey May 14, 2025

BBB Archives

Go to mobile version