Pelican Celebrate 10-Year Anniversary With Box Set and Beer

'Instru-metal' heavyweights Pelican will celebrate their 10-year anniversary with beer. And we don't just mean by drinking it, either. They'll literally have their own beer.

The band will play a hometown show at Chicago's Bottom Lounge on Oct. 23. They'll be joined by longtime friends and occasional collaborators the Life and Times. Perhaps most importantly for beer fiends, Three Floyds Brewing Co. -- recognized internationally as one of the most unique and distinguished microbreweries in the country -- will celebrate the event by unveiling a Pelican Doppelbock.

This particular style of beer has the distinction of being one of the few beers all four band members regularly agree upon. The as-yet-unnamed ale will be served at the Chicago show and at select watering holes and specialty shops around the Windy City for a limited time.

Pelican did have some say about the Pelican-based libation created by the Munster, Ind. brewmasters. "Well, the input we provided was that we wanted to do something in the Doppelbock style, since one of the only beers that all four members of Pelican agree on is Spaten Optimator," guitarist Trevor de Brauw told Noisecreep. "We kind of explained that to Three Floyds and let them follow their imagination from there."

The partnership between the band and the brewery is due to mutual admiration. "We're long time fans of Three Floyds brewery, and last year we struck up a friendship when we found out the feeling was mutual and we were invited to play their annual beer fest, Dark Lord Day," de Brauw said. "We've stayed in touch a lot since, and when they heard about our upcoming anniversary shows, it seemed like a great time to partner on something like this."

In fact, de Brauw is such a fan of the brewery that when asked whether or not he'll buy several cases of the limited-edition beer, he replied, "I buy several cases of everything Three Floyds does that is limited. So yes!"

If you are in Chicago and happen to come across the libation, snatch it up while you can, because once it's gone, it's gone. "Three Floyds only has a few beers that they keep in constant rotation and constantly experiment with new and different recipes in limited quantities the rest of the time. A few make it into their annual rotation, but I don't have any reason to believe this will be one of them," de Brauw explained about why the lager won't last beyond the initial production run.

Pelican will also release a box set on Oct.19 via Viva Hate Records. The elegantly-packaged, wooden box set will be limited to a run of 500 copies and will encompass material from their four full-length releases and three EPs.

"The idea was proposed to us by my buddy Thomas who does Viva Hate Records in Berlin," de Brauw said. "He's done a few of these box sets and they all look phenomenal. He didn't have an event to tie it to really, but his timing in asking us happened to line up with our 10th anniversary, so it seemed like a great time to kind of take stock of what we've accomplished over the last decade.

"There's nothing unreleased in the set, so it's mainly for collectors and for people who appreciate vinyl and unique artwork. The sets will all be packaged in wooden boxes, and the LPs will be in sleeves with new designs based on the album artwork by Aaron Turner."

On Oct. 30, the band will join forces with legendary doom metal overlords Goatsnake to play the Troubador in Los Angeles.

Pelican 10-Year anniversary tour dates

10/23 -- The Bottom Lounge -- Chicago, IL

10/30 -- The Troubador -- Los Angeles, CA