Megadeth Bassist David Ellefson Is Now Selling Coffee Stout

In 2017, Megadeth bassist David Ellefson started out on a dark, roasty side project—he opened Ellefson Coffee Co. in his hometown of Jackson, Minnesota. Working with a local coffee shop owner, he created a signature roast known as “Urban Legend” and then quickly added some spectacularly named additional coffees, including “Roast in Peace” and “Kenya Thrash.”

Now, though, Ellefson is releasing his most exciting product yet—a coffee stout made in collaboration with Sioux Falls craft brewery Hydra Beer Co. Urban Legend Coffee Stout will be released the weekend of St. Patrick’s Day throughout the Minneapolis area, with Ellefson promoting the release with a meet-and-greet at Know Name Records. The coffee stout follows several other coffee-infused products that Ellefson is also selling, including “Combat Blood and Bullets Cabernet” and “Combat Hard Cider,” both of which apparently make use of his coffee blends.

The collaboration with Hydra is an easy to understand one, as the South Dakota brewery rocks a heavy metal aesthetic that draws obvious comparison to other heavy metal-inspired breweries, including Surly, TRVE and Three Floyds. Hydra wears their inspiration on their sleeve on the brewery’s website, saying the following:

“We emerged on the South Dakota beer scene in May of 2015 with a heavy metal aesthetic and an excessive volume of creative energy. Our intense visual image has allowed us to push the limit in brewing creating our own unique genre of craft beer combined with modern culture. We continue to break new ground and deliver a unique metal influenced experience to our loyal brethren.”

Ellefson, meanwhile, co-founded Megadeth in 1983 with guitarist David Mustaine after Mustaine had left Metallica. He and Mustaine have remained the core of the group over the years while around two dozen other musicians have joined and exited. Megadeth is still active, and reportedly is planning to record their 16th studio album in 2018.

Here’s hoping that they have enough coffee stout on hand to perk them up for those late night recording sessions.