The Flaming Lips Beer Is Nearly Here, and It's Inside a Record

While the difficult to categorize psych-rock band The Flaming Lips are no stranger to things that are strange, the Oklahoma City-based band behindan EP inside a life-sized gummy skull, a mix packaged in ananatomically accurate dark chocolate heart, anda signature $106 rye whiskeyhas somehow yet to release a product incorporatingbeer. That is, until later this month, when they'll join craft brewer Dogfish Head to finally release not one, buttwobeer-based items into the world.

First, there's the Dogfish Head "Dragons & YumYums"beer, which the band/brewer teamfirst announced last November, and has just officially been given a release date of late March. Dogfish Head CEOSam Calagione saysthat of all the brewer's collaborations, the Lips were the most hands-on he'd ever experienced, saying the band was "deeply involved in the creation of the beer, the ingredients that were chosen, as well as authoring a song made specifically in tribute of the beer.”

But much, much weirder is that the band is also releasing a limited edition 7" vinyl called "The Story of Yum Yum and Dragon," which features two new songs inspired by the beer for Record Store Day, April 21. And at special events around the country leading up to the day, the band will be offering 100 translucent versions of the record that are actually filled with the beer.

The songs themselves tell the story of dragonfruit and yumberries, two of the ingredients in the beer—and by extension, 100 of the vinyl LPs. The 6.5% ABV beer will also include passionfruit, pear juice, and black carrot juice,and is described by Dogfish Headas "intensely tropical—yet subtlety bitter—pale ale." With the extra bonus of label artwork from artist Marq Spusta, this collaboration certainly seems worthy of the band's weirdness.