“Bringing together a juicy New England IPA with some bright, fruity coffee would make the fruit notes pop while the roasted coffee notes would add a twist to the finish of the beer.”

As we wrote in 2018 about DJ Knife’s brew collaboration that year:

As one of the most sought-after party rockers in the region, DJ Knife has no choice but to spend most of his week around club hoppers who get hammered as part of our nightlife routines. That hasn’t changed since he stopped boozing himself two years back; still, until now, Knife wasn’t sure how he would carry forth with his best-known series of mixtapes that fall under the umbrella title Strange Brew, a name that he concocted in his drinking days. For his Strange Brew 6 outing, Knife decided to go back to beer—not personally, but commercially to push the brand. 

That collaboration was with the dearly departed Down the Road Brewing Co. Now, Knife is back with Strange Brew 7, this one a collaboration with Bent Water in Lynn. Here are the details from the DJ himself:

The beer blends together fruity, bright coffee beans from La Pradera farm in Columbia with a juicy, citrusy New England IPA that is packaged together in a sleek design accompanying a play-list curated by one of Boston’s top beat selectors.

“Coffee and New England IPAs are two things that I love. On a trip to Japan a few years back I encountered an IPA infused with coffee. It was strange, but delicious,” said Adam Denny Golab, Head Brewer at Bent Water Brewing Co. “When asked to make a beer inspired by a mix tape named Strange Brew, I immediately thought of that beer. Bringing together a juicy New England IPA with some bright, fruity coffee would make the fruit notes pop while the roasted coffee notes would add a twist to the finish of the beer.”

Sound-wise, the mix continues the tradition of trying to combine as many musical genres in just under an hour’s time, from Baile Funk, to House, to Jungle and more, in a cohesive manner.

To make things even weirder, Strange Brew 7 will be released in physical format with a choice of “Vinyl CD” or “MiniDisc” (yep, THAT forgotten format) and will be free with purchase of the Beer (*while supplies last). There will also be an online version of the mix if you don’t feel like coughing up a significant chunk of change to purchase a MiniDisc player off eBay.

Along with other analog musical formats once considered to be dead, in recent years MiniDisc has surprisingly begun to make a comeback; with a select few artists putting out the miniature CDs for their artistic merit. Strange Brew 7 aims to do the same combining velvety red artwork matching the disc packaging and can to create a collector’s item. 

Knife hopes that the unique product along with a hashtag will simultaneously help spread the mix online and put MiniDiscs back on the map.

A virtual release party is schedule for Saturday December 19th at 7 pm at: https://www.twitch.tv/hidjpodcast

Strange Brew 7 will be a limited release, with cases hitting select stores around Greater Boston soon. Customers can take a picture of their beer purchase and tag  @djknife and #StrangeBrew7 and Knife will send them a physical copy of the mix in the (postal) mail *while supplies last. In addition Knife will be safely delivering special SB7 packages to people across the city throughout the rest of the year in hopes of making a splash with this latest installment of the series.