Rumor Mill: Molson Coors Revives Keystone Ice / New Grateful Dead Beer

American Craft Beer|May 13th, 2026|

(Courtesy Dogfish Head Craft Brewery)

One of the most polarizing “budget beers” ever is making its return as part of Molon Coors’ 2026 strategy. We’ve that, “Words to Drink By” and more.

The Long Srange Trip Continues

In March Dogfish Head Craft Brewery generated a “Dead Head” firestorm when they announced they were continuing their long time partnership with the Grateful Dead with yet another new beer.

Dogfish Head and Grateful Dead began their more-than-a-decade-long collaboration in 2013, with the release of American Beauty in 750ml bottles. Perpetuating a ripple effect, this imperial pale ale brewed with organic almond honey and granola was re-released in 2014 and 2015, each year with different Grateful Dead-themed artwork. Then, in 2018, American Beauty debuted in 12oz bottles, followed by the launch of American Beauty Hazy Ripple IPA in 12oz cans, in 2019.And in 2025 Dogfish Head released its fourth collaboration with the legendary band Dogfish Head / Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale, a light-bodied refresher that it is still available.

The newest collaboration between Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and the Grateful Dead is Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager, an approachable 5.3% ABV American lager made with rice and Fonio grain—an ancient West African millet that’s been reintroduced to the craft community by Brooklyn Brewery’s Garrett Oliver as part of his “Brewing for Impact” campaign.

Words to Drink By

“Just because you love it, that doesn’t mean you’ll make any money doing it.” – Bob Lefsetz, Music industry writer and media analyst

Molson Coors Revives Keystone Ice

You might remember Keystone Ice, once a college staple throughout the 1990s and 2000s beloved for its cheap price and high alcohol content before vanishing from shelves five years ago.

After abruptly disappearing from store shelves five years ago, Keystone Ice is now making a comeback as Molson Coors looks to stabilize the company’s performance in its economy beer segment with legacy brands that still maintain strong consumer recognition.

“We have a few things in the pipeline that we’ve announced with our network to make sure we can slow down the leaky bucket in a way for our value part of the portfolio,” said Molson Coors CEO Rahul Goyal in a recent earnings call.