Dogfish Head x Grateful Dead: Vinyl Vol. 4 Drops Nov. 27

Dogfish Head Craft Brewery and the Grateful Dead will release "On A Back Porch, Vol. 4," a limited-edition vinyl album of six live recordings, on Friday, Nov. 27, as part of Record Store Day's RSD Black Friday. Grateful Dead archivist David Lemieux and Dogfish Head founder Sam Calagione curated it. It extends a partnership that began in 2013 and is a strong example of beer, music and retail marketing working together.

Updated Nov. 5, 2026

In this article

• What is "On A Back Porch, Vol. 4"?
• Which songs are on the album?
• Which beers are paired with the songs?
• How did the Dogfish Head and Grateful Dead partnership start?
• How did the 2025 Juicy Pale Ale launch set up this release?
• Why does the Record Store Day tie-in work for marketing?
• What can PR and marketing teams learn from it?
• Where can fans find the vinyl?
• Frequently asked questions

What is "On A Back Porch, Vol. 4"?

"On A Back Porch, Vol. 4" is the newest entry in a series of collaborative vinyl albums built around live Grateful Dead recordings and the idea of a beer on the back porch. Lemieux and Calagione picked six tracks from the band's archive. The record goes on sale as an official RSD Black Friday release, in limited quantities, at participating independent record stores.

Which songs are on the album?

The six recordings come from live shows across more than two decades, from 1969 to 1990. Side A and Side B are listed below.

Side A

1. "Blow Away," July 7, 1989, John F. Kennedy Stadium, Philadelphia
2. "Mr. Charlie," May 7, 1972, Bickershaw Festival, London
3. "The Last Time," March 22, 1990, Copps Coliseum, Hamilton, Ontario

Side B

1. "Loser," March 24, 1990, Knickerbocker Arena, Albany, N.Y.
2. "Doin' That Rag," Feb. 28, 1969, Fillmore West, San Francisco
3. "Ballad of a Thin Man," April 1, 1988, Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, N.J.

The mix of stadium shows, festival dates and an early Fillmore West performance gives collectors a tour through different eras of the band, which is part of the appeal of an archive-driven release.

Which beers are paired with the songs?

Like the earlier volumes, this one comes with suggested pairings from the two curators.

• Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale with "Blow Away." Calagione made this pick. The beer is a 5.3% ABV pale ale brewed with Kernza grain and granola. He links the song's theme of life's ups and downs to the beer's easy-drinking style.
• Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager with "Doin' That Rag." Lemieux made this pick. The 5.3% ABV lager uses rice, Fonio grain, lemongrass, lime and lemon peels, and Lemondrop and Contessa hops. He compares its mix of ingredients to the song's playful, wandering lyrics.

The pairings turn a record into a tasting occasion. They also put both beers in front of fans without a conventional ad, which fits the way the two brands have always preferred to reach people.

How did the Dogfish Head and Grateful Dead partnership start?

The two brands began working together in 2013 with American Beauty, a pale ale named for the band's 1970 album. The partnership has grown in steps since then.

1. 2013: American Beauty pale ale launches in 750ml bottles.
2. 2019: The brewery revives American Beauty and releases a 10-track vinyl album, Sage and Spirit, on Record Store Day (April 13).
3. February 2025: Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale joins Dogfish Head's year-round lineup, with a launch event at Brooklyn Bowl in New York.
4. July 2025: A limited-edition 60th anniversary can and co-branded merchandise mark the band's milestone.
5. November 2026: "On A Back Porch, Vol. 4" arrives for RSD Black Friday.

According to Calagione, the 2025 beer came about because the band's team reached out. They said fans kept asking for the Dogfish Head collaboration to return, this time built around the band's most recognized icon, the Steal Your Face skull, combined with the brewery's shark and shield logo for the 60th anniversary year. Each step added a new product or format without changing the core idea, which keeps the story easy to follow and easy for fans to share.

How did the 2025 Juicy Pale Ale launch set up this release?

The 2025 launch was built as a year-long campaign, not a single moment. In a March 2025 interview with Chief Marketer, Calagione said the team planned sustained moments throughout the year so the collaboration would become part of both brands' cultures. The plan included a launch party with a Dead cover band at Brooklyn Bowl, a Record Store Day tie-in, guerrilla activations such as a presence at Fenway Park on its Grateful Dead night, and branded merchandise ranging from bocce kits to cornhole bags.

The band's audience drove much of the response. Calagione said only about 35% of the people who engaged with the can reveal came from Dogfish Head's own social audience, and the majority came from the band's. He noted that the brewery had about 1.2 million social followers at the time and that it relies more on organic fan growth than on billboards and print ads.

The product itself was designed for broad appeal. Dogfish Head called it a juicy pale ale rather than an IPA, kept it at 30 IBUs, about half the hop bitterness of its 60 Minute IPA, and set it at 5.3% ABV so it would suit a wide range of fans, not only hop enthusiasts.

Calagione also described the guardrails of alcohol marketing. He said the brand does not put anyone under 25 in its ads and must not market to people below the legal drinking age, so activations focus on places and moments, such as ballparks and music venues, where fans create content themselves.

Why does the Record Store Day tie-in work for marketing?

Dogfish Head has been the official beer of Record Store Day for more than a decade, and Calagione described 2025 as the 10th anniversary of that role. Record Store Day promotes independent record stores, and RSD Black Friday brings those stores into the holiday shopping season. Dogfish Head is an independent-minded craft brand, although it is part of the Boston Beer Company, and it supports the Independent Craft Brewing Seal. The match between independent stores and an independent-spirited brewer is natural, and the audiences overlap.

Calagione compared the approach to the way Guinness has come to own St. Patrick's Day. A small, grassroots, music-minded brand cannot outspend the giants, but it can claim a cultural date and show up for it every year.

The release also has a clear news hook. It carries a date, a limited run, named curators and a track list, so reporters and fans get concrete details instead of a vague announcement. The brewery's own history helps too: it says it has focused on original beverages, food and music since opening more than 31 years ago, and it has made records and products with The Flaming Lips, the Miles Davis estate, Deltron 3030 and the Grateful Dead.

What can PR and marketing teams learn from it?

This is EPR's analysis of the campaign, not a claim from either brand.

1. Pick a partner with a shared ethos. Both brands built loyal followings by connecting directly with fans. The band became known for letting fans tape its shows, and the brewery grows through community more than through heavy advertising.
2. Let fans start the conversation. The 2025 revival followed requests the band's team was hearing from fans. Demand that already exists makes a launch easier to explain.
3. Keep a partnership going for years. A 13-year run gives fans a story to follow, and each launch builds on the last.
4. Make something collectible. Limited vinyl creates urgency and a reason to visit a store, and it gives fans something to display and share.
5. Tie launches to a shared calendar. Record Store Day gives the release a built-in audience and a fixed date.
6. Sustain the excitement. Drops of cans, merchandise and albums across the year keep the brands in the conversation between big announcements.
7. Let experts curate. Pairing the band's archivist with the brewer lends authority to both the music and the beer.
8. Give the press specifics. Dates, locations, track lists and named curators make coverage easier to write.

Where can fans find the vinyl?

Fans can use Record Store Day's store finder to locate participating independent record stores. More information is at dogfish.com and dead.net. The 20th Record Store Day follows on April 17, 2027.

For more on how beer brands use PR and marketing, see EPR's Beer PR and Marketing coverage. For marketers, the lesson here is that the retail footprint is part of the story. A record sold only in independent stores sends shoppers to those stores, which is exactly the behavior Record Store Day exists to encourage.