In early fall, Dogfish Head Craft Brewery will celebrate the spirit of indie rock greats Guided by Voices with the imperial lager BEER Thousand.

Just as Dogfish Head has always brewed the beers we want to drink instead of bending toward trends and tradition, Guided by Voices has always made the music they want to listen to.

“We're only making records for ourselves,” GBV frontman Robert Pollard says, “I’m going to put exactly what I want on them.”

To celebrate that independent spirit and the 20th anniversary of the band’s classic album Bee Thousand, Dogfish Head has brewed BEER Thousand. This imperial lager, chosen to echo the copious amounts of lager that fueled GBV’s garage recordings, is brewed with 10 grains and 10 hop varieties, and clocks in at 10% ABV.

10x10x10 = BEER Thousand.

"I can't believe it's been 20 years," says Pollard. "But I'll drink to that."

BEER Thousand will make a special sneak preview at tonight’s Guided by Voices show at Barrymore Theatre in Madison, Wis. (tickets available here). A small batch also will be available at Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats in Rehoboth Beach, Del., while supplies last.

In early fall, BEER Thousand will be packaged and released throughout Dogfish Head's 30-state distribution network, pending local approval. Accompanying the beer release will be a 10-inch record with 10 songs recorded live June 25, 1994, during the "Insects of Rock" tour, the band's first tour.

Guided by Voices also will be playing a Dogfish-sponsored show Aug. 21 at the recently refurbished Milton Theater, just blocks from Dogfish Head’s production brewery in Milton, Del. Stay tuned for ticket information.

Bee Thousand, released in 1994, was the band's breakthrough album and has been hugely influential and revered. Bee Thousand made numerous 'Best of the '90s' lists, including No. 4 on Pitchfork's, ahead of Nirvana's Nevermind. Spin Magazine put Bee Thousand at No. 26 in The Best Albums of the Past 25 Years and named Pollard one of the Top 50 Frontmen of All Time. In 2006, Amazon ranked Bee Thousand No. 1 on its list of the 100 Greatest Indie Rock Albums Of All Time.