Dogfish Head & the Grateful Dead Launch NEW Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager

MILTON, Del., Feb. 18, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dogfish Head and the Grateful Dead are back for a repeat performance with . This week, the longtime collaborators unveiled their latest year-round brew, accompanied by the launch of Dogfish Head’s “,” an online resource hub for creative exploration. Just like the beer, the “Daydream Playbook” is built on the belief that some of the most meaningful ideas (and the tastiest beers) emerge when wandering off the main path.

Hitting shelves in 6pk/12oz cans nationwide, Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager (5.3% ABV) is an easy drinking American Rice Lager brewed with carefully selected rice and sustainable Fonio grain from Africa, hopped with a mix of Lemondrop and Contessa hops, and brightened with lemongrass, lime and lemon peel. The resulting beer is crisp, clean and super-sessionable with a splash of citrus for a drinking experience reminiscent of sunshine and daydreams. Track down some Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager using Dogfish Head’s Fish Finder.

INTRODUCING THE “DAYDREAM PLAYBOOK”

To celebrate the debut of Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager, Dogfish Head unveiled its “Daydream Playbook,” a digital guide championing creativity, encouraging curiosity and rewarding off-centered thinking – components integral to the dreamer-like ethos Dogfish Head and the Grateful Dead share. Inviting drinkers on an off-the-beaten-path journey, the resources, stories, videos and Q&As featured in the “Daydream Playbook” will act as a living, breathing hub for folks seeking enjoyment, experimentation and the same “road-less-traveled” creativity that has made Dogfish Head and the Grateful Dead the categorial icons they are today.

“Dogfish Head and the Grateful Dead both began as mere ideas, and thinking back to the beginnings of Dogfish, never in my wildest daydreams did I imagine we would one day be collaborating with a group as culturally influential as the Grateful Dead,” said Sam Calagione, Dogfish Head Brewer & Founder. “One heck of a wild ride, our now more than 10-year relationship with the Dead has reinforced my belief in the value of thoughtful, authentic, against-the-grain experimentation ... failures be damned. It is only by continuously pushing the boundaries of the beer and music industries that both Dogfish and the Grateful Dead have blossomed into what we are now, and together, I hope we can inspire others to do the same – to chart their own courses as they embark on their own explorations of goodness.”

Offering a content-rich counterpoint to life’s overly serious hustle culture, Dogfish Head’s “Daydream Playbook” is meant to inspire drinkers and music-lovers alike, helping them turn their daydreams into realities – just like the founders of Dogfish Head and the Grateful Dead have! Check out Dogfish Head’s “Daydream Playbook” at , and bookmark that page, as new content will be added weekly.

A CREATIVE PHILOSOPHY YOU CAN TASTE

Continuing Dogfish Head and the Grateful Dead’s more than 10-year partnership, Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager builds on the success of (5.3% ABV), launched in early 2025. A light, easy-drinking pale ale brewed with Kernza perennial grains from The Land Institute, and hopped with a mix of El Dorado and Azacca hops, Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale was the biggest product launch in Dogfish Head history, concluding 2025 as the #1 innovation 6pk* in the Craft Domestic Specialty (CDS) category.

“Fans of the Grateful Dead are totally engrained in its culture and can easily identify when something doesn’t fit seamlessly with the band’s ethos,” said David Lemieux, the Grateful Dead’s Archivist & Legacy Manager. “It’s Dogfish and the Dead’s shared values of creativity and non-conformity, and their laser focuses on remaining true to themselves that has made this partnership so successful. Fans felt the genuine connection between our brands with Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale and I’m certain they will with Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager, too.”

Similar to Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale, Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager is a light, easy-drinking craft beer option featuring two distinct hop varieties and one sustainability-oriented grain. It also features the Grateful Dead’s iconic “Steal Your Face” logo on its bright green and psychedelic yellow packaging, just like its predecessor. Complementary offerings, Grateful Dead Citrus Daydream Lager and Grateful Dead Juicy Pale Ale will live side-by-side in Dogfish Head’s year-round lineup of beers.

For more on Dogfish Head and the Grateful Dead, see and , respectively.

*Circana 52 W/E 12/28/25

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DOGFISH HEAD CRAFT BREWERY:

With quality, creativity and non-conformity at its core, has been committed to brewing unique beers with high-caliber culinary ingredients outside the Reinheitsgebot since the day it opened nearly 30 years ago. Dedicated to exploring goodness of all kinds, Dogfish Head later expanded its beverage artistry beyond just craft beer to produce award-winning portfolios of full-proof spirits – whiskeys, gins, vodkas, rums and more – and spirits-based, ready-to-drink canned cocktails. A brand and proud supporter of the Independent Craft Brewing Seal, Dogfish Head is a Delaware-based entity consisting of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, a production brewery and ; Dogfish Head Distilling Co., a production distillery; , a brewpub and live music venue; , a seafood and cocktail spot; and the , a beer-themed, canal-front hotel. For more about Dogfish Head, please visit or follow the brand on social media.      

GRATEFUL DEAD:

The Grateful Dead is a social and musical phenomenon that grew into a genuine American treasure. In 1965, an entire generation was linked together by common ideals, gathering by the hundreds and thousands. This movement created a seamless connection between the band and its fans. As the band toured, Dead Heads would follow. Not because it was a part of popular culture but because it is a true counterculture that exists to this very day-one that earnestly believes in the value of its beliefs. By 1995, the Grateful Dead had attracted the most concertgoers in the history of the music business, and today remains one of the all-time leaders in concert ticket sales. Eventually, the caravan evolved into a community with various artists, craftsmen and entrepreneurs supplying a growing demand for merchandise that connected them to the music with their final tally being 2,318 total concerts. The band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and received a Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007, commemorated in the 47th class of the Kennedy Center Honorees, as well as the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year honored at the 67th Annual GRAMMY® Awards. The Grateful Dead celebrated their 66th Top 40 album on the Billboard chart —a feat no other artist has achieved —claiming the Guinness World Records title for the most Top 40 albums charted on the US Billboard 200.

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