It’s safe to assume the X Ambassadors, a Billboard-chart-topping band known for such singles as “Renegades,” were beer drinkers before they were famous musicians. “I’m more [of] a beer fan than an expert,” Adam Levin, drummer, tells VinePair. The 31-year-old recalls Magic Hat #9 being a college-age favorite.
In 2019, the X Ambassadors — comprised of Levin, lead vocalist Sam Harris, and keyboardist Casey Harris — released their own beer with Magic Hat Brewing, Magic Hat X. The collaboration, an American Pale Ale, spawned from a visit to the Burlington, Vt., brewery while the band was on tour last year. “We’re all big fans of the beer, they’re fans of us… It was a natural and easy thing,” Levin says.
VinePair caught up with Levin to learn more about the Los Angeles-based trio’s connection to beer, as well as what’s stocked in their beer fridge, and what they’d be drinking if the tour bus ran out of Magic Hat X.
1. What’s your desert-island beer?
Sierra Nevada [Pale Ale]. It’s nice and hoppy, and crazy, and strong.
2. What’s the beer that made you fall in love with beer?
I think the first beer I really fell in love with was Newcastle [Brown Ale]. That’s probably under the influence of my brother. It’s always been his favorite beer, so I saw him drinking it and wanted to be like him.
3. FMK three beer types: IPA, pilsner, sour?
I would kill the sour beer, I would f*ck the IPA, and I’d marry the pilsner.
4. You’re on death row. What’s your last supper beer?
Something really strong… Sierra Nevada, I’m gonna stick with that.
5. You can only drink one beer for the rest of your life. What is it?
Magic Hat X! I think it’s a limited release, but I know it’s going to be available for a while, and we’re already talking about doing more stuff with [Magic Hat].
6. What’s the best and worst beer in your fridge right now?
On my tour bus, we only have really nice beer… We always have a lot of Guinness, which everyone loves. I don’t think we have a worst. For me, we have a lot of heavy stouts, and I don’t drink those, but other people do.
7. If you could no longer drink beer, what would be your beverage of choice?
Red wine. I like Pinot Noir or Syrah. We actually had some natural wine recently that was really good.
