Swedes Don’t Like Aggressive Beer

The first piece of news is that if you’re an Iron Maiden fan, there’s now a beer for you. The second piece of news is that if you’re going to Sweden you won’t be able to drink it.

Trooper, the new beer for hardcore Iron Maiden fans, is now available in the U.K., and can also be bought online and distributed to a variety of E.U. countries – except Sweden. Why? The label is just too much.

The main representative for Systembolaget, the government-run store that is the only place to sell any liquor above 3.5% alcohol in Sweden, claims that the label doesn’t adhere to Swedish labeling laws, which regard the Trooper beer label too “aggressive” to be allowed into the Swedish market.

Want your Iron Maiden beer? Stick to the U.K. for now.

Twelve fantastically creative airplane paint jobs

To an airline, their airplanes are their best advertising outlet – they may invest millions in billboards and TV commercials, but a creative paint job is what’ll really turn some heads at the airport.

Wired collected twelve of the best paint jobs from airlines around the world, including the Kulula Air jet which we first mentioned back in January. Others include a plane chartered by Iron Maiden and the brilliant Swiss Airlines Flower Power jet. Sadly, the Wired lineup does not include the Qantas 747 Formula 1 jet which flew back in 2000 (pictured above).

So, head on over to Wired, and check out the brilliant creative work on these twelve jets. Got a photo of a jet with a great paint job? Leave a link in the comments section!

Bruce Dickinson: Iron Maiden lead singer or 757 pilot?

Lying awake in my shoebox-sized hotel room in London last week I had the pleasure of watching some quality late-night-jet-lag BBC.

And wouldn’t you have it? Iron Maiden is back on tour! The heavy metal band formed in the late seventies recently embarked on a whirlwind world tour with none other than Bruce Dickinson, their lead singer, at the helm of their tour plane, a Boeing 757.

In case you’re wondering, that’s not a teeny commuter plane that anyone can just go out and get a pilot’s license for — it’s a freaking JUMBO JET.

I’m always amazed and pleased when I see celebrities and famous people branch out from their typical line of work and master another equally difficult field. According to my Breitling magazine ads, John Travolta is into the same thing, to the point that he owns his own 707.

In addition to his numerous talents, Dickinson is also an accomplished radio host and fencer.

Hey Kent, why aren’t you the lead singer of a heavy metal band? Get to work!

Notes from Portugal: Final Note: Iron Maiden Mecca

Can’t say I’m a huge heavy metal fan, but it was cool to find out that the town we were staying in over the New Years, Santa Barbara de Nexe, Portugal, is considered the world-wide center for Iron Maiden fans.

It turns out that bassist and IM founder Steve Harris started a bar there almost twenty years ago and has a local presence, including owning at least one luxury villa on the hill there, in the mountains north of Faro, Portugal.

The bar is named after the skeletal mascot of the band, Eddie, who’s image adorns the front entrance as well as the interior.

Forget “Planet Hollywood” (or “Cabo Wabo,” for that matter), Eddie’s Bar is a real, neighborhood bar, that just happens to be owned by a real metal celebrity.

What better place to grab a cold Sagres cerveza?