London - When one thinks of the British rock band Queen, one surely thinks of its lead singer, the late Freddie Mercury, down the pub, sipping his lager and then placing it on top of the fruit machine.

And if only the frontman had lived, he would finally be able to celebrate with his own brand of hoppy, golden beer.

Queen are releasing Queen Bohemian Lager to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their 1975 classic Bohemian Rhapsody, joining the ranks of bands with their own beers.

It is, apparently, "golden and hoppy".

The beer is also perhaps appropriate, given that people who have drunk too much lager often believe they can recreate the operatic mid-section of Bohemian Rhapsody unaccompanied.

The link with Bohemian Rhapsody at least enables the beer to reflect lager history.

Lager, though originally German, became closely associated with Bohemia - now part of the Czech Republic - in the middle years of the 19th century, when the town of Plzen became a centre of the brewing industry, developing a pale lager that became known as pilsner.

Queen's own lager is to be brewed in the Czech Republic. It follows their release of their own vodka - Killer Queen - to celebrate the 40th anniversary of their 1974 hit of the same name.

The Guardian