CULT NEVER DIES
DIPA INTO THE ABYSS
SIGNATURE BREW
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As many readers will know, Cult Never Dies is united not only by our passion for underground metal but also by our love of fine beer, with several members of the extended team having experience in brewing. Therefore, we are very proud to finally introduce our own beer in celebration of 12 years of activity (our first books, Black Metal: Evolution of the Cult and Black Metal: Prelude to the Cult, originally released in late 2013).
The brew is DIPA INTO THE ABYSS, a hoppy old school West Coast style double IPA crafted by the respected London brewery Signature Brew. The beer’s title is a nod to one of our biggest-selling books, Black Metal: Into the Abyss (available again as of November 2025), the DIPA part indicating its status as a double IPA.
For those unfamiliar with the terminology, an IPA is an Indian Pale Ale, a style that originated here in the UK during the 19th century, when pale ales were adapted to have a higher hop and alcohol content in order to help preserve the beer during the long voyage to India. The double IPA – or imperial IPA – is a more recent invention, dating back to the 1990s and pioneered by brewers on the West Coast of the United States, to offer an even greater level of hop intensity and alcoholic strength.
We caught up with the brewer behind DIPA INTO THE ABYSS, Steven Wells, at his station at Signature Brew, for more insights on the forthcoming ale and the process behind its creation.
To begin with, can you introduce the DIPA INTO THE ABYSS and tell us all about its beguiling qualities?
“DIPA Into The Abyss is an old school unfiltered double IPA, hearkening back to 2010 when big punchy American IPAs were deep in the ‘resin wars’ on who could make the most bitter or hoppy beer. It’s on punchy pine sap, papaya and sweet guava; it’s a style not seen as often since the uptake of the hazy, sweet and fruited pale ales that are dominating the taps.”
“We used some special regenerative malt from Muntons, so this beer has less of a carbon footprint than your typical DIPA. We also managed to ironically hit an original gravity of 1.0666! We also used some of the finest old-school hops, and it’s packed full of Columbus, Centennial, and Simcoe – it’s pretty dank.”
For those who may have little experience of brewing, what is the rough process and timeline for the creation of this beer?
“The actual crushing of grains, mashing and boiling only takes around six hours, but then we have to wait for the fermentation to complete. We check on the brews on a daily basis to see how they are evolving, making changes to the temperature and pressure, edging ever closer to being ready to send out to the bar. Because this is a bigger beer we waited around two weeks and then dry hopped it and then cold conditioned it for a further two weeks.”
What are the challenges of brewing a double IPA such as this one?
“It’s got a hefty malt bill; the actual mixing of the grain, as Dayal found out, is a good workout. Working on the recipe, finding the right salt additions for our water, then walking the fine line on the balance of hops, alcohol, and malt sweetness is the key challenge.”
Can you tell us about Signature Brew, your role in the company and how you came to be a part of their team?
“Signature Brew is all about good beer and music. Having three venues, one being a restaurant and the other two being gig venues, helps get good beer into the hands of people out to enjoy live music. I started at Signature a year ago after one of the old brewers was hit by a van (I was not driving the van) and then moved to Scotland. I’m one of the brew team here that sees the beer from creation to the final form ready to go into keg, can or cask.”
Signature Brew has an unusually strong relationship with music and especially alternative and heavy music, can you tell us a bit about that?
“One of the founders was in a punk band before the brewery took up all his time; those roots still hold true to the punk ethos and heavy sound. Recently, Signature has expanded their collabs and gigs being put on, so it’s not exclusively heavy stuff, I think there was an Abba tribute band a month or two ago! There are also a lot of musicians on the team; the marketing manager Matt is in Haggard Cat, and a few of the packaging team have played acoustic sets at the brewery during day festivals.”
Obviously, your own interests and tastes in music overlap significantly with Cult Never Dies – what bands do you find most inspiring would you say?
“For me, heavy music and brewing go hand in hand, the hot crush at the front of a gig is similar to being around the crippling heat of a brewery in the heights of summer, the brutal mashing and boiling is like when the lights go down and the first note of set springs into life, the fermentation tightly controlled like a perfectly played riff. At the moment, I’m heavily inspired by the legendary Belgian band Wiegedood – I’ve even just brewed a Saison inspired by seeing them play their trilogy in Brussels. Gaerea is another band I’m enjoying, and seeing them evolve is like seeing a brew through from bitter sugary wort to a perfect pint.”
To celebrate our 12th anniversary and the first availability of DIPA INTO THE ABYSS, Cult Never Dies is holding an event on the 14th November 2025 at the very brewery where the beer was made. Featuring three of the black metal bands whose records we have released, the event is headlined by none other than YOTH IRIA, featuring ex-ROTTING CHRIST founder Jim Mutilator, who of course also is a key part of our NON SERVIAM book. Support comes from two of the UK’s finest, namely the unholy old school veterans HEATHEN DEITY and the grim and war-inspired STAHLSARG.
Tickets can be bought in advance at: https://cultneverdies.myshopify.com/collections/all/products/12th-anniversary-show
Event page HERE
