A band can sell hundreds of thousands of albums, pack out stadiums, adorn untold critics' best-of lists and fill the pool room with awards – but nothing says rock'n'roll success like having a beer brewed in your name.

Sydney rock four-piece You Am I have joined a long line of bands which includes the Beatles, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC and Kiss to be immortalised in ale. This year Iron Maiden (The Trooper) and Hanson joined the club, with their MMMHops beer.

New brew ... an artist's impression of the Brew Am I label. Credit:Benjamin Hay, Honey Rogue Design

To mark their upcoming classic albums tour, You Am I worked with Newtown brewery Young Henry's to produce a 5 per cent alcohol pale ale, Brew Am I, which will be sold in 1 litre bottles called "squealers" and has ingredients from each band member's home region. The rolled wheat came from Western Australia (where singer Tim Rogers and drummer Rusty Hopkinson grew up), the malt from Victoria (as did lead guitarist David Lane) and the hops from New Zealand (home to bassist/manager Andy Kent).

The connection between bands and beer seems blindingly obvious, but Young Henry's head brewer Richard Adamson says there's more to it. "I've never been in a brewery where the stereo hasn't been up full bore – music keeps us sane."