Last Saturday Regional played host to a
world first. Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude, the worlds first 100% peated malt beer,
was released in the shop to much Scottish fan fare!
Rex Attitude has been brewed with 100%
peated malt of the sort that is used by the whisky distillers on the west coast
of Scotland.
Brewers do occasionally use very small amounts of this peated Scottish malt,
Marlborough brewer Renaissance use a tiny amount in Stonecutter their Scotch
Ale, but the amount never exceeds 3%. Having been told that 5% was the absolute
maximum amount he should consider using Yeastie Boy head brewer Stu McKinlay decided he would in his own words
"ignore the wowsers” and start with 100% on his trial batch and scale it back
from there if he felt it necessary. The resulting beer made an appearance at
last October’s Playing Favourites with Stu McKinlay
and Sam Possenniskie tasting. At the time I described it as pouring "a light golden colour
and positively broadcasting an aroma of heathery smoked kippers. In the mouth
the beer was incredibly balanced with light fruity hops, massive smoke and
sweet rich malt all playing their part before a rounded wonderfully complex
finish.”
Now the full
production batch has been released on the unsuspecting public of New Zealand.
Saturday’s launch party was a full McKinlay family affair with Stu’s father David
preparing a haggis for the occasion, his brother Steve pipping it into the
store and Stu addressing it in enthusiastic Robbie Burns style.
One thing that has
become apparent over the last week is that the beer is changing rapidly with
the big volatile peated malt character quickly starting to smooth out and
change from what was initially a big ashen character and is starting to
resemble lighter smoked notes.
Currently Rex
Attitude has a big heavy peated malt nose with a touch of medicinal spiciness
and some of the heathery smoked kipper notes that were evident in last year’s
trial batch, in the mouth the beer is light and fruity with an obvious citrus
note from the Willamette hops before a long
lingering smoky finish.
I’m sure Rex Attitude will continue to change as it ages, peated malts like
this usually ‘sleep the sleep of the just’ in wooden barrels for years, slowly
mellowing before they are drunk. The only way to find out is buy a bit and put some
in the cellar