Below are a few questions about Rex Attitude... the kind that people keep asking.  I thought it'd be useful to put some answers down in one place.  It's a beer we still don't understand completely... and that's why it's the most exciting beer we've ever released.  Feel free to ask more questions and we'll add in answers.

How is it a "whisky-beer"?

The term "whisky beer" is definitely contentious.  Is there actually such a thing, or is it an oxymoron?  After all, it can only be whisky once it is distilled (some would say after it has spent three years in wood)..   

Rex Attitude is made with “heavily-peated distilling malt” which is specifically malted for Whisky distillers. Many breweries around the world have used small proportions of this malt before (up to 3% of the total malt bill is the most I've heard of but I'm sure some breweries have gone higher). Many breweries also age beer in wood barrels previously used to store Whisky. But, in our opinion, neither of these methods come as close to recognising the "terroir" of whisky.  This beer is all about the peated malt.   

Interestingly we've not actually been asked this question by anyone who has actually nosed the beer... this is the most revealing reason as to why we've described it this way.  It smells like whisky, without the big alcohol heat.  
 

Is this really the world's first whisky beer?

Several things appear to be less contentious than whether it is a "whisky beer" or not. It does appear to be the world's first commercially brewed 100% peated-malt beer. It may well be the first beer made with a single distilling malt. We certainly have found no reason to believe that it is anything but the world's first (and, yes, we have done some research). 

* A French ale called Adelscott mentions using "whisky malt" and "peated malt", having done so since the late 80's, but their description is well short of making "single-malt" claims (further, being owned by Heineken makes me very dubious that they'd use a type of malt that is twice the price of a standard brewing base malt).   
 

What does it smell/taste like?

Ha, now this is a great question. Lots of brewers and winemakers like to tell you what you should or will smell and taste in a beer.  We think this is personal, based on your sensory strengths and weaknesses, and your mood - it even changes from day-to-day with ourselves. A lot of people get smoked food like bacon/pork, kippers or salmon with this beer but my tasting notes from 04/05/2011 were as follows:  

Pours a brilliant, lambent, pale gold with a airy white foam. The first nose is shocking: campfire ash, medicinal, creosote, coal tar soap... Pulling back reveals a rich fruity undercurrent of jellied feijoa and hints of citrus. The mouthfeel is full, luscious, with a lingering weight and sweet malt. The earthy, almost swampy character is noted through the mid-palate before the hops lend a drying bittersweet finish to the beer.  The smoke returns to coat the mouth in a tannin-like character reminiscent of heavily-oaked red wines.  A great food beer - especially with subtle meat dishes (not smoked meat) or citrus deserts. 
 

Where does the name come from?

Rex Attitude is a great mid-90's techno track from a French DJ named Laurent Garnier.  I was thinking about making the beer when the tune came on my ipod, it was a musical-beer match made in heaven.  Up until a couple of weeks ago, 99% of internet searches for Rex Attitude would have returned results for Laurent Garnier. 
 

Who is going to like this beer?

We don't really know.  I made a trial beer, which Sam and myself loved and were extremely excited by, and from here we decided to have a crack at the commercial batch.  It wasn't until days before the commercial release that I actually had a churning stomach and thoughts of "Shit! What if everyone thinks this beer is awful?".  So far, I've found that lovers of Islay whiskies (or other smoky west coast ones) seem to be the most excited.  To pure beer lovers it is a real headspin... the jury is out in that department, especially to the classic hophead craft beer fan, but those who are open to esoteric beers are extremely excited by it.  If you love beer and whisky, you're probably in for a real treat! 
 

Is it a gimmick?

No. It's just a little different. We love this shit! This beer (as a trial and a commercial beer) has been my first pick everytime I pop into my beer cellar.  As long as people actually buy it, it will be a permanent addition to our range, not a one-off attempt to gain notieriety. All beer to Sam and I, as out-and-out lovers of great beer no matter who has made it, is about balance. We think this beer is beautifully balanced.  Of course, one man's balance is something other folk would think you should be locked up for… it's all subjective.  Many people also thought we were crazy when we released Pot Kettle Black three years ago - now it is just another beer. Time is a greatest revelator. 
 

Am I excited about it?

Hell yeah!! It is the most exciting beer I've ever made by a country mile... It has really captured people's imagination. Everyone has an opinion: from true love to memories of their worst hangovers (one person told me it reminded him of his days as a volunteer fireman!).  As a brewer, and an artist, apathy is the enemy. We don't expect everyone to love it, and we certainly don't expect it to ever become our biggest seller but we do want to invoke a response and make something completely different... Most of all, we both really really love drinking it. 
 

What has been the response to the beer?

The response to the beer was so positive on the release day that we had to place a limit on bottles per customer on the launch day.  We are having to brew the second batch well ahead of schedule and, only 3 days after the launch, we have placed an order with our malt distributor to bring in another two tonnes.  Whisky lovers, especially Islay fans, seem to be the biggest fans and beer lovers are very intrigued whether they love it or hate it.  The press have gone absolutely crazy about it - we've been fielding inquiries from press in NZ, Australia, USA, England and Scotland (and have noticed it being mentioned on websites from a dozen or more other countries).  Whisky magazines appear to be especially interested. 
 

How do you get the "smoke" into the beer?

Malt is germinated cereal grains (usually barley, for beer) which have been dried in a process known as "malting". Some malts are also smoked, in a similar way to how meats and fish may be. In Germany they smoke the malt with beechwood, in Scotland they use peat (basically a form of dried earth from a bog or moor).  We use the latter. 
 

Is it 100% peated malt?  Why source from Bairds?

Yes, it is 100% heavily-peated distilling malt from Bairds' Inverness Malting. We brought in in two tonnes (enough for three batches). Peated malt is pretty rare in the grand scheme of brewing, and options are very limited on this side of the world.  We already source a lot of our malt via Bairds Malt (through their NZ/Aus distributor Cryer Malt) and have found all of their malts to be of the highest quality.  When I decided to trial this beer at home (I only made 30L) it was a case of trying what I could get my hands on - and there is always a few sacks of Bairds' peated malt in the country.  Getting two tonnes was a different matter!!  It took about 3 months between ordering and the malt arriving for brew day. 
 

How did it come about?

4 years ago I organised the NZ homebrew champs. There were a good number of excellent beers entered but a few of them really stood out for me - one of them was from a brewer named John Golics, and he claimed to have used 95% heavily-peated distilling malt (this seemed completely ridiculous, knowing that this type of malt was never recommended at over 1-2%).  The beer was delicious and, although it didn't quite win the judges over, I was both enamoured and very intrigued.  I was already a fan of west coast whiskies but this seemed so subtle, and uncannily drinkable, that I couldn't quite believe that it really was 95% heavily-peated distilling malt.  I'd have to brew one myself to be sure.  Soon after that I got busy with Yeastie Boys, when things went crazy about Pot Kettle Black (another very leftfield ale at the time), and peated-malt ale went onto the back-burner for a couple of years... Then, one day in winter last year, I woke up with the sudden urge to give it a go. While I was thinking about the recipe, and being told by all and sundry that it couldn't be done, a tune called 'Rex Attitude' (by french DJ Laurent Garnier) came on my stereo.  The name instantly seemed to fit.  Brewing this beer would take an enormous attitude.  I've still never met John Golics but I did email him at the time to tell him how much I loved the beer and have just left a bottle with a friend of his.  If he likes it, and it's a success, I may well need to send him some more! 
 

Are you going to make more?

Yes, for sure. We have planned for it to be an all-year-round beer.  We purchased 2 tonnes of the malt initially (enough for 3 batches).  We didn't expect to sell all that much so thought this would last about 6 months.  Three days after releasing the first batch we are putting in an order for 2 more tonnes! 
 

How have people described it?

The great thing about this beer is that, in being so different from the norm, it really frees up the mind of the drinker to describe it in fantastic terms that would normally not be associated with beer (or, if they were, they'd be terribly negative). 

Here is what they have to say...

 
  
More info:

Independent thoughts on the beer, from a few people who have tasted and others who haven't yet, can be found via the following links:

http://regionalwines.co.nz/beer-content.aspx/yeastie-boys-rex-attitude

http://www.regionalwines.co.nz/whisky-content.aspx/rex-attitude-at-bowmore-whisky-night

http://www.brewsnews.com.au/2011/04/giving-beer-attitude/

http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/yeastie-boys-rex-attitude/141260/ 

http://beeradvocate.com/beer/profile/23246/69677

http;//philcook.net/beerdiary/2011/04/29/yeastie-boys-rex-attitude/

And a fantastic group of photos of reactions from the Rex Attitude launch can be found at: http://thebeerproject.com/blog/2011/05/the-rex-attitude/