Peter Piper's Pickled Pepper Purple Peated Pale Ale

Never ones to shy away from a challenge, the lads from Moon Dog are back again and writing big cheques.

This time, they've teamed up with Yeastie Boys - themselves not known for introversion - and come out with something that starts with 'ambitious' and takes it up a couple notches for good measure. Beer with peat, and (capsicum) peppers, and god knows what else in it.

It's a pretty fruity nose that builds around a middle core of peat. Xerrex this ain't but it's definitely present. Big sticky head looks good though the body itself is a dark bruised shade of brown amber. Kind of purple, I guess?

The first mouthful is obtrusively carbonated which is a shame, as it fights against the peat and the wider complexity of the beer. Having said that it isn't really as berserk as expected - more like a really nice peat ale than what the label might suggest, and probably far more sessionable than you'd think. The carbonation is the only real downer.. I can see why they'd do it to combat the natural oiliness of peat, but in practice it's a bit overwhelming.

So yes, session peat beer with chillies. Wait, it's 9%? 8.0

Moon Dog / Beer Here Freaks & Geeks

I've had this twice now (first review was sadly lost) and both times for some reason I expect it to come out a red sort of colour - instead it's pretty dark brown / black almost, a hue that means business at a substantial 7.6%.

Also having managed to miss the photo the first time I lined it up with the subtle backing notes of an old crappy microwave this time around. Beer photography awards here we come.

This is a mash-up brew between Moon Dog and Beer Here with all the craziness that entails. There's dark wheat, peat, rye, and oats on the label for just a start, all tied together with farmhouse yeast which makes its presence felt immediately on the aroma along with a slight berry sort of note. It's pretty funky and complex. Pleasing.

Taste wise too this is good stuff - layers of flavour, and I find the peat malt a nice accent to the other notes. I quite like the way it interacts with that funky yeasty character.. you get the feeling it's settled, deliberate and somehow balanced, in a pretty out there sort of way.

Overall not something I'd go out of my way for - but another interesting, flavoursome drop that's well worth a bash. Or two. 7.5

Yeastie Boys xeRRex

Urgh not this again.

And this time it's 10%. So it's a similar story, bog nose as expected, oily texture, remarkably agreeable smoky bacon earthen character..

Wait, what?

Not entirely sure if it's me getting used to it or just the imperial version that's so much better, but I .. would buy this again? It's almost reminiscent of a rauchbier.. but like the pig got off the leash and plowed through a field of mud, flailing and squealing, overwrought with mad rage and confusion.

And as a result I will gladly drink everyone else's leftovers too thank you very much. 7.5

Yeastie Boys Rex Attitude

Righto, another chapter in the beer challenges saga.. for this is a beer with a reputation.

It's apt to paraphrase the label at this point: most people say you can't make a beer with more than 5% peat malt.. so these guys went ahead and used 100%. I was expecting this to pour the colour of a scottish swamp but instead it's remarkably light, though oily in texture.

The nose is where the peat really comes to the fore - my word this is boggy, quite remarkable depth of smokiness tending on bacon but also very much vegetable matter, like a compost heap. This smell does everything it can to kick your nostrils in as you try to taste the beer. Once you actually get there, the beer itself is relatively calm in fact - it's smoky as all get out, and leaves you feeling dry of throat. But always everpresent that odour.. hmm. I can see why this polarises.

The kicker? This isn't even the worst (?) one. There's an imperial version. It's 10%. And it's lurking malevolently in the fridge. Sigh. Um. Worth a try I guess? 5.0