Theakston and Rooster’s brew Peculier Assassin in UK collaboration

Peculier Assassin is the sort of collaboration that only works when both breweries bring a clear identity to the table. T&R Theakston, founded in 1827 in Masham, North Yorkshire, joined forces with Rooster’s Brewing Co., the Harrogate brewery founded in 1993, to build a beer that could speak to drinkers across the UK without losing the character that made each name matter in the first place.

The result was a limited-edition 5.4% ABV beer that blended Theakston’s Old Peculier with Rooster’s Baby-Faced Assassin, two beers with strong followings and very different but complementary personalities. The breweries described it as a “bold fusion of heritage and innovation,” and that line captured the business logic as neatly as the recipe did: a familiar malt-led base from Old Peculier, paired with the brighter hop-driven energy that has helped Baby-Faced Assassin win multiple awards, including recognition at the International Brewing Awards.

Format was part of the strategy. Peculier Assassin launched in cask, keg and can, a three-way release that gave it a route into traditional beer-led accounts, modern draught pours and packaged retail at the same time. Theakston said the beer poured deep brown and brought smooth malt richness alongside bright citrus, pine and resinous hop character, with the limited-edition brew also certified gluten free. That combination made it useful not just as a one-off novelty, but as a beer positioned to travel well across channels and reach drinkers where they already buy.

The beer was set to debut at the end of May 2026 at Theakston’s flagship pub, The Black Bull In Paradise, and at Rooster’s Taproom in Harrogate, before rolling out to pubs, bars and retailers across the UK. For Rooster’s, which is now based back in Harrogate with its taproom at Hornbeam Park, the release extended a family-owned, award-winning profile that has kept the brewery visible well beyond Yorkshire. For Theakston, it added another marker to a portfolio and retail push that has included recent listings for Old Peculier and low- and no-alcohol beers, while its own online shop listed Peculier Assassin 12 x 440ml cans at £38.88.

In the end, the collaboration made the strongest case for a very modern beer move: take two heritage names, build a recipe that flatters both, and package it so cask regulars, keg drinkers and can buyers all have a reason to notice the same beer.