Feral & 2 Brothers Collaborator 2012

I must admit I bought this one almost entirely based on the Feral reputation but happily the gambit payed off.

It's a brown ale but not typical to the style, delivering if anything a brown version of the stalwart hop hog. This is a pretty interesting experience with its lush green herbal notes first up, then more typical caramel brown ale performance in the back half with nice nuttiness. It's in some ways a clash of styles as the grassiness doesn't really meld with that dark finish, but there's not a great deal of jarring in the experience - it's more an pleasingly docile, intellectual manticore than a misguided attempt at a frankenstein.

My feeling is if you were really after a brown ale, this might not scratch your itch. Taken on its own merits though it seems a massively drinkable beer and another interesting take on a style. 8.0

Feral Golden Ace

Back to Feral once more for their Golden Ace, which along with the excellent Hop Hog has become pretty widely available in the west of late.

This one's built with the Sorachi Ace hop, a Japanese effort known for its lemony flavours which are apparent off the bat.

It's a bubblegum sort of lemon nose that casts me way back to when Boags used to put out a little beer called St George. Used to be considered a premium drop for us lager swilling young idiots. Looking back it was pretty unrefined - and so is this.

Can't say it's too enjoyable, there's a lack of character past the citrus burst and it all feels a bit, well, cheap. Except it isn't. 5.5.

Feral Hop Hog

Feral's Hop Hog, first tried at the Sail and Anchor, now in bottle format direct from the Swan Valley.

I had a pretty rocky beginning with Feral - certainly didn't appreciate the white lager much over a couple of tastings last year - but Hop Hog at least has been a fun revelation. It's got a great boisterous nose on it and you know from the start you're in for a herbal, floral kick of hops. Bitterness is not extraordinary but comes in nicely throughout. It's quite quenching and at 5.8% a good match for the body.

Head retention is exceptional for this beer - it maintains a lovely, powdery head all the way to the bottom over the dark amber body. This is consistent over numerous pours in different glasses.

Hop Hog's starting to turn up in Woolworths bottle stores now which is nice, and I understand Feral have entered a venture with Nail brewing to rapidly expand production also. Can't wait to see more of it about & will need to get up to the brewery sometime soon also. A solid 8.5 and puts a smile on my face every time.