The Local Taphouse Goes Feral.
(For all the right reasons).

Approximately 24 hours after leaving The Local Taphouse, I am writing this blog to share my experience from the Feral Tap Takeover that is currently taking place in Melbourne and Sydney at both Taphouses.
Yesterday afternoon I made my way to Carlilse St in East St Kilda to the Local Taphouse to sample 20 beers brewed in the Swan Valley at Feral Brewing Company all tapped that day.
Brendan Varis and his team have been very busy brewing, so the Taphouses' could showcase these 20 Feral beers, some that have up until now only been exclusively poured at the Swan Valley Brewery.

There is 1 lager and 19 ales to sample, some I have tried before, at Feral Brewery, on tap at various pubs in Melbourne or in bottled form i.e. White and Hop Hog both readily available around the country.
I followed the tap list from Beer 1 to 20 on four paddles accompanied with water crackers and much cold water to cleanse the palate, I then had four glasses from some of my personal favorite beers on the day.

Feral Tap List.

Paddle One consisted of Bohemian Pilsner, Feral White, 983 Pale Ale, The Runt and Sail and Anchor
IPA.
I really enjoyed the 983 Pale Ale which uses the Sorachi Ace hop from Japan, it has been used by  brewers recently in a couple of seasonal ales and is becoming increasingly popular. This ale was really light and zingy, with the zesty lemon fresh characteristics of the hops really coming through.
The Pilsener was a nice balanced lager typical of style, with a tasty spicy hop finish.
I was a bit disapointed with the Sail & Anchor IPA which is contract brewed for the S&A pub in Fremantle it didn't live up to my expectations of a big hoppy IPA.

Paddle #1 Beers 1-5. (L-R)

Paddle Two was the one I was looking most forward to, it consisted of the Saisons, the Gose, a Farmhouse Ale, a Wild Ale and a Double Wit. All these beers were exceptional and I enjoyed them all, particularly Jose the Gose and Funky Junky a Wild Ale made with wild yeast from the Swan Valley. The Gose was the most anticipated of the beers on this paddle, it is a style neglected and forgotten around the world and most recently bought back to life by Doctors Orders Brewing in Sydney, prior to this Gose coming out of W.A.
It was an interesting ale, sour on the nose, very minerally, with salt and spice evident, it was very smooth finishing. A very tasty ale I am keen to have again.
Funky Junky was also a stand out, very sour aroma's, light mouthfeel, big sourness on the palate, that didn't linger. Again a very interesting style, one I would love to try again.

Paddle #2 Beers 6-10. (L-R)

Jose the Gose.

Funky Junky.

Paddle 3 consisted of a Brown Ale with an interesting name Nice Guy Dud Root, the superb Smoked Porter, 2 Hop Hogs (Standard  and a big Woody Barrel Fermented version), and the February G.A.B.S. hit Karma Citra.
The Brown Ale was the disapointment on this paddle as with many Brown Ales it failed to "pop" unlike the other beers on this paddle, the Smoked Porter was a surprise, subtle on the nose but powerful on the palate chocolate and sourness also evident, as for the other three I loved them all.
Hop Hog is one of my favorite Aussie beers and his big woody Barrel Fermented brother throws out a huge Oak presence and is so smooth to drink with huge pine and citrus hop flavours. Awesome.
Karma Citra, say no more, again awesome, but I feel it may have been tweaked slightly since G.A.B.S. in February, it tasted roastier and slightly less hoppy. Maybe it was just me, but still an awesome Black Ale.

Paddle #3 Beers 11-15. (L-R)

Paddle 4 consisted of the darker/bigger Alc/Vol Ales, an Oatmeal Stout, American Red Ale, Dubbel, a Barley Wine, and Boris the Russian Imperial Stout. The Brass Monkey Oatmeal Stout brewed for the Sail and Anchor pub was just so so, light in style, again contract brewed for the S&A pub, maybe that is why it is not a stand out Ale, having said that it could be drunk all night, not like most stouts I would normally drink.
Rust threw out big banana lolly and caramel notes, but not a big Dubbel at 6%.
Razorback was different to how I remember it, but I last tasted it in Summer and in the cooler weather was probably colder than last time it was sampled, still a tasty drop, malty, roasty and warming.
Fanta Pants was one of the reasons I went to the Feral Tap Takeover, a rich red color, big hoppy aroma's, bitter yet sweet it was my pick of the day until Boris stepped up to the plate.
This big brooding bloke hugged the glass with a creamy coffee colored head with a fine lace, this stout is a big 10.2% had a great hop aroma not present in stouts I normally drink and my eventual pick of the day(Just). And also the last beer on the list at #20.

Paddle #4 Beers 16-20. (L-R)

 

 

 

Fanta Pants.

Boris.

All in all a great afternoon sampling lots of tasty beers that we Easterners would not normally get to try away from their natural habitat in The Swan Valley.
Congratulations should go to the team at Feral and the Local Taphouse for such an innovative idea, hopefully this is the first tap takeover and the tradition will continue, even if it is a partial takeover.
Well that was my spin on the day, get there if you can because there may only be one or two kegs of each of these beers available.

Coming up next at The Local TapHouse is the Kiwi Craft Beer SpecTAPular during Good Beer Week, another showcase of quality beer from our friends across the ditch. It will be a ripper. Cheers.