Feral's Fantapants an IPA fan favourite

Feral has raised the bar.

To be honest it is more like the brewpub than a bar and it has spawned some of Australia’s favourite craft beers.

The Baskerville base was the birthplace of Hop Hog (5.8 per cent). Now Feral have taken the offerings to a new level with the release of Fantapants Imperial Red India Pale Ale (7.5 per cent) in 330ml bottles from next month.

A popular part of the Feral range has been the Brewpub Series releases, which have featured irregularly over a decade. While small batch beers have been regularly turned over at the brewery not all have made it into packaging.

Raging Flem, Karma Chameleon, The Runt, Barrique O'karma and Boris (which later became part of the core offerings) have featured in the Brewpub Series.

Now the orange roughie makes its mark.

Feral national sales manager Steve Finney said it was the right time to release Fantapants to the wider beer market.

““Hop Hog has morphed into what we now consider a big American style Pale Ale. Ninety per cent of consumers still consider Hop Hog to be a very challenging beer, but with time and the evolution of our consumer’s palates, we are now able to brew, release and sell bolder, hoppier, dryer, higher ABV IPAs,” Finney said.

“This shift also influences how we choose to market certain beers styles.”

The announcement comes as Feral hosts a Nationwide Tap Takeover featuring 18 IPAs including Fantapants.

The showcase will commandeer taps of nine venues across six States in the largest IPA tap takeover in the history of Australian craft beer.

Feral’s IPA Showcase commences on tomorrow at Caboose in Mt Lawley. SA, VIC, NSW, QLD and TAS will be tapped on Thursday March 2.

The showcase is a tribute to the growing demand of IPAs in the Australian craft beer market. As evident in the recent GABS Hottest 100 Aussie Craft Beer Poll announced on Australia Day, 24 of the 100 beers to make the countdown were IPAs while Pale Ales are still a clear favourite among consumers with 36 mentions of the popular style dominating the polls.

“Who would have thought we would have venues knocking down our door to showcase 16-plus of our IPA’s on tap at one time, the consumer is far more adventurous than five or even two years ago,” Finney said.