By Andy Young
The Feral Brewing Co. has taken out the Cryermalt Champion Craft Beer and the Champion Wheat Beer trophies at the 2015 Craft Beer Awards.
Feral won both awards with its Watermelon Warhead sour brew, a light sour German wheat beer that is infused with half a tonne of Swan Valley watermelons.
Brendan Varis from Feral said: "We are out there like a lot of craft brewers, saying that we make beer that we love, that we like to drink ourselves and we have personal respect for.
"This particular beer absolutely personifies this, along with the critical work we put into perfecting this beer. We’re really proud and really appreciative to receive this award."
Chris McNamara, executive officer of the Craft Beer Industry Association, the national body behind the Craft Beer Awards, added: "It has taken a while, but we are finally seeing the rise of sour beers in Australia. We are really excited to be giving this award to such a unique and flavoursome beer. We hope it inspires more people to get out there and try more locally produced craft beers."
This year is the second for the awards, which saw 380 different brews from 91 breweries enter and David Cryer of Cryermalt, the presenting partner of Craft Beer Awards, said: "There is a wealth of top talent right here in our backyard; and it is an exciting time to be supporting such a booming industry."
The Craft Beer Industry Association (CBIA) introduced the Craft Beer Awards in 2014 to encourage and support excellence in Australia's craft beer industry.