Beer 2 Brothers / Feral Collaborator

What better way to mark 20 years holding the Australian International Beer Awards than to invite two of the most successful Australian breweries of recent times to make a beer together? For its landmark year, the RASV invited WA's Feral and Victoria's 2 Brothers to brew a beer using all Australian ingredients. The former was subsequently named Champion Large Australian Brewery at the 2012 awards, while 2 Brothers continued its run of form with a shortlisting for Champion Small Australian Brewery. The beer they created - an Australian take on the modern Brown Ale - is a deeply brown one that opens up with familiar tropical fruit notes from the hops and plenty of chocolate, caramel - possibly even vanilla - aromas too. There's a nice balance between roasty, chocolate and caramel and some orange-tinged citrus hop flavours. Bitterness is well restrained in an eminently drinkable beer worthy of such an occasion.