Thomas Cooper's Selection Artisan Reserve
Coopers Brewery Limited

L-strong head, normal yellowy Pilsner colour

S-fresh floral smell, not a lot there but pleasant.

T-somewhat watery, but the tastes that are there make it a really good Pilsner. Crisp. Not super malty like some other Coopers beers.

F-crispness really comes through on the tongue

O-not revolutionary like the advertising seems to suggest but one of the better Pilsner's I had. Good value $19 for a six pack at BWS.

Citrusy characteristics with a balanced malt character, the Pilsner combines the hop varieties Bavarian Hallertau Tradition and Hallertau Hersbrucher with two secret hops varieties to prevent imitators.

Format: standard 330 ml brown bottle with Thomas Coopers face on it , into a Pokal. Just what i wanna see when I'm chugging a frothy.

Look: Poured a very foamy head that hasn't quit after a minute.

an amber color with lots of visible carbonation. Its tempting e to scull it as I just got home from work.

Smell: smells like a lager. Not terribly inviting but definitely not off putting. Just lacking a tad.

Taste: This was good. A hallertau hit with a malt finish which doesn't linger except for a crisp refreshing feeling. Its not bad at all.

Feel: Light and crisp then that foamy head seems to thicken on the way to the back of your pie hole. Not cloying, nice crisp malt aftertaste.

Overall: A nice beer. One the Coopers better beers I think. Head is still going strong. lace all round the glass. That's after a good 3 minutes.

 

 

 

Format: standard light brown bottle, stylish Thomas Cooper's Selection label, same as the home brew packs.

Appearance: poured into a tulip glass. Light amber yellow with plenty of carbonation across the profile. Even with a gentle pour, an almost hefeweizen-like white head pops up to an inch before very slowly dropping to a rocky finger. Lots of lacing down the glass. Looks pretty good.

Aroma: quite sweet grains, with a touch of lemon citrus and some grass and earth. Not overwhelming, but quite reasonable.

Taste: a little bit of yeast, some sour bitterness and some of that grass hops. Definitely something interesting.

Aftertaste: a bit sour on the finish, and somewhat dry. Hops, earth and sweet grains.

Mouth feel: light to moderate in feel with a moderate carbonation. Almost feels like it would benefit from a fuller body.

Overall: a reasonable and interesting beer, but missing that real oomph that allows a beer to transcend into a great craft beer. Still, very drinkable and at the reasonable price of AU$55 a case. A vast improvement on their 150th Celebration Ale.

 

 

 

330ml bottle into a flute glass.

A- as close to gold as you can get, clear, pours a reasonable white frothy head.

S- nice. Citrus (lemon) is dominant over all else, but with a tinge of spices.

T- toasted sweet malts, with a lemon tang that gets stronger towards the end. The hoppy bitterness is in there after a few seconds, but no more so than the typical pilsener.

M- high carbonation, thin body, dry texture. Feels a tad watery.

O- a decent pilsener, a fair way from other beers in the Cooper's line up. The taste is a bit sour and watery compared to other Pilseners. Also could do with more hops.

Pours gold with a fading white head.
Nose shows straw, spicy hops, clean light malt. Pretty basic, pretty clean.
Light flavours. Straw, cardboard, vegetal notes and some spicy hops.
Body feels watery. Overcarbed.
The aroma was a good start but not mirrored by the flavours.

 

Time for another of the new Dr. Tim Coopers brews - this time it's the Artisan Reserve, a German Pilsener. Let's face it the Celebration Ale was fairly average and I'm not sure what Tim is a doctor of, if it's for brewing beer he should perhaps go do another doctorate because the new Coopers brews have been pretty 'Meh' at best... at least take a page out of Little Creatures book and introduce American brewing techniques for Coopers sake! (I just took the Coopers name in vain - a blasphemous offence in South Australia).

Poured from a 355ml bottle into a pokal.

A: Clear pale golden body with a frothy white 1cm head.

S: Sour yeast and cut grass give this a typical German Pilsener nose. There is a thin malt grain base providing a faint wisp in the background, a hint of apple too, not bad, not great.

T: That sour yeast note provides a beginning to what ends up as a long dry finish, almost Japanese super dry in fact. There is a malt grain and cut grass middle, but ultimately the duality between sour and dry flavours provides an intriguing dichotomy that is not often explored in beers outside of the Gueuze style. That being said, and before you run out to buy a six pack, it isn't in-your-face sour and the dryness could also be a little dryer.

M: Here it lacks a little as well with a borderline light/watery body and a (strangely for Coopers) light carbonation.

D: A bit more flavour (sour and dry) and this would have been a decent beer, instead it feels like Dr. Tim Cooper is playing it safe with the family business and not rocking the boat too much. Which is a shame as Coopers do have the years of know-how (150 in fact) and do already produce beers with testes, Coopers Best Extra Stout, but lately they've been pandering a little too much to people who would prefer to drink ciders anyway instead of the real beer drinkers. Back to the brewing board then Dr. Cooper.

Food match: Fish and chips, light seafood fare, roast chicken and salads are the go for this brew.

 

If I had only two words to write this review, overly disappointing, would be what I go with luckily I can use more than just two words. On the whole this is an underwhelming release from Coopers who make some highly drinkable beers and many of them make regular appearance in my fridge.

What we have here is still drinkable but its not something you will revisit anytime soon or more likely ever again. Pale golden colour in appearance with a slight floral aroma to it, it does have plenty external appeal to the initial senses but it under-delivers on taste.

It has soft bitterness with a yeasty front to it, it is fairly clean on the finish but leaves a mellow almost sour malty flavour in the aftertaste, which isn't repulsive but it isn't exactly appealing. If I had to match it with some food, I would probably keep it simple, some fish and chips would certainly suit it.

On the whole it could be sessioned as it isn't to big on any flavours but it just isn't that appealing, I love Coopers beers this one unfortunately isn't doing it for me, I'd pass.

355ml brown bottle served to me blind by Rich.

Pours a very clear, and very pale yellow colour, with a thin, minimal head of white. Some lacing forms even though. Body is very light, although the carbonation is quite fine and languid. for what it is, it looks decent enough.

Nose is slightly sour and yeasty, with a thin malt presence. Hints of metal, weak, crunchy herbal characters, but always with that slight sourness to the aroma. Not great.

Taste is slightly better, just because the chill knocks off most of the flavour. Thin malt, again, slight yeasty overtones and a surprisingly pronounced bitterness on the back of the palate. The acidity is gone at least, and it's quite dry and crisp on the back, meaning that it's almost refreshing.

Feel is thin and over carbonated.

Overall, it's far from a good beer, and while it's not far from a bad beer, it still manages to stay away from being throughly branded with that label. Not something I'd choose to drink, but I'd have it if there's nothing else going.