Sparkling Ale
Coopers Brewery Limited

 

 

My introduction to beers other than Lagers was Coopers Pale Ale, which is an excellent introductory beer into the Pale Ale scene. It's still often my go-to beer. A step up from that, in the English/Australian Pale Ale scene, is it's slightly bolder, more rounded heavier brother. Red labelled, Sparkling Ale. At 5.8%, it packs a heartier punch that it's green labelled pale ale brother at 4.5%, but still maintains a highly drinkable, tasty and refreshing beer.

Appearance: Orange, very cloudy and heavily sedimented beer. Coopers are proud of their natural bottle conditioning and so they should be. Thin soapy head doesn't stick around too much.

Aroma: Lovely biscuit malt,  mixed with some citrus hops. I'm fairly sure Coopers uses Pride of Ringwood, but they don't use it in such as an offensive manner as your typical Aussie adjunct lager does. Pairing with the biscuit malt is a lovely, earthy bannana smell, which I think comes from the yeast. There's a bit of white bread mixed in with the Bananna giving an almost Bananna bread smell.

Taste:. Bitter, malty, tasty and a touch of alcohol. As previously mentioned, it's over a percent stronger than the Pale Ale, and you can taste it. The citrus is strong and that yeasty-bananna flavour is present. The bitterness is very spicy which is something I enjoy.

Feel: Like most Aussie beers it's carbonated very strongly and you'll find yourself burping after one sip. They could dial down the carbonation a bit. For 5.8% it's fairly thin bodied.

Overall: Honestly it's better on tap than bottled for mine, and it's hard to find it on tap in NSW. I love it. As mentioned at the start of the review, their Pale Ale was my introduction away from lagers and this is a step up from that. A good session beer if you don't want anything too florally. It's no IPA or American Pale Ale, Definetely more a British Ale style of beer, but very refreshing, great for barbeques.

Nov. 2007: 375 ml bottle, courtesy of Cardinal pub, Stavanger. Bottle conditioned, sediment in bottle. In the first pour the beer is crystal clear golden, hazy in the final pour. Sparkling indeed, but when the initial huge head subsides a little, the carbonation in the glass is not too bad. Fruity aroma with notes of spices. The flavour is also fruity and moderately spicy. Alcohol is noticeable but not disturbing, the beer is fairly light bodied and easy drinking.

 

 

 

 

De color dorado, con una fina espuma de corta retención. De cuerpo y carbonatación media. Aroma a malta y cereales. En boca es menos dulce que su aroma, y matiza con un leve amargor.

 

Skull it straight from the bottle preferably a long neck doesn't get any better

OK so it bottle fermented so has a sediment but in my humble opinion disregard the label advise that is can be drunk with or without the sediment. Unlike a Weissbier the sediment can be a bit gritty and should be avoided. Pour it slowly and AVOID the sediment in the bottom of the bottle. Then it’s a great brew. Serve cold IMO it goes down well, smells like a lager should, subtle but more beer than bubbles. Taste is good and the slight after taste is good to. Definitely enough to have you reaching for the next one or six.

Nice lively pour from the bottle, activated head that dissipates champagne-like to a thin ring, no retention. Dark orange, light brown, moderate haziness. Nose is brown bread, roasted malts, lemon/hay, not much in the way of hops. Palate is light and pleasant, slight malt sweetness, back note of bitterness on the finish. Carbonation is stellar - sharp and crisp, everything I'd want from a sessionable beer. An extremely welcome surprise.

 

 

A really nice drop after a long days work. I won't go into any explicit details because these have been described countless times. Suffice to say it's a great beer, and outdoes all the 'trendy' beers by a mile.

Give it a shot.

 

Look: Very cloudy orange. A tiny white head that immediately dissipates.

Smell: Oranges, tart apples, and a strong yeast.

Taste: Yeasty sweet malt with an orange peel back, moving into biscuity. Very low hop bitterness.

Mouthfeel: Relatively thin and extremely carbonated.

Overall: A fantastic, unique ale.

 

 

Caution: It's Bottle Conditioned!
L- ... which I wasn't expecting from an Australian beer! So poured with a 3mm white head, finishing with a couple of drops of sediment on top. It now resembles a Long Island Iced Tea, but that's my oversight. The lable (I read now) states you can enjoy it poured clear or hazy, the latter akin to a German Hefeweissen.
S- Quite lively, fresh, almost notes of apple.
T- Bright, slightly piquant, into a mildly malty middle and lightly hopped finish.
F- I'm serving this chilled and it's refreshing = ^Bright+piquant+hopping. It feels lighter than 5.8% especially if well chilled. I'd have guessed about 4.8%, though as it warms a touch I'm beginning to register it more.
O- Interesting beer, and it is something a bit different. I'd suggest not chilling it too hard or you'll risk lessening the flavour. I'm glad to have reviewed it, but there is not enough of note here to warrant buying it again.
Bought from Amathus, Wardour Street, London. £2.60/375ml bottle BB: 07/02/20

 

 

one of the best beers I've ever had and that's after having dozens and dozens of different styles from different places. There's something about this style that really suits me and it's hard to describe. It's unlike anything else

Good to know that there is more in Aussland than VBs and Fosters (of course there must be loads, I just haven't had any yet...)
Now this one looks nice and smells/tastes quite interesting for an English Pale Ale like others said - has a sort of floweriness in there, maybe some slight candied fruitiness too that I can't decipher well. Unlike the American ones, this English PA is more dominated by the bitterness that in this case is well balanced the malt base.
I was looking for the spark but I found it when pouring the whole bottle along with the sediment out in the glass - that made it fizzy with carbonation even more! With this extra, it became even better than in the beginning. Recommend pouring all of it out at once!
Quite alright, made me interested in Aussie craft even more!

 

375ml bottle

Cloudy orange, lots of sediment and particles floating. Small head dissapears quickly livig a white film on top and medium carbonation.

Smells weird for a Pale Ale. A lot lemony/lime -7up/sprite alike-, some yeast that reminds the belgian, and a sweet malty/caramel background.

Taste follows the nose, caramel is more obvious in this one than in the Original Pale Ale. Lemon/lime notes and some 'belgian' alike yeast.

Mouthfeel is somewhat odd. Crisp carbonation and a bit of a spicy finish.

Good to try it, but wouldn't choose it over other Pale Ales.

 

L. From 375 ml bottle. Appears appropriate. S. Some grassy notes. Not a lot. I have a limited sense of smell. T. Grassy and grainy. Dry finish. F. As it says, sparkling but not frothy. Reasonably full mouthfeel and very drinkable. O. A unique and distinctive beer and part of Australia's beer heritage. Hard to think of a comparison. Drink it now before it disappears.

I find this a bit over carbonated, other than that a great ale.

 

 

 

 

Decanted from a 12.7 oz (376 ml) into a conical pint glass; best after July 16, 2017.
A: Pours a hazy, golden-brown color with a one half inch off white head, little retention or lacing. Of note, small yeast particles abound and an almost Brownian motion is evident due to their interaction with the strong effervescence.
S: Floral. Aromas of honeysuckle, caramel, citrus, and cocoa are most evident. Maybe a little grassy.
T: Semisweet. Flavors of caramel, sweet bread, melon, and citrus (orange) were most striking. Just enough light bitterness to give it a crisp, clean finish despite the sweetness.
M: Light bodied with a very strong effervescence. Playful on the palate like a well made sparkling wine.
O: This was an unusual and very enjoyable Pale Ale. The light body, low bitterness, and full, playful carbonation combined for a really refreshing treat. Would absolutely have this again; a great find for summer.

 

Poured into a Samuel Smith pint glass. Pours a medium coppery amber with a thin white head that dissipates to tiny patches, slight lacing. Aroma of semi-sweet biscuit malt, light lemon citrus and light grassy hops. Flavor is deep biscuit malt, hints of citrus and moderate grassy hops with a slightly astringent hop bitterness in the finish, but nice residual malt. Medium bodied with sharp carbonation, despite the lack of a persistant head. Nice malt depth and appropriate grassy hops for the style, but the hops are somewhat harsh and leave an odd stale bitterness in the finish. The malt rescues this from the hops, and this would be a robust choice for a hot Australian afternoon and more interesting than bland lagers. OK, but not inspiring. After reviewing this, I glanced through the other reviews and was struck by the odd fact that reviewers alternately give the color as medium orange (close to the medium copper I gave it) or else pale yellow or straw. That's just weird. At least one "pale straw" review mentions "sparkling" which seems to indicate it's the right beer. Could there be that much color variation or an high rate of misidentification while reviewing? Strange.

 

Drunk cool from the fridge, this beer combines a good balance of bitterness and bubbles to make it an outstanding feature beer suited to South Australia's hot dry summer climate. The afore mentioned characteristics balance the full flavours making it a tempting beer for 'sessioning' but its high alcohol content can catch thirsty imbibers out easily.