Premium Ale
Coopers Brewery Limited

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sampled on May 20, 2010. The pour is a sort of staid, pale yellow with a thin, short lasting fizzy head. Nice clarity and little carbonation. Malts tend to highlight the aroma with a light crispness. The mouthfeel is on the creamy side. The taste is also more malty than anything else with a vague hop ending. Of the Coopers beers I have tried this may be the weakest but it is still better than many in its class.

Served in a 12.7 ounce bulbous green bottle at an Outback Steakhouse in Southington, Conn.

A: Poured a golden straw yellow color with a one-finger head of creamy white foam and ample carbonation. Lacing is the best part of the appearance, as it leaves a full sheet of webby lace down the opposite wall of the glass.

S: Smells a bit skunky with cooked corn and astringent veggies. A little herbal hop note is present.

T: Fairly clean tasting toasted malt character with a hint of metal and seltzer. The sweetness is low as is the hop bitterness. There's a bit of an interesting creamy taste to it, though, and it does a good job of washing down bold and spicy food flavors.

M: Mouthfeel is crisp and light-medium bodied, yet is made a tad creamy by the carbonation.

D: Not a bad ale to have with spicy fare, and it went well with my steak and shrimp entree, but it's just another example of a Euro ale which doesn't stand out over the rest.

A richer, more full bodied beer than the lager. More of a sweet finish with a nice bready aroma. A healthy dose of yeast in the bottle was not settled so I got a good bit of it in my glass, adding to the yeasty bite. Very small head with no real staying power and low carbonation overall. Good hopping for the malt level. The yeast gives it a very strong "ale" flavor, but did a work on my internal plumbing later in the night.

I've never met a Coopers ale I didn't like, and this is no exception. Doesn't have much head, but head is overrated on just about anything but stout. Poured a nice deep golden color. Has no real smell to speak of, but it has a very well balanced flavor that makes it very easy to drink. The only complaint I have is that it came in a green bottle. I thought Coopers would know better than to use anything other than brown/amber bottles, but apparently I got one that hadn't seen much light, so it wasn't skunky. All in all, it's a fine beer and I'd recommend it.