Beer Review: Coopers Pale Ale

The craft beer scene has exploded in Australia, there is a heap of microbreweries, nanobreweries and even the bigger mega swill brands are getting in on the "craft" beer action, which is why today I am reviewing the Coopers Pale Ale.

Coopers Pale Ale isn't craft beer, snort.

Oh, what's that? The Coopers Pale Ale isn't a craft beer you say? As you get ready to reach through the screen and berate me. Well, you're right: it's not.

As much as I love drinking a nice IPA, pale ale, wheat beer, sour, dark pale, or the million other styles of beer you'll find with the craft tag slapped on, there is one Australian beer that rises above all of that.

Coopers Brewery is the largest Australian owned brewery, which is a big deal. Most beer brands you're familiar with are owned by large corporations such as Lion Nathan, even companies you think are microbreweries like Little Creatures. Coopers has been family owned since the very beginning.

On RateBeer it has a 2.7 out of 5 rating. Which is technically a passing score of over 50%. But who really cares what a bunch of beer snobs think of a beer, it's all subjective, if you like it then it's good.

Colour

This beer pours a nice golden colour. The cloudiness stems from the fact Coopers bottle/keg condition their beers, this means the beer is unfiltered and resembles that of a high quality homebrew beer. Instead of artificially carbonating the beer, bottle conditioned beer allows the yeast to naturally carbonate the beer after fermentation is complete.

If you look closely, you'll see sediment floating about in the beer (part of the reason I love it). If you ever order one of these out from a bar, restaurant or Grill'd, ask for it to be "rolled" where they'll roll the bottle to mix the sediment through.

How it pours

I've never had a bad pour of a Coopers Pale Ale, every time it has had a generous white foamy head. The quality control over at the Coopers Brewery must be top notch to get that kind of consistency.

The head retention is also fantastic on every Coopers Pale Ale I have ever had, and I have drunk a lot of these over the years. In comparison, every 4 Pines Pale Ale I have drunk in the last six months has had some serious head retention issues.

How it tastes and smells

The most important aspect of any beer besides the type and whether it has a great head is how it tastes. For me, a pale ale/IPA is not only taste, but also how it smells when you open it up and pour it.

When you open up one of these bad boys, you'll immediately be hit with that floral/herbal trademark scent. And taste wise, I always seem to taste a hint of apple and some fruity esters in this beer.

Coopers Pale Ale is also one of the least offensive beers you can drink, it's softly carbonated and medium bitterness, it's light bodied and packs a flavour punch. You can taste the grain and slight grassiness of the hops.

In Summary

Coopers Pale Ale might not win awards for originality, and might not appeal to beer snobs and wankers who go on about biscuit and bread flavours in their beer, but it's a solid and true Australian owned/produced beer.

Name: Coopers Pale Ale
Brewery: Coopers Brewery
Type: Pale Ale
ABV: 4.50%