Coopers beer and kits have a slight background bitterness - ?

[trustyrusty]

Thanks @mosto, you could be right...

I have made a Tooheys Draught, which I did not think was as bitter, and I have just made Woolies Homebrand just too see what it was like (I did not get that bitterness - but I did use a different yeast) , there was a list of beers that Coopers make not using POR (one of which is the Wheat beer which I made 6 weeks ago, which I had last night and it is not bitter at all, like it ) - maybe I need too get used to it.... I guess goes back to when you had your first beer, it was really bitter...

But definitely think that I am not a fan of high bitterness... time will tell....

I actually have a Coopers Larger on the go with T 58 Yeast - Too me the wort has that bitterness which may reduce...will let you know..

cheers

 

[Mardoo]

The sensory qualities of different hops used for bitterness are different, meaning some bitterness is harsher than others. I find Pride of Ringwood to have a harsh bitterness. I find Magnum to be better. I myself would rather not bitter with Cascade, but some love it. You may not be sensitive to bitterness on the whole, but to other qualities of the bitterness.

 

[Bribie G]

As noted in this thread, palates definitely get "re trained" when you brew your own. I've just been on a six day trip and haven't touched home brew. After a couple of days I was finding that XXXX heavy (not Gold) on tap was nicely bitter. Last night I had a couple of Reschs Draught at Maclean then noticed that they had Coopers Pale on tap as well, so I switched.
I found only a slight difference in the bitterness.. both POR I expect. The main difference when I switched to the Coopers was an almost lemon - peel fragrance, but if anything a tad less hoppy than the Reschs.

 

[yankinoz]

POR's bitterness is a love or hate it thing. I'm in the latter category, but many drinkers (even Michael Jackson) and several brewers on this site are defenders, and so take my opinion as one person's. I might have a different perspective, to do with Aussie beer before and after POR.

Carlton had much to do with the development of POR, which was released in 1965. Presumably other breweries took time to adopt it, and I would be surprised if they made the transition in their flagship brews a sudden one.

I first tasted Aussie beers in 1977. Swan and Emu tasted okay as industrial lagers go. Cooper's Pale and some of the Tasmanian beers were a delight. On the whole the Aussie macros had more to them than the major US brands. Then I got to Melboune and tried the range of Carlton beers. Didn't like the bittering or anything else about them.

On later trips to Australia my thoughts were something had gone terribly wrong with the mass production beers, especially with Swan and Emu. Had my tastes changed, or was my changing perception a product of the spread of POR? I don't know.

I don't mind POR in late additions at all. It's just the bittering. To my tastes Cooper Sparkling is such a fine beer, with all the pepper and fruit from the yeast, that I can only wish they'd drop the POR and substitute Magnum, Horizon, Glacier, even Green Bullet. The result would still be a distinct Australian beer. Maybe it wouldn't be quite as distinctive, but some things, like dwarf-tossing, are not missed when they're gone.

 

[Brewsta]

i think everyones got some great comments on here Trustyrusty and maybe you don't like bitter beers as you say. You could put it to the test, have you tried say a James Squire IPA, Hop Thief or a constable? I find these beers pretty bitter, but also very nice. At the end of the day their your taste buds so brew according to them.

& i think Bribie G hit the nail on the head with our taste buds being retrained as we brew our own, i know mine have over the years, i struggle to drink a mainstream commercial beer nowadays & always opt for the craft variety. Hell once upon a time i used to think Carlton Cold was a great beer, now i think it rates somewhere just below cats piss.

and god knows how many cans of vaginal backwash (VB) i swallowed throughout my drinking career when i was young. geezuz we used to shotgun the stuff…yukkk. excuse me while i go & puke.