Coopers Green. Really That Good?
- Thread starter Brown_hound
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I don't drink much of it these days because most pubs have at the very least either James squire or Matilda bay on tap and they do much better beers. but if there's no craft beer on tap coopers is my first choice.
I prefer the sparkling but wouldn't go out of my way to find either.
I prefer the sparkling but wouldn't go out of my way to find either.
I used to really like it on tap. Then i had a few bad ones, and after that, the JS beers started becoming more popular and available. I think on tap, when its been handled properly, its bloody great, not as full on flavourful as some beers now, but a very nice session beer.
Lets be honest, the lighter flavoured beers are harder to get right than full on flavoured beers. Much easier to whack a shitload of US hops in, than to make a simple grain bill session beer.
Lets be honest, the lighter flavoured beers are harder to get right than full on flavoured beers. Much easier to whack a shitload of US hops in, than to make a simple grain bill session beer.
Muggus
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Interesting question actually...Poll!? 
Personally i'm a fan. Mainly as a homebrewer, because it is such a basic but typically "all Aussie" brew that is bottle conditioned with a unique yeast strain which contributes a fair bit of character to the beer...so really it's a pretty achievable by most homebrewers.
I think what else helps is that it is a point of difference...all your mates are drinking pale fizzy stuff, you're drinking this cloudy thing...and it seems textually it's got an edge, bit of yeast creaminess and more prominant bitterness than most mainstream lagers.
The other thing, that a few have already mentioned, is that it IS palatable at standard "cask" temps of 10C+. Where an mainsteam lager goes to crap at anything higher than 4C! And I think having the beer at this temp helps apreciate the subtle fruity character you get from the yeast.
One more thing (yes i'm ranting now), live yeast in the bottle...not only can you culture it, but there's potential to put one of these beers down for a few years and see how it changes...an exciting prospect for all beer nerds...
Personally i'm a fan. Mainly as a homebrewer, because it is such a basic but typically "all Aussie" brew that is bottle conditioned with a unique yeast strain which contributes a fair bit of character to the beer...so really it's a pretty achievable by most homebrewers.
I think what else helps is that it is a point of difference...all your mates are drinking pale fizzy stuff, you're drinking this cloudy thing...and it seems textually it's got an edge, bit of yeast creaminess and more prominant bitterness than most mainstream lagers.
The other thing, that a few have already mentioned, is that it IS palatable at standard "cask" temps of 10C+. Where an mainsteam lager goes to crap at anything higher than 4C! And I think having the beer at this temp helps apreciate the subtle fruity character you get from the yeast.
One more thing (yes i'm ranting now), live yeast in the bottle...not only can you culture it, but there's potential to put one of these beers down for a few years and see how it changes...an exciting prospect for all beer nerds...
going down a hill
Beer Cod
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I've always prefered it over mega beers, I found it in my early 20's and stuck to it like a magnet for a good 10 years. Their dark and sparkling ales are still a go to at a bottle-o.
Since getting into homebrew it does **** me when you see a bar tender rolling the beer without asking. I suppose I should ask not to seeing it is what they do with the beer.
Since getting into homebrew it does **** me when you see a bar tender rolling the beer without asking. I suppose I should ask not to seeing it is what they do with the beer.
yum beer
Not in the house, you've got a shed..
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As I posted earlier I dont like yeast in my pale ale, got one at the club and the barmaid looked like she wanted to rip me a new one when I asked for one she had not upended.
Yob
Hop to it
I used to drink CPA as religion for many years... then I started brewing and discovered hops... that was the end of that love affair :lol:
its been a long time since my local served me a coopers..
if it aint got some nice ballence of hops going on they can feck off... I do have quite a collection of Coopers longies though
That said it is still a good fallback beer.. a few weeks ago when I ran out of conditioned beer I cracked a stubbie of CPA (that had been in the cupboard for quite a while) and threw some hop pellets into it... er... I wont do that a second time :lol:
Yob
its been a long time since my local served me a coopers..
if it aint got some nice ballence of hops going on they can feck off... I do have quite a collection of Coopers longies though
That said it is still a good fallback beer.. a few weeks ago when I ran out of conditioned beer I cracked a stubbie of CPA (that had been in the cupboard for quite a while) and threw some hop pellets into it... er... I wont do that a second time :lol:
Yob
super_simian
Well-Known Member
If you like Carlton Draught (not draft!) over Coopers, check in the mirror - you may be missing a tongue! In case you don't get it, I'm all for CPA. With or without yeast, cold or cellar temp. Stubby or keg, it's all good and all better than megalager. Decent Aussie session beer, drinkable by most and loved by many. But then again, haters gonna hate...And there ain't no snobbery like beer nerd snobbery!
stux
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CPA is my favourite fallback... and if its not available Carlton Draught
If there are some Squires brews on tap, I would probably have them in preference... sometimes.
CPA is sentimental to me... I proposed to SWMBO in Adelaide... and as you know, there is pretty much only one beer going round in Adelaide... its where I learnt to love CPA
And drinking it reminds me of that time
If there are some Squires brews on tap, I would probably have them in preference... sometimes.
CPA is sentimental to me... I proposed to SWMBO in Adelaide... and as you know, there is pretty much only one beer going round in Adelaide... its where I learnt to love CPA
And drinking it reminds me of that time
super_simian
Well-Known Member
Is Old available on tap elsewhere? I don't think I've seen it in Melbourne...
going down a hill
Beer Cod
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You can occasionally get it in a pub in Melbourne, rare though.
Xarb
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Coopers actually tells the bars to roll the bottles around before serving. So if you don't want them to roll it around you definately have to ask before hand!
Dave70
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To me, Coopers beer tastes like a bottle of fizzy yeast.
For some, this may be part of the charm, but I hate yeasty tasting beers. Also it leaves me with a horrible hangover that seems disproportionate to the amount I've consumed.
Few others can touch their stout though.
I'd rather a schooner of new any day.
For some, this may be part of the charm, but I hate yeasty tasting beers. Also it leaves me with a horrible hangover that seems disproportionate to the amount I've consumed.
Few others can touch their stout though.
I'd rather a schooner of new any day.
CPA is unique and is personally not my fav beer but can be ok sometimes. Gonna get slightly off topic here but what I don't get is that out of all the new breed of micro's distributing their beer around the country none of them has managed to put out a german style lager ( that I'm aware of) with that rich bready, doughy melanoiden taste you get when you drink any of the imported german lager style beers (e.g. Weihenstephan Bayerisches Original or even Heninger has it) . If the germans can do it on a macro scale and their beer is revered all around the world then why wouldn't someone locally give it a go? Tank time can't be an issue coz I can pump one out in 4 weeks using weyermann and s-189.
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Why do I only hear people from eastern states call it Coopers Green/Coopers Red?
Anyway I digress, it is the quintessential original Australian Pale Ale, if there ever was one. You could say that IPAs are traditionally more "Australian" because they were majority brewed here first.. however, a pale ale, with a well known Australian hop, bottle conditioned.
Its as ******* far from lagerboy megaswill as you'd ever get, while sort of being miniswill (i guess).
On a ball burning hot summers day, a coopers PA can be had cold and be a great thirst quencher. In winter it can be a few degrees warmer and taste more hoppy, and still be pretty good.
It isn't my favourite australian beer. I personally hold Brew Boys Ace of Spades as my #1a and Bridge Road Galaxy Single Hop IPA as my #1b commercial beer right now.. but as far as the big boy beers are concerned, Coopers Pale Ale kicks the arse off of most of them - and its likely the only Ale you'll see at a bar with an 'iffy' tap selection.
Anyway I digress, it is the quintessential original Australian Pale Ale, if there ever was one. You could say that IPAs are traditionally more "Australian" because they were majority brewed here first.. however, a pale ale, with a well known Australian hop, bottle conditioned.
Its as ******* far from lagerboy megaswill as you'd ever get, while sort of being miniswill (i guess).
On a ball burning hot summers day, a coopers PA can be had cold and be a great thirst quencher. In winter it can be a few degrees warmer and taste more hoppy, and still be pretty good.
It isn't my favourite australian beer. I personally hold Brew Boys Ace of Spades as my #1a and Bridge Road Galaxy Single Hop IPA as my #1b commercial beer right now.. but as far as the big boy beers are concerned, Coopers Pale Ale kicks the arse off of most of them - and its likely the only Ale you'll see at a bar with an 'iffy' tap selection.
GalBrew
Well-Known Member
It has its place, especially if it is CPA or VB on tap. That being said CSA is by far the better beer and the stout is an outstanding drop (especially for an Aussie stout). As for Old in NSW it's on tap nearly everywhere but hard to find on tap in Melbourne.
jphowman
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I was in the Qantas Lounge on the way back to WA a few months ago and had CPA at the bar.
The bar wench didn't roll the glass, but upended it into a glass creating a big foamy head and the aroma was amazing. Pear and apple with some herby hops in the back ground. It was probably the freshest CPA I've ever had.
A few weeks later I had another one at the Kumerina roadhouse between Newman and Meeka. The transport had changed it into a hugely different beer. Very bland.
The bar wench didn't roll the glass, but upended it into a glass creating a big foamy head and the aroma was amazing. Pear and apple with some herby hops in the back ground. It was probably the freshest CPA I've ever had.
A few weeks later I had another one at the Kumerina roadhouse between Newman and Meeka. The transport had changed it into a hugely different beer. Very bland.
