A visit to Coopers, Australia

In October 2006 I was invited to McLaren Vale in South Australia to judge the wines at the McLaren Vale annual wine show, flying in and out of Adelaide. When my hosts - a bunch of winemakers - asked if there was any non-wine-related activity I'd like to indulge in over my few days there, there was only one thing on my mind: "any chance of a visit to Coopers brewery?" I asked, and quick as a flash the answer came back in the affirmative. That might have something to do with the fact that Australian winemakers have a collective passion for Coopers Pale Ale, and I've yet to visit a winery or have dinner with an Ozzy winemaker when a restorative bottle of Pale Ale was not on the menu at the end of a hard day's tasting.

Operations Manager Nick Sterenberg was my host for the visit at Coopers 'new' brewery in the suburbs of Adelaide, built in 2001 to replace the historic 1881 Leabrook brewery, which the company had outgrown. Coopers has around 3% of the entire beer market in Australia: a remarkable achievement for an independent, family-owned company in face of Australian brewing giants like Fosters and Lion Nathan. Indeed, just days before my visit the company defeated a bitterly fought takeover battle by Lion Nathan, as recounted in a recent feature by Willard Clarke. Of the 117 members of the extended Cooper family who have shares in the business, 113 voted to reject the $421 million offer in a remarkable show of solidarity.

Whilst the new brewhouse (pictured right) was built and installed by Briggs of Burton-on-Trent, Coopers is very much an Australian brewer: only South Australian barley is used, and their hops come from Tasmania, and the King Valley in northern Victoria. Even cane sugar - a little of which is used in high

gravity beers like the Coopers Extra Stout - is a homegrown product. Also visible to the right of the photograph above is Coopers' mash filter. Mash filters are old technology, first seen in the 1870s, but which fell out of favour. Replacing the Lauter tun in the brewing process to separate the liquid wort from the solid mash, modern mash filtering is also used by Guinness at St James Gate in Dublin, and is said to be a more efficient and to deliver extremely high quality.

Coopers yeast is a special strain that promotes fruity and estery notes, evident in several of the beers. I'm not sure what the largest of Champagne producers would quote as their figure, but Coopers carries out 110 million in-bottle secondary fermentations per year (probably more than all the Champagne producers combined!). Nick explains that this presents unique challenges, with hygiene and attention to detail in the brewing process being much stricter than with ordinary beers. That perhaps explains that Coopers sells "a premium product at a premium price" and does not discount its beers - though Nick knows of supermarkets in Australia selling the beer for less than they have paid Coopers for it, as a loss leader.

The huge new bottling plant (left) designed and fabricated in Germany, pumps out some 2,000 bottles per minute. This gives Coopers all the capacity they need for now. The business is growing at 15% in volume of sales per year, though Nick emphasises that this is largely demand driven, and that if the volume increase dropped back to 10% or even 5%, the company "wouldn't be beatings itself up over it." In the run up to Christmas the brewery was just going

on to a double shift system as I visited, and their million carton capacity warehouse will run full through until the end of November.

The Cooper family, still with Dr Tim Cooper as Managing Director, Glenn Cooper as Executive Chairman, Bill Cooper on the board of directors and Melanie and Matthew Cooper working in financial and sales positions, are determined to keep their business independent, and never to sacrifice the quality of their beers. There is no doubt that Coopers is one of the world's great independent brewers.

Coopers beers

Cooper's, Best Extra Stout (Australia) A top fermented beer, Coopers Stout is brewed with specially roasted black malt and Coopers yeast. It pours a pitch black colour with a thick tan head. It is not huegely aromatic at first, just slowly releasing a deep well of malty, chocolaty aromas, but still retaining some estery notes of bannana and clove. The palate is full, rich and voluminous, coating the tongue in a thick layer of chocolate and toasty flavours, with a tugging core of bitterness and a liquorice edge adding tension. Satisfyingly long, this is a terrific stout and along with the Pale and Sparkling Ales, a star of the Coopers line-up 6.3% ABV, 33cl, , independents.

Cooper's, Dark Ale (Australia) Coopers Dark is made using roasted and chocolate malts. It pouts a mahoggany colour with a thick, fluffy cream-coloured head. There's a nice burnt toast and coffee aroma, but it is light too, with something floral beneath all that charry character. On the palate it is fresh, with a streak of lemony acidity and fruit quality cutting through a rich, toasty malt flavour with a nice bite of hoppy bitterness. This beer feels as if it is just lacking a little something, but is tasty and refreshing in style. 4.5% ABV, 33cl, , independents.

Cooper's, Mild Ale (Australia) This is a relatively new product (as of 2006) developed as a lower alchol alternative to Coopers famous Pale Ale. It is hopped with Pride of Ringwood and Saaz, with secondary fermentation in the bottle. It has a nedium gold colour and a moderate white head. There's a nice bit of yeasty, estery character, with a touch of banana aroma. It is fairly light on the palate, perhaps medium-bodied, and has a creamy flavour with a pleasant hop bitterness in the finish. Inoffensive, and nice to have a low-alcohol alternative to the Pale Ale, but not a patch on the real thing. Purchased in Australia. 3.5% ABV, 33cl, , independents.

Cooper's, Pale Ale (Australia) This bottle-fermented beer cascades into the glass in a great swirling cloud of yeasty, ginger-beer-coloured bubbles. The nose has caramel and a light iodine note, and a dry hoppiness. On the palate it is quite light, with a smooth texture and good flavour, without being particularly distinctive. Dry and well-balanced, I enjoyed this beer very much. 4.5% ABV, 37.5cl, ?1.39, Majestic, Peckhams, , Surf4beer, Tesco, Threshers.

Cooper's, Premium Lager (Australia) Coopers Lager is brewed with Pride of Ringwood and Saaz hops, and pours a pale yellow/gold with a modest white head. It is a lager with a decent, full bodied style, with a nice bit of herbal bitterness and plenty of lemony fruit on the nose and palate. Tangy and well made. Purchased in Australia 5.0% ABV, 33cl, No known UK stockists.

Cooper's, Premium Light (Australia) This is a "light" lager beer which I guess Coopers must have felt it needed to have in its portfolio. It pours a pale yellow colour with a thin head, and the nose is lemony, a touch floral, and clean. On the palate it is light verging on watery, and whilst not a beer to linger over, it is inoffensive and could be thirst quenching I suppose. Purchased in Australia. 2.9% ABV, 33cl, No known UK stockists.

Cooper's, Sparkling Ale (Australia) This pours (with a little agitation of the sediment) in a cloud of darker, gold/bronze with quite a tight, just off-white head. The nose is lovely, with a little hint of cinammon, fine hops and fruity notes. On the palate it is medium-bodied and smooth, with a rich moussy attack, and subtly toasty character. It is a very classy beer, with a tight-grained, bitter hoppiness and a lovely focus of quite fruity, herbal flavours and that subtle toast held in check. Long and excellent. 5.8% ABV, 37.5cl, ?1.49, Peckhams, , Sainsbury's, Surf4beer.

Cooper's, Vintage Ale 2006 (Australia) What a treat to try the latest release of Coopers legendary vintage ale, brewed with extended top fermentation. This is a beer made for cellaring, so it is a bit of infanticide to open one so young, but I have a few more tucked away for future enjoyment. Tesco have just named this beer as the 'Tesco Drinks Awards? Best Import' and limited stocks are in Tesco stores. It pours a dark, hazy toffee colour with a moderately persistent off-white head that is quite thick and creamy. The aromas are immediately malty and chocolaty, with a marmalade tang and plenty of infused caraway seed and liquorice notes. On the palate this thick, smooth beer coats the tongue in a sweet-edged rush of toffee and layered bittersweet flavour. The endive-like hoppy bite begins to assert towards the finish, playing against those chewy chocolate-coated caramel and plummy fruit flavours. A concentrated and intense beer that is already superb, but will be fascinating to taste over the years to come. 7.5% ABV, 37.5cl, ?1.99, , Tesco.

Coopers Brewery www.coopers.com.au 461 South Road Regency Park South Australia 5010 (08) 8440 1800 (08) 8440 1888