Tuesday 6 August 2013

Coopers Beer



*Guest post by Nick Huxsted*

I was recently in one of my favourite bars in Shoreditch, enjoying a nice glass of Australian Boundary Line, when for a brief moment I had what the children of the 60s would refer to as a flashback. Now this wasn’t induced by long haired hedonistic days listening to the Stones in a campervan just outside San Francisco, but by the taste of Australia. Ever since I returned from living in Oz I’ve been craving a rather wonderful beer. The beer in question was Coopers.

Friends ask me what I miss about Australia, the beach, the sun, cute little fluffy things (some say Koalas), however my answer is always the same, I MISS COOPERS... and I wonder why I’m single. So powerful is my love for this beer that I thought I would share with everyone the secret beers of the world - or more simply - a really good beer from Australia.

A bit of background, Coopers Brewery Limited is the largest Australian-owned brewery,  based in Adelaide, South Australia. Coopers is known for making a variety of beers, the most famous of which are its Pale Ale and Sparkling Ale. Or simply known as Coopers Green and Coopers Red.

Coopers Green is an English-style golden ale. It has a distinctive cloudy appearance due to the sediment being left in the bottle. It's a crisp, fruity and refreshing ale with a very cloudy, golden appearance. Perfect to fill the gap between gassy lagers or ultra heavy ales. Highly recommend giving it a try at least once in your lifetime. The Sparkling Ale has a slightly different flavour and higher alcoholic content than the Pale Ale, and at 5.8% can be quite lethal.

Coopers Green is like any other beer, you can have a few and still remain relatively normal. Depending on your tendencies you may decide to discuss philosophy, sport or simply the merits of wearing corks on your hat. However after having a bottle of Coopers Red, one of two things will happen. You’ll either lose the ability to speak, jibber like monkey and try to eat the furniture. Or you’ll start to resemble an epileptic Kangaroo who’s eaten far too much sugar... whilst being electrocuted. I’ve yet to meet anyone who’s had a couple of Coopers Red and remained completely sane. It’s lovely, beautiful and refreshing, but you’ve been warned.

So there you have it, a top little international tip for the summer. I love England, I love the people, but I sometimes I crave a little piece of Adelaide.

Places to buy Coopers:

- Nick works with McQueen bar in Shoreditch