Coopers Cave Ale Company

October 2, 2005
Visited this place on a Saturday night. I was shocked when I got there. I expected the people and service to be very nice. When I got there, the 50 something lady was in a very crabby mood. She was extremely negative and condescending. I asked if they go to any festivals or anything and she snapped back at me saying "they are a waste of our time and money. Until they pay us like they do out West, we aren’t going to do them any more". I was very turned off by this and I almost walked out. After 2 of my 3 allotted 1 oz samples, I decided I’d buy a bottle of their 80 Schilling, which they did not have in bottles. It may have been a bad day, but she turned one tourist from CT off.

August 12, 2005
Stopped by on a hot August evening. First tried their pop (outstanding) and ice cream (outstanding) in a float. I had the soft serve because the girl at the window said it was best, but others in our party had the hard serve and it was just as good. Walked around to the back (front?) and tried three beers, two of them incredible, the other was fine. A variety of humorous souveniers for sale, too. Worth the stop.

December 17, 2004
What I can add to the others’ polite comments? Great people in this minute brewery backdoor shop and taproom. Great service, fun to talk to, pleasant people. Very sadly, the great majority of the beers were horribly infected. Complex infections too.

November 24, 2004
This is one of those situations like the previous commentor stated, where you admire the Owners, and their efforts....but, I’ve had this beer many times/places over several years, and it’s always been...off. The phrase "wet dog" comes to mind.

November 18, 2004
Unfortunately, when we visited, there were significant problems with most of the beers but the staff were very friendly and chatted with us for a while about the different beers and even gave an impromptu tour of the brewery. I hope they can work out the issues with their process as I’d like to see this small brewery succeed.

May 10, 2004 [ Updated May 11, 2004 ]
Very friendly family brewery that operates on a small scale - A 15 sq. ft. taproom and producing a 5 gallon batch at a time? I felt the beers were a tad watery and often lactic. I hope they sort these issues out because there is much promise from a brewer this size. The Bethel family has recipes for many different styles so I look forward to another adventure their way...