Coopers Vintage Ale

Brewed by Coopers Brewery
Style: English Strong Ale
Regency Park, South Australia, Australia

Calandro’s Supermarket, Baton Rouge, La. - 375 ml bottle. Pours a murky, light copper with a creamy, thin, slighlty off-white head. Sweet, malty aroma, reminiscent of molasses and port wine. Flavor has a bit of a port like essence, some raisins, faint notes of chocolate, but not as complex as I had hoped. Slighltly spritzy, and not as thick as I would have liked. Overall decent, but missing something.

Batch no. 4-Oct/2002. Clear amber with a medium off-white head and a bunch floating yeast chunks. Aroma of light fruitiness and a hint of caramel. Flavor has notes of white wine grapes, pear, caramel, sweet malt and toffee. Moderate bitterness. Medium body, subtle carbonation. No lacing or head retention. Overall ok, but I was expecting more.

2002 vintage (Poured a slightly cloudy brown, with a large solid off white head with some brown sediment lodged in it, good lacing. Aroma of yeast and alcohol. First sip was smooth with no evidence of the alcohol. Oak and caramel dominate the palate as the beer warms to room temperature, and the alcohol becomes more present but not unwelcome. This one is a lot cleaner and smoother than the one I tasted (of the same 2002 batch) over a year ago. Definitely better with age. overall = 3.9

2004 vintage: Looks great, rocky off white head on an amber base, alcohol and caramel in the aroma. Great malt body, first caramel comes through.. then it finishes with a boiled candy like sweetness. There is also a load of pudding like spices/fruits to keep you going. They have gone fairly easy on the hops, but a solid bitterness comes though in the finish, along with a slight alcohol burn. This beer is absolutely delicious. Overall = 4.2 2007 vintage is just ok... I reckon this stuff has gone downhill.

Bottle: (new label, not dated, best before 10/09/05) Cloudy caramel, medium sand colored head, spotty lacing.   Yeasty/bready aroma, soft dark pitted fruit.   Somewhat sharp start, phenolic, raisin bread, apple skin flavor, all somewhat light.   Medium, yet solid, body and mouthfeel.   Warming finish, but also light.   Lingering breadiness and apple skin.   Good, but could stand to be bigger.

October 2002 - hazy copper pour with a thin ring of lace - aroma of vanilla, bourbon, raisins, musty/earthiness - high carbonation produces a tingly mouthfeel - woody and spicy, hints of whiskey - herbal qualities - "dampness" - finishes rather clean for something with so many flavors.

Bottle, brewed October 2002. Murky, mucky brown body, thin ring of head, full of thick chunks of black yeasty goodness...wine soaked raisins hit the nose full-force, plums oak and vanilla keep that dessert feeling going...big grapy/oaky body, tannic and bordeaux-like, touch smoky and leathery...marzipan and butter croissants as it warms...delicious.

Have seven of these sitting in the cellar from various years, but decided to taste the most recent addition (Aug’ 2004) and apparently the best. Cooled it in the fridge for an hour or two before pouring it into a short tulip glass. A dense off-white head formed with heavy yeast clumps floating about a very hazy (had the appearance of liquefied caramel) copper-brown body. The last of the yeast sat in the foam giving it a cappuccino look, making for an interesting, but quite unappealing glass of Strong Ale. The nose was quite inviting, malty and sweet, with candi sugar, hop spices, fruity esters, yeast and grain husks. An excellent balance of flavours in the mouth, sweet malt upfront, candi cane, treacle and caramel flavours mid-palate blended with oranges, lemons and cinnamon spice. Finishes off with a long, warming swallow (with no noticeable alcohol). Mildly dry, clean and medium bodied, lightly carbonated and sweet, but never cloying, this turned out to be a gem of a beer. Lovely!!!

Batch 4-OCT/2002: This poured a murky brown body with a heavy dose of the "swirlies," lots of yeast residue. The slender tan head rapidly transformed into a halo. The aroma is very fruity (apples, cherries) with sweet caramel and a splash of alcohol. The flavor is sweet and malty, fruity, nutty, and hotly spiced. It’s got a sticky sweet alcohol finish. Pretty good.