Coopers Vintage Ale

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

2009 bottle, turned. Large pillowy light beige head. Tempestuous and very hazy orange amber. Nose has dough and hay with some herbal hop notes. The palate is surprisingly creamy. It starts with some moderate orange and stone-fruit sweetness and finishes with a quite astringent bitterness. I expect I’d like this more after it’s settled down a bit.

2008 bottle; poured dark amberish color with a persistent off white head. Aroma of caramel, sweet malt, and fruit. Flavor was fairly solid, but not overlly flavorfull. Flavors of fruit, yeast and caramel, with a light bit of hopping. Moderately sweet. An average beer for me.

0,375 ml bottle vintage 2008, bought at Biererei, Vienna.
Poured hazy deep amber-reddish brown with a medium, creamy, tan lacing head. Moderated, pleasant aroma of toasty malt and light cocoa, some mild vinous tartness, fruts like raisins, fig, fine hop. Opens slowly by the air, but very pleasant and complex aroma. Like the flavor with its own fruity character of light toasty malt and some caramel, fine raisins and the fig again. Mild spicies and pleasant hop in the finish. Fine vinous aftertaste with a fine hop character. Nice, very nice.

The beer pours a dark amber color with a nice head. There are floaties throughout when held up to the light. It’s a fairly murky beer. The smell is strong with some sweetness and ethanol. It’s somewhat reminiscent of maple syrup with a bit of fruit. Despite this sweetness, the taste carries a fair amount of bitterness, as well. The flavor doesn’t quite balance out ultimately, and the alcohol also shows up a bit much. It’s a strong beer that drinks even less smoothly than it’s abv of 7.5% would suggest. There is a good deal of carbonation, a bit bracing when paired with the bitter notes. I enjoyed the beer but probably wouldn’t buy it again.

12.7oz bottle. Confused about the "Vintage" part of this, but oh well...rating #700. Pours a clear reddish amber body until the yeast enters the glass and literally forms clumps. Thin, fizzy, white head that dissipates immediately and leaves barely a trace of lacing. Aroma is sweet malts with some orange jelly, honey, berry caramels, and just a hint of earthy toast. Flavor has the same malty sweetness, but is more rounded. Lots of fruits with some chocolate, a more noticeable earth, a nice yeastiness, some toasty cereals, and a light spicy citrus bitterness that dries this after a smooth, medium body, and soft carbonation. Overall, I was less than impressed with the appearance and aroma, but the flavor was rather nice. Another bottle or served on draught could bring this up a few points.

375ml bottle. 2009 vintage. Pours cloudy dark amber with a small but stable tanned head that laces well. Malty aromas of biscuit, toffee and marmalade. Tongue is robust bittersweet dark malts with subdued caramel and fruity flavours before ending with a good earthy hop bitterness that lingers in the mouth. The palate is medium bodied with a low carbonation and rather thin texture for the (well hidden) ABV. It seemed rather disparate in it’s flavour profile but I’m sure it will improve with cellaring.

VINTAGE: ???(Says ’Best Before 10-09-06’) Hazy, murky light brown in the glass. Amber/red hints at the edge. Two finger creamy off-white head. Minimal retention, but good lacing. Smells very good. Better than it looks. Sweet maltiness. Honeyed pears and grapes. Wheat and yeastiness. Tastes of nuttiness and malts mixed with sweet fruits. Pear and apricot stand out. Buttery and perhaps a bit of maple syrup. A tiny bit of pepperiness from hops. This has mellowed out very well. Loses points for being abit on the thin side. Other than that though, it is a tasty, tasty brew. The alcohol content is high enough, and although I don’t taste it, I certainly feel it, that it gets docked a point in drinkability. Elsewise, this is an excellent brew that has aged exceptionally well.