Coopers Sparkling Ale - Coopers Brewery Limited

EnojysAnyBeer

Colorado

4.18/5  rDev +17.1%
look: 4.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4.5

A- Unfiltered beer with plenty of yeast provides for a hazy body that is light amber in color. The head is shiny and sticky

S- Nice warm flavors of alcohol and bread. Very classic beer scents with much depth coming from standard aromas.

T- Full of malt flavors made complex by tangy yeast and spicy hops.

M- Nice foamy feel made smooth by a well-balanced body.

D- Very drinkable in just about any occasion.

Serving type: bottle

02-07-2011 00:56:34 | More by EnojysAnyBeer

donkeyrunner

Massachusetts

2.05/5  rDev -42.6%
look: 3 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 2 | overall: 1.5

Hazy gold color with a thin, thin, white head. Head has macro-like modesty and quickly disappears leaving impotent retention. Not a single smudge of lace. I decanted this.

Aroma is yeast, and sparkling white grape juice. My mom used to buy me "Kid's Champagne" for Thanksgiving and New Years when I was too young to drink. This is like a yeasty over 21 version of that. Taste is, again, Kid's Chapagne with a English hop lump in back. It tastes as unappealing as it sounds.

Mouthfeel is indeed sparkling which I guess is the point. But it's also thin and husky. Not a fan.

Drainpour. I'll give it a 1.5 instead of a 1 because though I did drainpour it, I made it through most of the bottle first.

Serving type: bottle

01-05-2011 00:47:26 | More by donkeyrunner

davidfoley

New York

3.83/5  rDev +7.3%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4.5

Bottle conditioned

Appearance - Pale Golden Straw colour. Good clarity. Medium carbonation and moderate head retention.

Smell - Mild hop, yeast, strong floral and orange smell

Taste - Mild malt & hop flavour with light bitter finish.

Mouthfeel - Smooth with crisp zingy carbonation

Drinkability - Good beer. Very drinkable with no over powering flavors. Very light, a good summer or session beer.

Serving type: bottle

12-30-2010 21:13:14 | More by davidfoley

Bitterbill

Wyoming

4.1/5  rDev +14.8%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4.5

I've had this many times in the past, now I get to review it.

The bottle has a best after date. Sept 1, 2009.

I've always loved the name of the brew as compared to what it looks like when you pour it in a glass. Sparkling? It's a cloudy orange yellow. Small head of foam with some good lacing.

I note some citrus and a strongish smell of malt. Just like I remember.

Taste wise, it brings the lemony citrus hops and brings a solid malt background though it's not as sweet as in the smell. Could be a good thing. Also has some fruity tones I can't stick solely on the lemon I'm tasting. A nice plus.

A nice medium or at least close to medium body with a little less carbonation than a few of their other offerings...definitely an improvement in the mouth feel department.

Finally, I could drink copious quantities of this sparkling ale. Lots of good flavours and not a high price tag when it comes to the abv. Just generally, very enjoyable.

Serving type: bottle

12-25-2010 01:52:22 | More by Bitterbill

mandolinhomebrew

Austria

4/5  rDev +12%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Apperance: Poured from a bottle into my Lefebvre Hopus Glass. Pours a pale color a shade or two darker than a Pils, golden even. A bit cloudy from sediment to it being unfiltered and bottle conditioning. Nice fluffy head that is close to pure white. Even after 15+ minutes there is always a nice thin layer of head on this baby.

Aroma: a bit of yeast and a tad of malty sweetness with a healthy dose of bitterness & floral/spicy hops.

Mouthfeel: Between light and medium mouth-feel. lots of carbonation despite my decent-head promoting pour.

Taste: Moderately complex with yeast, slight malty-sweetness and fruit-like flavors prevalent (apples? citrus?) Spicy & floral hops definitely come out to finish but don't overwhelm. Alcohol is definitely there but not in strong-ale land.

Drinkability: Extremely drinkable and refreshing. I agree that it's light enough to be appreciated by most ordinary beer drinkers, but still has a complexity BA's will appreciate as well. It's a pretty balanced brew that comes out a little on the hoppy side, but again, not overwhelmingly.

Overall: A great EPA and definitely the best beer I've ever had with a twist-off cap. It might be something I'd give my typical lager drinking friends to try if wanting to introduce them to the world of ales. Yet, at the same time, it's delicious for me and possesses some subtle complexities to keep me interested and drinking more.

Serving type: bottle

12-18-2010 13:45:20 | More by mandolinhomebrew

Bobby12many

Wisconsin

3.98/5  rDev +11.5%
look: 4.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

A - Pours a pale hay-like golden hue with a lively effervensant fizz that forms a crop of refined head which quickly diminishes. Plenty of fine yeast granules floating about inside. Very nice looking brew

S - Bready and yeasty. Subtle hint of hops and citrus zest

T - Quite Interesting. Smooth and crisp maltiness up front that gives way to a nice bitterness in the finish. Perfectly balanced with a hop-tonic like quality that doesnt overpower.

M - Great feel. Big and Bready enough to remind me of a hefeweisse, but with the flavor profile of a balanced Pale.

D - Overall a wonderfully enjoyable beer and an extremely drinkable EPA. Well balanced but enough complexity to keep it interesting. I will certainly pick some of this up again.

Serving type: bottle

12-05-2010 22:44:28 | More by Bobby12many

Lauthaha

Michigan

4.38/5  rDev +22.7%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 4.5 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Poured from a bottle into a wine glass.

Appearance: Pale, golden color, somewhere between straw and bronze. Thick head dissipates to a thin wisp on the surface, pure white. Slightly cloudy.

Smell: Zesty citrus first, followed by a heavy, yeasty, malty nose.

Taste/Mouthfeel: Crisp, orange peel flavor. Bready and beautiful. Mouthfeel like a good pilsner, body of an ale. Nice.

Drinkability: I could put this one in my lineup. A good middle-of-the-night beer, for sure.

Serving type: bottle

12-02-2010 02:49:21 | More by Lauthaha

ludachris

Ontario (Canada)

4.25/5  rDev +19%
look: 4 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 5

Its marmalade hued body is incredibly murky and hazed, largely due to the vast deposit of sediment that's apparent throughout the body. Three fingers of creamy and billowing white head is generated after an average pour that displays excellent retention. Gotta love the appearance of a bottle conditioned beer.

Raw, fresh, and very floral in the nose. I pick up on some lemon rhine, sweet and spicy phenols, and that mineral-like character I've come to expect from EPA's. Light, fresh, and toasty malts are a good addition to this more hop forward brew.

A quick floral and spicy bite greets the tongue first before a silky sweet character that gradually transforms into a more toasty, buttery malt profile takes center stage. The finish is smooth and dry towards the very end with light but raw grassy hops asserting their presence.

The bottle conditioning makes this EPA ridiculously smooth and oh so creamy. With its good balance and cask-like carbonation, this one is too easy to put down. I finished it before I finished this review and that's a rarity.

I'll start off by saying that this is tied for the best EPA I've ever had. The bottle conditioning of this beer does wonders for it; from appearance to mouthfeel but especially drinkability. Thumbs way up on this one.

Serving type: bottle

12-01-2010 00:39:25 | More by ludachris

drtth

Pennsylvania

3.85/5  rDev +7.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Reviewed from notes taken on a recent trip to Sydney.

Decanted into a wine glass. Glass of cold water on the side to sip from periodically.

Appearance: As poured the beer is a lightly hazed pale golden color with a tinge of apricot color. The ¼" head recedes fairly slowly leaving some lacing. By the end of the beer, sipping still leaves a few scattered specks of lacing but not a lot.

Smell: The aroma includes some light citrus zest and some pale malt character but is not particularly strong or bready.

Taste: As expected from the nose, the crisp refreshing flavors include some nice almost honey-like light sweetness form the malt blending nicely with some citric bitterness that is almost like lemon zest.

Mouthfeel: The mouth feel is medium bodied and prickly with the persistent active carbonation. The finish is citric, slightly dry, and moves from the middle of the mouth back into the back of the throat.

Drinkability: This was an easily drinkable beer with one sip following another easily and it was gone much sooner than I had planned. I would be quite happy to have had another and if I return to Australia I'll be happy to sample this one again.

Serving type: bottle

11-20-2010 21:05:00 | More by drtth

B967ierhunter177

Pennsylvania

1.43/5  rDev -59.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 2 | taste: 1 | feel: 2 | overall: 1

Coopers Sparkling Ale pours a clear, gold color with no foam and tons of carbonation. The nose is lemon and wheat followed by a bitter, lemon, and vanilla flavor. It's got a thin mouthfeel, very dry, and leaves a bit of a burn in the back of the throat. This is way too bitter to drink more than one. Not recommended!

Serving type: bottle

11-14-2010 00:18:55 | More by B967ierhunter177

beerprovedwright

Georgia

3.75/5  rDev +5%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

Light head of one finger that evaporated to clinging lace. Color is a 6 on the SRM beer color chart. Apple cider is the first thing I smell, there is also some pear and plum, some malt and roasted wheat. Taste has overtones of citrus, apple, plum, lemon peel, malt and wheat. Full body feeling around my mouth and down my throat. Crisp, light, and good flavor, this is a brew I would like to drink again.

Serving type: bottle

11-12-2010 02:42:41 | More by beerprovedwright

kylers

New York

3.4/5  rDev -4.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

A: Cloudy, looks to be bottle conditioned. Tons of bubbles rising throughout the entire pint.
S: Intense orange peel with a hint of yeasty malt presence.
T/M: Incredibly dry and bubbly. Slight sweetness and finishes almost like a budweiser. Tastes a little thin, maybe they use plain sugar to dry it out?
D: Crisp and refreshing with just a touch of sweetness and slight hop flavor aroma, you could put a few of these down on a nice hot day.

I bet this is delicious if you get it in Australia. Travels better than most beers, though.

Serving type: bottle

11-05-2010 17:09:06 | More by kylers

mjurney

Texas

4.03/5  rDev +12.9%
look: 3.5 | smell: 4 | taste: 4 | feel: 4.5 | overall: 4

Appearance:
Pale gold color, lots of small sediment. Some little bubbles. Thin foamy head, lacing is fair.

Aroma:
Crisp hops, pale malts, a little zesty lemons.

Taste & Mouthfeel:
Body is very clean and refreshing. Crisp fresh hops, fruity (mostly apple and pear), a little touch of citrus. Malt balance the beer very well, sweet bready, a little touch of grass. I could even detect some cinnamon in the taste.

Finish & Aftertaste:
Very crisp and clean finish, almost no aftertaste.

Overall Impressions:
I really like this one. Very refreshing, perfect sunny day beer.

Serving type: bottle

10-18-2010 22:16:18 | More by mjurney

kwjd

Ontario (Canada)

2.45/5  rDev -31.4%
look: 4 | smell: 2.5 | taste: 2 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 2.5

Pours a murky, pale orange colour, with very bubbly white head. Some lacing on the glass and ok head retention. Smells of bready malt, hops, metal and cooked vegetables. Mild bitterness in the flavour, but some off flavours as well. More carbonation than I'd like in an pale ale. I don't know if freshness is the issue here, but it says best before May 2012 on the bottle and it was kept in the fridge section at the Control Board in Ontario, so I have to imagine it was fresh.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2010 21:26:47 | More by kwjd

WeezyBoPeep

Florida

3.9/5  rDev +9.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

Poured from a bottle into a Samuel Smith victorian pint glass.

A: I was expecting a beer that looked like champagne. Not at all. Nice murky orange/tan with a huge foamy head. Nice lacing and head retention. Looks like a darkish hefeweizen.

S: Smells like a hefeweizen. Wheaty and citrusy with subtle white grape and floral hop notes. Overall lemon zest essence.

T: Wow. Refreshingly carbonated, thick but not too thick. I get lots of sour wheat and a biscuit malt hit. Nice and creamy with a pleasing finish, but somewhat of a sour taste on the roof of my mouth.

D: Great six pack candidate for a hot summer day.

Value: At $9.99 per sixer, this is a good buy. Plus you get that extra 0.7 fl oz per bottle. YES.

Serving type: bottle

10-17-2010 19:52:53 | More by WeezyBoPeep

karait95

Mexico

3.5/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

A: good golden color not very shinny but with a nice head light brown color with small bubbles that dissipares slowly.

S: faint malty aroma with a vage sweet smell inside

T: good but pain favor not too compex malty flavor with hops at the end

M: refreshing tasting for an ale good ending a little too bitter but long enough

Serving type: bottle

10-09-2010 03:01:53 | More by karait95

faroutadventure

Washington

4.85/5  rDev +35.9%
look: 4 | smell: 4.5 | taste: 5 | feel: 5 | overall: 5

Really pours nice. Champagne in appearance. Bubbling like crazy off the bottom.

A - Pours thick and cloudy (inverted before opening) golden orange. Tons of carbonation, looks/behaves like champagne almost.

S - One word - Citrus,bready, yeasty notes .Inviting to drink.

T - Again citrus with a hoppy finish. Slight chalky after effects. Dry on the pallete

M - Hearty and 'sparkling'...

D - You will want more than one!

Serving type: bottle

10-05-2010 02:18:16 | More by faroutadventure

biegaman

Ontario (Canada)

3.63/5  rDev +1.7%
look: 3 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 4 | overall: 4

'Sparkling Ale' is perhaps the most ironically named beer I know of. This turbid, marmalade-looking beverage is replete with yeast particles resembling torn finger nails and has a complexion only as bright as a rainy autumn evening. While a harder pour might exacerbate some of the former, head needs to be generated somehow; this looks awful flat.

Leaving beer unpasteurized usually affords it a little extra padding for long journeys, but the trip from Down Under to these North American shores must have been pretty rough - the smell of budding green hops has faded substantially and its biscuity maltiness comes across as frail and battered. The thing seems to have gotten sea sick.

The taste allows us a more fair and accurate glimpse into how the beer is surely meant to be; its firm bready flavours and underlying zest characterize the English Pale Ale style to a tee. While both are moderate flavours they are fairly assertive on the palate and suit one another well. A hint of honeyed oats lingers softly on the aftertaste.

I've drank my fair share of Coopers Sparkling over the years and have often noticed great inconsistencies bottle to bottle; unfortunately this particular sample isn't suiting my fancy quite like others have. Mostly this stems from two discrepancies, the first regarding carbonation (tonight nil) and the other being hoppiness (less bitter, animate than usual).

Nevertheless, it's still made clear that the Australians learned a thing or two from their British ancestors when it comes to crafting mild and sessionable beers. This is exactly the kind of offering you'd want to find fresh on cask at your local pub... having it stale and battered in bottle shipped from the other side of the planet is less ideal, but still alright.

Serving type: bottle

09-28-2010 22:20:35 | More by biegaman

JayQue

Virginia

3.03/5  rDev -15.1%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

Not impressed. Has a" best after" date of 18 June 09???? I drank it 24 Sept 10. Have no idea if it is fresh enough for comparison.

Appearance was the best part. A hard pour provides a big carbonated head with average retention. There is small globs of lacing on the glass.

Hardly any aroma other than a little metallic/chemical nose. Taste was mild, a little malty, a bit of the strange aroma element and a little grassy hops in the finish.

Mouthfeel was a disappointment. After the name sparkling and the big head, I was expecting some on-going carbonation to tickle the tongue. The beer was not watery, but there is little crispness and no extra carbonation. Drinkability is very average.This is not an exceptional beer in any sense.

Serving type: bottle

09-24-2010 23:28:08 | More by JayQue

shambeano

Australia

3.35/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 4.5

L-a careful pour into a pint glass makes the beer come out a relative light golden amber, and knowing this beer as i do, a careless pour results in a very cloudy beer, personally i like them either way, but for the purpose of this review it has been poured clear. only about 2 or 3 mm of head, which quickly goes. i quite like the look of this one.

n-smell is slightly sweet, and a tad citrus style hoppy, but there is not a whole lot going on there.

t- first up is the bitterness, it really hits the front of your tongue and before you can make anything out it moves towards the back and then disappears. Its a slighly acidic citrusy bitterness, that is cleansing and refreshing more than anything. and there is a slight caramaly malt sweetness in there to follow, although what it resembles eludes me. it seems to work.

m- carbonation i find can be a little prickly, but other than that mouthfeel is pretty standard, good, but not amazing.

d- i find this beer really very easy to drink, its a beer i could drink several of and i have done on many a hot summers day.

Although its not mindblowingly amazing, coopers sparkling is a pretty damn good standard, ive drunk it many a time, and im sure i will continue to.

Serving type: bottle

09-09-2010 12:51:25 | More by shambeano

vandemonian

Maryland

3.35/5  rDev -6.2%
look: 3 | smell: 4 | taste: 3 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

This beer has an orange straw colour and a head that is gone in 20 seconds leaving only a meniscus of bubbles. This beer is sweet and citrussy on the nose. The taste is tangy and hoppy, almost sour. This is a decent English style pale ale, but nothing special.

NOTE: I am Australian and the standard Cooper's pale ale in Aus is in a green bottle and slightly different. I guess this stuff is for export only.

Serving type: bottle

09-07-2010 01:12:15 | More by vandemonian

EagleTalon

Arkansas

3.65/5  rDev +2.2%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 4 | feel: 2.5 | overall: 3.5

"best after" date (after???) was 01Sept 09.

Pours to hazy orange-gold color and sudsy white head that lasts. Aroma is fruity, hoppy and slightly malty. Flavor is fruity, estery, somewhat citrusy and balanced with a dose of bittering hops and some lingering hop flavor. Mouthfeel is bubbly but "rough". Has a very "homebrewy" vibe to it. Overall, a solid beer that has no frills or pretensions. It is what I would call a good ale.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2010 18:27:09 | More by EagleTalon

spinrsx

Ontario (Canada)

3.53/5  rDev -1.1%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 3.5

375ml bottle poured into a pint glass

Appearance - the beer pours a pale yellow colour with a decent size fizzy and foamy white head. I can see lots of carbonation and the beer is hazy. There appears to be some average lacing and the head has lasted for a few minutes.

Smell - The beer has a very pleasing grassy and hoppy smell. Also some apple scent and some citrus zest.

Taste & Mouth - There is a lot of carbonation going on here, almost like a champagne. It has a lemony bitter taste mixed with some hops. The beer finishes on a bitter hoppy notes but it is not overpowering. It is a very refreshing taste.

Drink I'm happy I gave this beer a try. A nice refreshing beer due to the carbonation and lemon flavours. I'd purchase it again.

Serving type: bottle

09-03-2010 01:10:14 | More by spinrsx

lacqueredmouse

Australia

3.5/5  rDev -2%
look: 3.5 | smell: 3 | taste: 3.5 | feel: 3.5 | overall: 4

Part of my attempt to get a more comprehensive coverage of the most readily available Australian beers. Purchased at Liquorland - it's a nice experience to get reviewable beers from such a massive chain.

Pours a pale yellow-golden colour, cloudy with yeast sediment which I agitated and added to the glass. Head is initially frothy and boisterous, a just-eggwhite off-white colour that leaves good lacing. Looks pretty good.

Nose unmistakably has an Australian edge to it - I believe that Pride of Ringwood is used in this brew, giving that slightly earthy, slightly rank character. But there's a cleanness to it which is better than a lot of other examples of its usage. Not bad.

Taste is better -- it has a smooth clean palate, bittered with a slight phenolic edge, but largely clean, round and slightly buttery. Pleasant fresh finish gives a slight twang of green, but it's all very mellow and approachable. Mouthfeel is clean and slick.

It's a nice brew, this one. Certainly easy to drink and very sessionable. Not something that's going to wow you, but it's something that you could keep going with all night.

Serving type: bottle

09-01-2010 08:34:33 | More by lacqueredmouse

decimator

Ontario (Canada)

3.15/5  rDev -11.8%
look: 4 | smell: 3.5 | taste: 3 | feel: 3 | overall: 3

375ml bottle poured into a pint glass.

A - Poured a cloudy gold with a 1cm head. Good lacing is produced and some sediment settled at he bottom of the glass.

S - Sweet malts, flowers, spices and orange peel.

T - Malty sweetness upfront, citrus sourness and a mild lingering hop bitterness.

M - Low carbonation, creamy, rustic with a slightly bland finish.

D - Average beer. Goes good with hamburgers.

Serving type: bottle

08-19-2010 23:33:27 | More by decimator