Coopers Brewery is celebrating its 150th anniversary this year (2012) and is already setting its sights on the future.
Coopers ‘Celebration Ale’ is a hops driven traditional ale with a dark red hue. It incorporates three different hops varieties – Centennial from the USA, Nelson Sauvin from New Zealand and Pride of Ringwood from Australia – to produce a beer that displays strong estery characteristics.
Now the largest remaining Australian-owned brewer, Coopers has been securely in family hands since its founder, Thomas Cooper, a former stonemason and shoemaker, produced his first commercial brew in May 1862.
Coopers’ Managing Director, Dr Tim Cooper, said Celebration Ale had been specifically brewed to mark Coopers’ 150th anniversary. However, if it proved popular, strong consideration would be given to making it a regular Coopers’ line.
“We think Celebration Ale will appeal to those who enjoy slightly hoppier styles of beer,” he said.
“At 5.2% abv, it has a rich aroma of fruity esters with a slight hint of citrus and has a warm finish on the palate. It is also slightly more bitter than other Coopers ales.”
Dr Cooper said the release of Celebration Ale had been timed to coincide as closely as possible to 150 years from the day that Thomas Cooper made his first commercial brew, on 13th May 1862.
Coopers’ Chairman and Marketing Director, Mr Glenn Cooper, said Celebration Ale’s packaging was outstanding with the use of vibrant colours and graphics.
“The bottles will be packed in basket packs, while cartons will be predominantly black with gold writing to complement the neck labels on the bottles,” he said.
“It has been an open secret that Coopers would release a special beer to mark its 150th anniversary and there has been a large amount of interest about what we would produce and when it would be available.
“People understand that if Coopers is going to release a beer to mark a special occasion, it will be a special beer.
“We are confident that the beer itself and its packaging tick all the boxes.
“Early indications are that the initial production run will be quickly snapped up and we have already scheduled additional production to keep up with demand.”
Mr Cooper said the beer would be available in 355 ml bottles only.