Coopers Vintage Tasting Event

Coopers released its first Extra Strong Vintage Ale in 1999, which promptly sold out within a few days. Regular annual batches have been created ever since and this year marks the launch of Coopers 2007 Extra Strong Vintage Ale. Limited numbers of the beer are released each year, with only 20,000 cases of 24 bottles made, and just 3,500 of these exported overseas, which has given the Vintage Ale a rare and much sought after appeal.

To celebrate the arrival of the 2007 Vintage in the UK Coopers hosted a special tasting event at beer emporium Porterhouse in Covent Garden, London. A remarkable selection of Coopers Vintage beers were released from the brewery’s own vaults especially for the occasion and the great and the good of the beer world gathered at the venue for their chance to sample this never seen before collection of ales. Glenn Cooper AM Executive Chairman of Coopers Brewery, kicked off the proceedings with an introduction to the story of Coopers and the heritage of the Vintage brand, which was followed by words from Tesco’s Senior Buying Manager for Beer (and Coopers enthusiast) Andrew Carpenter who commented on the beer’s recent launch into the UK’s largest supermarket chain.

Beer expert, writer and educator Roger Protz hosted the tasting itself, which saw six years of Coopers Vintage Ale served to guests. The sampling started with the rare 1999 vintage and moved right through to the present day. Members of the panel were able to sample, savour and compare the various vintages which were served in chronological order to show the true nature of the beer and how it develops over time.

Coopers Vintage is created using centuries old processes and a handful of specially selected ingredients which ensure that it grows more interesting and complex with time. Drunk immediately the beer is a strong (ABV 7.5%), flavoursome ale with robust malt, hop and yeast characters. And if left to mature over a number of years it takes on a softer taste, with sweet and malty characteristics.

Each yearly batch is created using a selection of choice malts, sourced from the Yorke Peninsula in Southern Australia. A combination of hops from Tasmania, Germany, Czechoslovakia and the USA have been used in various years and the Vintage Ale is brewed using the traditional extended top fermentation process and then secondary fermentation takes place in the bottle. The beer is unfiltered and unpasturised and contains no preservatives or additives.

The differences between the vintages were highlighted by Roger Protz. The 1999 was said to have rich, Christmas cake-like qualities with a bittersweet finish, while the 2000 felt bigger and fruitier in the mouth, with hints of cherry and pepper on the nose. The 2002 came with sweet caramel notes with a drier finish and the 2004 was noted as being a more bitter and complex brew. The most recent additions to the Vintage line, the 2006 and 2007 both felt young and biting, with layers of banana (2006) and strawberry (2007) but it was acknowledged that both these would improve even further if left for a further year or two.

Many thanks to Porterhouse and all its staff, Glenn Cooper, Andrew Carpenter, Roger Protz, all at Pierhead Purchasing and event organisers the Impact Agency.



Images - From top to bottom

Glenn Cooper of Coopers Brewery introduces the event
Coopers 1999 Vintage, one of the rare batches released for the event
Roger Protz talks guests through the qualities of the beer
Guests line-up their glasses to judge the differences in the ales
Beer writer Ben Macfarland (right) and guests compare the profile of the different vintages