Coopers is one of the doyens of brewers in the world. Their resistance of Lion Nathan’s bid in 2005 and subsequent removal of the ability for external takeover is legendary and admirable. Their range of beers, their lack of fear of sediment and cloudiness, their sense of humour and quality is unrivalled in Australian brewing and you’d be hard pressed to find a brewer to match Coopers in the World.
Why oh why then after resisting of-the-moment and profit gouging trends for so long – Coopers have found it necessary to produce Coopers Clear. Firstly, all Coopers stubbies were – until recently – 375mls. This is the standard for a stubbie in Oz, and those that tamper with it deservedly cop the scourge of beer drinkers across the nation. Cascade copped a bollocking when they reduced their stubbies from 375ml to 330ml. So bad was the backlash – they moved back.
Coopers haven’t been as greedy in the reduction of volume but the last two new additions to the Coopers Stable – the ’62 pilsner and Coopers Clear – have been in vessels smaller than 375ml. I can’t recall the size of the ’62 – but it is an un-Coopers Carlsberg like stubbie. Coopers Clear is in a 355ml bottle. Not Happy, Jan and now that I’ve done the Coopers Clear – I’ll return to the safety and size of the Green, unless I’m drinking with Charlie – who insists upon the Red.
The second unwanted trend is the use of a fad word to describe a beer. We’ve had Dry, Extra Dry, Ice, Cold etc – now Clear is the new buzz. The only thing that saves Coopers is the play on their traditional purveying of cloudy beverages. It still rankles, though, and is un-Coopers. Leave the trendy naming to the pony-tails employed in the larger breweries and stick to pumping out 375ml bottles of great beer.
back of the ferry 