Coopers Extra Stout

It is more or less redundant to note that the Coopers brewery is (along with the Little Creatures crowd) one of the two best makers of mass market beer in Australia, or for that matter, Australasia (although we do think the "family brewed" tag is stretching it a little - what proportion of the Coopers workforce can really be family members?)

However, while being well familiarised with most of their other products we hadn't though previously come across their Extra Stout. In short, this is probably the best (mass market) stout we can think of this side of Ireland (along with perhaps New Zealand's classic Vita Stout). While not as rich and thick as Guiness (obviously the benchmark for the style) Coopers have actually managed to create a complex, textured drink. This unfortunately has been all-too-rare among the attempts of most brewers in this part of the world's attempts at making stouts, porters, and other darker beers.

Definitely worth a try for the uninitiated.