Tasting

What is a schooner? In Adelaide, it's a glass holding 285 milliliters, which confuses every Australian from elsewhere in the country. There, a schooner usually means 425 milliliters. The 285-milliliter glass is called a pot in Melbourne and Brisbane, and a middy in Sydney.

In South Australia, a 425-milliliter glass is therefore called a pint, and anyone wanting the British 570 milliliters orders an imperial pint. Then there's the butcher at 200 milliliters, meant for a quick thirst, and the pony at 140. So if you order “a schooner” in an Adelaide pub, you'll get the small glass.

How should you properly drink Coopers Sparkling Ale? You can tilt the bottle carefully to keep the yeast at the bottom, giving a clearer, slightly crisper beer. Or you can gently roll or swirl it before pouring, which brings the yeast into the glass, making the beer cloudy and giving it a fuller, breadier taste. Both approaches are common—it's a matter of preference.

The Pale Ale shows best well-chilled and in a schooner. The Sparkling Ale tastes better with a little warmth, since too much cold mutes the fruit character. The Best Extra Stout can handle even more warmth, which brings out the coffee and chocolate notes more clearly.

Four Coopers beers make good examples: Pale Ale for beginners, Sparkling Ale as the classic, Best Extra Stout for roast lovers, and Session Ale for hop hunters. In the glass, it's worth checking the head: yeast beers usually form a fine, whitish foam that collapses a bit faster than that of filtered lagers.