Coopers celebrates 160 years of brewing by Ioni Doherty

COOPERS’ FUTURE IS WELL IN PLAY

AS COOPERS BREWERY CELEBRATES 160 YEARS OF BREWING, THE FOUNDATIONS FOR THE FUTURE ARE ALREADY LAID FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. IONI DOHERTY REPORTS.

Adelaide was a town transformed over the weekend as the Cooper family celebrated the brewery’s milestone of 160 years and six generations of brewing.

Coopers Original Pale Ale roundels were signposted across Adelaide as eighty delegates flew in from interstate to join the celebration of this enduring Australian institution and one of South Australia’s biggest hero brands.

The brewery flag flew proudly at the airport, wrapped trams, featured on alfresco umbrellas outside Adelaide’s sandstone walled pubs and struck across pavements in lights.

After a short snort at Adelaide stalwart, The Exeter Hotel, for a pre-dinner drink of Coopers Pale Ale, we changed gears for the black-tie event at the Freemasons Great Hall on North Terrace.

Filmmaker Shane Jacobsen officiated the evening with performances from Neon Tetra and Georgia Germain, as South Australia’s leading publicans, drinks retailers and families amassed to celebrate the legacy of this incredible family. Hoteliers Peter and Tony Hurley were there along with the President of AHA SA, David Basheer.

Coopers Brewery’s History

In his speech, Dr Tim Cooper AM, fifth generation Cooper, said the brewery had survived five ‘near-death’ experiences since Thomas Cooper brewed his first beer in 1862 using a recipe sent to his wife, Anne, by her father back home in the UK.

Coopers moved into the pubs and on-tap in 1905 and continued brewing throughout the Great Depression when it was one of the last South Australian brewers still standing.

The company brewed ale and stout for 105 years until 1968 when despite resistance from the board, Dr Cooper’s father Bill Cooper, and his colleagues adapted to the times and created Coopers first lager, Gold Crown.

Coopers survived the 1972 hike in excise duty – coinciding with high inflation rates - and Dr Cooper explained, “as beer was considered a necessity, brewers could not increase their prices without going to the tribunal first”.

Then, in 1977, opportunity struck. Prime Minister Gough Whitlam made it legal to brew beer at home, and Coopers created its first home brewing kits. It was life-changing for the business and Australian beer drinkers.

By the mid-late 1980s, the brewery’s fortunes had turned around, and in 1990 Dr Cooper left his career as a cardiologist in the UK and joined the family company back in South Australia as Technical Manager. By the early 1990s, Coopers was the largest manufacturer and exporter of home brewing kits in the world, and Coopers continued to survive on the sales of those kits through the recession of the 1990s.

In 1989, Pale Ale, the jewel in Coopers’ crown, was kegged into pubs.

Dr Cooper recounted how Lion – on its second takeover attempt in 2005 – offered shareholders around $260 per share, “around six times what they were worth”. The offer went as high as $310 per share, but shareholders held steadfast and loyal. At the time, Bill Cooper said, “I am a maker of beer. If I sell my stake, what am I? An owner of condominiums?”

The anecdote is instructive and reflective of the company’s commitment to remaining independent, to loyalty, tradition and its long-term relationships.

The no-fuss branding, those straightforward, straight-speaking two colour roundels are the same. The proof of the packaging is in the tasting. Reliable, available and ever-present.

The Coopers are a hardworking and capable family of doers, makers and learners who get things done. And their cultural contribution to the community of South Australia is significant.

As much as they adhere to tradition and are challenged to move with the times, on the occasion of 160 years of brewing, they are long-sighted and committed to progress. And whisky production.

A Generational Investment

Director of Marketing and Innovation Cam Pearce – whose wife, Robyn, is the second cousin to Dr Cooper – describes what is going on in Regency Park as a “generational investment”.

Dr Cooper applauds Mr Pearce’s vision to innovate, brew more beer and make Coopers Brewery a tourist destination in partnership with the South Australian government.

Coopers has invested $68 million in its maltings and expanded the warehouse at Regency Park, upping its storage capacity by 50 per cent with $50 million spent on developing the visitor’s centre.

Cellars underneath the visitor centre are being carved out to store Coopers yet to be named- and yet to be produced – whisky barrels. No word either on who the head distiller will be, although Mr Cooper said discussions have commenced.

There will be a microbrewery on-site capable of producing 65k hectolitres (up from 32K) of limited release beer without disrupting the main brewery operations. The microbrewery will also provide the beer wash for whisky distillation at the distillery adjacent to the microbrewery.

Dr Cooper says the whisky production idea has been germinating since 2017 when Dr Cooper and Operations Manager Nick Sterenberg were doing the maltings.

Coopers has expanded its sales team to 20 people, including those with spirits and spirits sales expertise. Its first target is to produce 70K bottles a year with a view to ultimately producing 210K bottles of

Scottish style malt whisky annually. That’s a lot of whisky. And a lot of beer.

Of Dr Tim Cooper’s three ‘sixth generation’ children – his daughter Louise is Strategic Development Manager at the company and steered the logistics of the business through COVID. His son

Ian is brewing at Carlsberg in Denmark after completing a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Coopers’ big birthday campaign includes the release of their Regency Park Red Ale. Its advertising extends to all markets, including the unmissable 170-metre billboard placement atop the Glebe Island Silos end of Sydney’s ANZAC Bridge for June. It shouts, “Coopers – A long history needs a long billboard – 1862-now.”

Coopers is already well beyond the now. Its future vision is well in play. There is plenty more from this family of brewers – and now distillers – that is yet to come. ID

Cellars underneath the visitor centre are being carved out to store Coopers yet to be named- and yet to be produced – whisky barrels.