Australian Sparkling Ale
You know you’re a beer geek if your travels include beer style research. That was very much the case for me while in the land down under in 2010 to speak at the Australian National Homebrew Conference. I had read about Australian sparkling ale in the March-April 2009 issue of Brew Your Own, and had been lobbied by several Beer Judge Certification Program (BJCP) judges in Australia about adding the style. Not wanting to rely on tasting impressions of possibly old examples, I set about to learn all I could about Coopers Sparkling Ale.
I sought out Tony Wheeler, who authored the BYO article, and other beer enthusiasts I had met along the way. Peter Symons, my host and traveling companion on the trip, also provided very helpful historical research. We tried the beer on several occasions, both on draft and in bottles, and I confirmed that we were drinking well-kept examples. So the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines are based on the tasting notes and discussions from this field research.
Australian sparkling ale is very much a historical holdover from the second half of the 19th century with Coopers of Adelaide, South Australia being the only surviving traditional producer. At the time, most domestically produced beer was mild and porter, but imported bottled pale ale from England was becoming more popular. Sparkling ale was produced as a domestic pale ale to compete against imports such as Bass Ale.
Keep in mind the characteristics of historical Burton pale ales and IPAs, as there is quite a bit of similarity with sparkling ale. As an export market for English beer, Australia has something in common with India — it’s a hot climate where the pale, dry, bitter beers taste particularly good. The bottled Burton pale ales and IPAs of the time weren’t particularly strong, but were crystal clear, well attenuated and had a sulfate water character. These same characteristics can be found in Australian sparkling ale.
Sensory Profile
Australian sparkling ale is a new style (12B) added to the 2015 BJCP Style Guidelines, listed under the “Pale Commonwealth Beer” category along with British golden ale and English IPA. An Australian sparkling ale is superficially similar to many modern American pale ales or English golden ales, in that it is a clear, deep yellow to light amber beer with a tall white head and high carbonation and noticeable effervescence. However, the flavor profile is different (although the overall balance can be similar).
The malt character is grainy or bready, typically without caramel flavors. If you try an imported Coopers and it tastes caramelly, this is likely due to oxidation and not part of the flavor profile of fresh samples. The same is often true with many British imports as well. The base malt flavor is often fairly neutral or mild, with hops and yeast carrying the show. The high attenuation also helps keep the malt flavors in check.
The yeast character is mostly fruity esters, perhaps with a light sulfury touch (although this can also come from the water). The most typical esters are pears and apples, although some examples have a hint of banana. Don’t over-emphasize these esters — it shouldn’t be highly fruity like Belgian ales, or have banana like a German weisse beer. The hop character is often herbal-spicy, typically with the characteristic profile of Pride of Ringwood hops (which often can have a slight iron-like character).
The body is moderate but the carbonation is very high, making the beer spritzy. The finish is very dry, accentuated a bit by sulfates in the water, with a medium to medium-high bitterness level. The high attenuation and sulfates can make the apparent bitterness seem higher than measured. As a moderate-strength beer, alcohol shouldn’t be tasted or felt in any significant way.
Combined, the balance of bitterness to malt is similar to many pale ales – the bitterness is forward but not extreme. Likewise, the esters and hops should be noticeable but not out of balance. Most components of the beer have a moderate intensity level, which gives the beer a pleasant balance and drinkability.
I can’t discuss the sensory profile without mentioning a peculiarity regarding dispense. Although a crystal clear beer, there appears to be a traditional preference for the beer to be served cloudy in Australia. When purchased both in bottles and on draught, the beer was intentionally cloudy. How do I know that this cloudiness was intentional? Well, the bartender poured about two-thirds of the beer into a glass, then swirled the bottle to rouse the yeast before dumping the remainder into the glass. At a different bar, I was told by the owner that instructions from the brewery called for storing the kegs upside down then inverting them for service. Odd practice; I must say I prefer the beer gently decanted, as with all bottle-conditioned beers.
Brewing Ingredients and Methods
When first produced in the second half of the 19th century, recipes would use pale malt (English or local) and up to 25% sugar, often with English hops. Modern Coopers is said to use a grist that is 95% pale ale malt, 1% crystal malt, and 4% wheat. Ingredients and methods can vary, as long as the malt flavors are restrained and the beer is well attenuated. Australian malt is now traditional, with Joe White being a common brand. The color malts are simply for color adjustment, not flavor.
Mashing is simple, as with most English-type beers. A single infusion mash is traditional, with a conversion temperature that might seem shockingly low to many homebrewers — 144 to 146 °F (62 to 63 °C). This temperature is necessary to make a highly fermentable wort, which in turn leads to high attenuation (along with an attenuative yeast strain). Sugar can also help with attenuation, particularly if malts with a higher nitrogen content are used (such as 6-row malt).
Pride of Ringwood hops are traditional, and many see them as a characteristic flavor of Australian beer. A single bittering addition at 60 minutes is most common, but the hops can also be used for flavor and aroma. The classic Coopers-type yeast is almost a requirement, as this provides the necessary attenuation and ester profile. A dry, highly attenuative English type yeast would be an alternative. Be careful about the fermentation temperature getting too warm (above 70 to 72 °F/ 21 to 22 °C) as this can exaggerate the esters.
Coopers Sparkling Ale is 5.8% ABV, but they make a similar pale ale of 4.5%. Both fit the style and help show the range of alcohol that is typical. Bitterness is similar to pale ales from the United States, Britain, and Belgium, most often in the 25-30 IBU range. It’s OK to go lower since this beer is so highly attenuated that the bitterness does stand out.
When formulating a recipe, pick the alcohol level you want and work backwards to find the original gravity. Since the beer needs to be very dry and attenuated, shoot for a final gravity around 1.005. Even with a high degree of attenuation, the beer won’t taste right if the final gravity is too high.
The beer can be bottle conditioned or kegged, but either way it needs a very high carbonation level (something around 3 volumes of CO2 would be good). Bottle conditioning is traditional; just be sure you use the thicker glass bottles that can handle higher carbonation levels.
Homebrew Example
I wanted to make a version that was a little different but still recognizable as the style in my recipe below. I’m not shooting for a clone beer, or attempting to use all Australian ingredients. I’m also playing up the late hops a bit more. In looking at various versions over time, I wanted to take something from historic recipes as well as modern examples; I also was trying for an intermediate beer in the middle of the alcohol range. Finally, I don’t like a lot of sulfur in my beers, so I’m using low levels of calcium sulfate.
My recipe uses many of my standard methods, such as building water up from Reverse Osmosis (RO) water, adding specialty grains during recirculation not in the mash, using a step mash, using first wort and whirlpool hops, and mixing several base malts. This isn’t traditional for the style (although Coopers does use RO water with calcium sulfate).
Although Australian base malt can sometimes be found, I went with a more available combination of US pale ale malt and German Pilsner malt. Any neutral malts would work, including using 6-row. An authentic Australian malt to use would be Joe White pale ale or Pilsner malt. Since Joe White was purchased by Cargill, its malts can sometimes be found in the North American market. Coopers malt extract is a great choice for extract brewers since it uses Australian malts and is widely available.
I add the dark and crystal-type malts during recirculation to keep harsh flavors down. I use minimal water treatments since I prefer the flavor profile of beers without excessive mineral additions. If you mash the dark and crystal malts, you likely will not have to use the phosphoric acid in the mash, but you should still use it in the sparge water. These malts are mostly for color adjustment, anyway.
If you want to perform a single step infusion mash, use a rest temperature of 147 °F (64 °C). My recipe includes sugar, but that’s optional. Use the sugar if you make an extract version of the style as it’s unlikely the extract will be as fermentable as needed.
I did select the key hops and yeast for my homebrew example (Pride of Ringwood hops and an Australian Ale yeast strain). If I was trying to be cheeky with the style, I might use modern Australian Galaxy hops or some of the more unusual New Zealand hops and pick an English yeast such as Wyeast 1028 (London Ale), White Labs WLP023 (Burton Ale), or even a Kölsch yeast.
The profile would be different but the balance could be similar. A more traditional substitute for the hops could be something coarse or rustic like Cluster, Galena, or Fuggles. The first wort and whirlpool hops are not traditional; you can use a single 60 minute addition instead, particularly if you think the hops interfere with the fruity esters.
So even though I’m being a bit playful in my recipe choices, I still wind up with a beer tasting very much like the classic sparkling ales I sampled in Australia. Whether you try my version, a more classic clone version, or some of the experimental choices I mentioned, I think you’ll find it a nice, easy drinking, warm weather beer.
Australian Sparkling Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, all-grain)
OG = 1.047 FG = 1.005
IBU = 27 SRM = 7 ABV = 5.6%
Ingredients
3 lbs. (1.4 kg) US pale ale malt (3.5 °L)
3 lbs. (1.4 kg) German Pilsner malt (1.8 °L)
1.75 lbs. (0.79 kg) white sugar (15 min.)
5 oz. (142 g) Belgian Caravienne® malt (21 °L)
0.7 oz. (20 g) Carafa® III Special malt (525 °L)
6.3 AAU Pride of Ringwood hops (first wort hop) (0.7 oz./20 g at 9% alpha acids)
0.3 oz. (9 g) Pride of Ringwood hops (0 min.)
1⁄2 tsp. phosphoric acid (10%)
1⁄2 tsp. calcium chloride (CaCl2)
1⁄2 tsp. gypsum (CaSO4)
White Labs WLP009 (Australian Ale) or Coopers ale yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Make a 1-qt. (1-L) yeast starter two or three days before brew day, aerating the wort thoroughly (preferably with oxygen) before pitching the yeast. On brew day, prepare your ingredients; mill the grain, measure your hops, and prepare your water. This recipe uses reverse osmosis (RO) water. Add 1⁄4 tsp. 10% phosphoric acid per 5 gallons (19 L) of brewing water, or until water measures pH 5.5 at room temperature. Add 1⁄2 tsp. calcium chloride and 1⁄2 tsp. gypsum to the mash. Mash in the pale ale and Pilsner malts at 144 °F (62 °C) in 9 qts. (8.5 L) of water, and hold this temperature for 60 minutes. Raise the temperature by infusion or direct heating to 158 °F (70 °C) for 10 minutes. Finally, raise the temperature to 168 °F (76 °C) to mashout. Add the Caravienne® and Carafa® malts, and recirculate for 15 minutes. Fly sparge with 168 °F (76 °C) water until 6.5 gallons (25 L) of wort is collected.
Boil the wort for 90 minutes, adding the hops and sugar at times indicated in the recipe. First wort hops are added to the kettle before the wort is run off. After adding the final hops when the heat is turned off, let the wort stand for 15 minutes before chilling. Chill to 68 °F (20 °C).
Oxygenate the wort, then pitch the yeast starter. Allow the fermentation temperature to rise to no more than 72 °F (22 °C) until fermentation is complete. Rack and allow the beer to drop bright, using crash cooling or fining if necessary. Prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate to 3 to 3.5 volumes. If bottling, be sure you use thicker glass bottles that can handle higher carbonation levels.
Australian Sparkling Ale
(5 gallons/19 L, extract with grains)
OG = 1.047 FG = 1.005
IBU = 27 SRM = 7 ABV = 5.6%
Ingredients
4 lbs. (1.8 kg) Coopers light liquid malt extract
1.75 lbs. (0.79 kg) white sugar (15 min.)
5 oz. (142 g) Belgian Caravienne® malt (21 °L)
0.7 oz. (20 g) Carafa® III Special malt (525 °L)
6.3 AAU Pride of Ringwood hops (60 min.) (0.7 oz./20 g at 9% alpha acids)
0.3 oz. (9 g) Pride of Ringwood hops (0 min.)
White Labs WLP009 (Australian Ale) or Coopers ale yeast
1 cup corn sugar (if priming)
Step by Step
Use 6 gallons (23 L) of water in the brew kettle; heat to 158 °F (70 °C). Place the crushed Carafa® and Caravienne® malt in a mesh bag, and steep in the hot water for 30 minutes. Remove the mesh bag, then turn the heat off.
Add the liquid malt extract and stir thoroughly to dissolve the extract completely. You do not want to feel liquid extract at the bottom of the kettle when stirring with your spoon. Turn the heat back on and bring to a boil. Boil the wort for 60 minutes, adding the hops at the times indicated in the recipe. Add the sugar with 15 minutes left in the boil.
After adding the final hops when the heat is turned off, let the wort stand for 15 minutes before chilling. Chill to 68 °F (20 °C). Oxygenate the wort, then pitch the yeast starter. Allow the fermentation temperature to rise to no more than 72 °F (22 °C) until fermentation is complete. Rack and allow the beer to drop bright, using crash cooling or fining if necessary. Prime and bottle condition, or keg and force carbonate to 3 to 3.5 volumes.
If bottling, be sure you use thicker glass bottles that can handle higher carbonation levels.
Tips for Success:
Australian malt is traditional for Australian sparkling ales. However I have chosen to use a more available combination of US pale ale malt and German Pilsner malt. Any neutral malts would work, including using 6-row. However, if you are looking for a more authentic Australian sparkling ale, an Australian malt to use would be Joe White pale ale or Pilsner malt. Since Joe White was purchased by Cargill, its malts can sometimes be found in North America.
My all-grain recipe includes sugar, but that’s optional. If you make the extract version, use the sugar since it’s unlikely the extract will be as fermentable as needed.
