Coopers Brewery
Regency Park, Adelaide, SA, Australia · Est. 1862
Also known as Coopers
From the record
What we have established
The godfather of Australian independent brewing. It remains the largest Australian-owned brewery, famous for its naturally conditioned Pale Ale and Sparkling Ale.
Tally’s Take
The godfather of Australian independent brewing — and the proof that 'independent' can also mean enormous. Six generations of Coopers have kept it family-owned while it grew into the largest Australian-owned brewery, outlasting every macro buyout wave. Its naturally conditioned ales still finish fermentation in the bottle or can, which is why you're told to roll, not shake.
The founding thesisThomas Cooper, a Yorkshire migrant, first brewed an ale as a remedy for his ailing wife using a family recipe. Demand from neighbours turned the home remedy into a brewery.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1862The remedy
Thomas Cooper brews his first ale in Adelaide; neighbours' demand starts the brewery.
- 2005Fended off the takeover
Coopers shareholders reject a hostile takeover bid from Lion Nathan, keeping the brewery Australian-owned.
- 2001Regency Park
Opens a state-of-the-art brewery in Regency Park, one of the most advanced in the Southern Hemisphere.
The People
Behind the beer
Yorkshire-born migrant whose family pale-ale recipe became a national institution.
Still family-controlled after more than 160 years.
The Beer Library
Beers
Coopers Sparkling Ale
Year-RoundAustralian Sparkling Ale
Cloudy, bottle-conditioned; the brewery's signature since the 1800s.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Coopers Original Pale Ale
Year-RoundAustralian Pale Ale
'Coopers Red' — a cloudy, sessionable icon.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Coopers Vintage Ale
SeasonalStrong Ale
Annual bottle-conditioned release built to cellar.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Coopers Best Extra Stout
Year-RoundForeign Extra Stout
Bottle-conditioned like everything Coopers makes, which is why the sediment is meant to be roused rather than avoided. Australia's largest independent brewer, family-owned since 1862.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Travel Guide
Plan a visit
- Brewery tours
- Coopers museum
- On-site maltings
Straight answers
Common questions about Coopers Brewery
- Who owns Coopers Brewery?
- Coopers Brewery is independently owned — there is no parent company above it on record. It is based in Regency Park, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
- Is Coopers Brewery independent?
- Yes. Coopers Brewery is recorded as independent, with no parent company. Independence is recorded as the brewery states it; where a stake is a minority holding or joint venture, this archive leaves it unmapped rather than calling it ownership.
- When was Coopers Brewery founded?
- Coopers Brewery was founded in 1862 in Regency Park, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
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