Beer Style Guide: Get to Know Australian Sparkling with Em Sauter

Australian Sparkling/Australian Pale Ale/Pacific Ale are styles I wish were more popular in America and really, with the swarm of hazy beers out there, they should be. There’s nothing better than a Pacific Ale on a warm day. As a brewer from Australia told me, this is the beer you want to drink 10 of after a day of surfing.

Australian sparkling is the precursor to the newer, more modern Australian pale ale and Pacific ale. Sparkling and pale have a few things in common- all Australian ingredients, very dry (a specific yeast strain), and lower in ABV. And that’s really about it.

The original Australian Sparkling was brewed by Coopers, a South Australian brewery open since 1862 and they still brew it to this day even though the recipe has been tweaked over the years. The beer has fruity esters, uses Pride of Ringwood hops that have a unique woodsy quality to them (some say there’s an iron/bloody flavor to them as well!) and is best enjoyed fresh. The beer is also carbonated naturally to a refreshingly high degree. It can appear cloudy/hazy with the yeast from the bottom of the can/keg/bottle.

Australian Pale Ales or Pacific Ales

Palates and tastes have changed, leading to a rise in modern Australian pale ales or Pacific ales. These use the similar dryness and lower ABV of the sparkling ale but with new hop varieties like Galaxy and other Australian hops that have an excellent tropical quality to them. When I was served a pint of Coopers Pale in Melbourne, it was like being served a New England IPA at home until I tried it. It’s so dry! The alcohol is also lower to make the beer sessionable. It was delicious and perfect for Australia’s hot climates. For American palates, it is akin to a dry session IPA. Actually, when I was  judging Australian pale ale at the Great American Beer Festival, American breweries entered their session IPAs as these beers can use those fruity, tropical hop varieties from Australia.

How They Are Made

These beers use a yeast strain that will ferment the beer really dry. Now’s a great time to talk about attenuation. Attenuation is how much sugar will be left in the beer after yeast is done snacking and creating ethanol and Co2. High attenuating strains will chomp almost all sugars, leaving the beer really dry. Saison yeast is similar in this regard albeit with the creation of peppery phenols. Australian ale yeast will do the same and but instead leave some fruity esters in the mix too, adding extra fruitiness that reminds people of pear or apple.

Food Pairing

When I visited Australia in 2019, I really enjoyed their cuisine, a sort of mashup of English and American foods. We lunched on chicken parma (or “parmi” if you are in the state of South Australia) which is a large breaded chicken cutlet topped with ham, cheese and tomato sauce. It is served with fries (called “hot chips'' in Australia) and a salad. That lovely, salty meal paired excellently with Coopers Pale. Melbourne also has a large Chinese population so Chinese restaurants and food culture were everywhere in the city. The low bitterness and fruitiness of the hops and yeast make Australian beers really shine with Asian flavors.

Beers to Try

Coopers Pale Ale

The easy to find, go-to, delicious option in Australia. A few “pots” (10 oz pour in the Australian state of Victoria) in a Melbourne pub is a great way to spend the afternoon. Note- they do sell this in America but by the time it gets here, it will be a shell of its former self and taste bland and lifeless. Do not waste your money. Coopers also makes a Pacific ale with Galaxy and Melba hops. 

Dancing Gnome Mr. G

Pittsburgh based Dancing Gnome brews some excellent hoppy options. Their Australian style pale ale is brewedchock full of Ella, Vic Secret and Summer hops.

Stone and Wood Pacific Ale

New South Wales based Stone and Wood makes an excellent Pacific ale (many Aus pale ales are called Pacific ales - Stone and Wood came up with this name) - a style of dry, drinkable pale ale made with all Australian ingredients. Although not available in the U.S.- I saw this on draft in many U.K. pubs.