no men at work?

Who knows if I'll ever have the opportunity to visit the Southern Hemisphere, particularly the part that's famous for weird animals.  Still, thanks to global transportation systems, I can say I've tried their beer.  And the good beer, not that Foster's stuff that every Aussie I've met says is the worst beer they have (must be why it's all over the rest of the world, they just export it all).  If anything sounds like a summer drink, it's Sparkling Ale.  Coopers has it.

Hippety-hop!

It has an interesting cidery smell, like a sweet apple cider, but otherwise appears to be a standard beer.  The taste is surprising at first, with some apple and beer bitter, but also a certain butteriness that is completely unexpected.  Could it be that the glass didn't get washed well enough?  Maybe it didn't in fact get here as fast as it should have?  It's not really a bad taste, but like I said, it's a surprise.  The bitterness is what sticks around longest in the aftertaste and as the drinker settles into the glass.  There's just a little bit of apple sweetness that kind of sails in on top of the sip and disappears with the swallow, keeping up the "sparkle" I guess.  Being bottle fermented, there is some sediment that will zip out with the end of the contents if the pourer isn't attentive, which I wasn't this time.  A few moments to allow a glass of beer to settle is no biggie, though, especially on roasty evenings.

Supplier: La Buena Pinta
Price: €2.70