05 Jun Off the Vine, Season 3, Ep 4

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Coopers Brewery: Coopers is the largest family owned brewery in Australia. After establishing his brewing business in the new colony of South Australia in 1862, the founder of Coopers brewery, Thomas Cooper wrote to his brother John in England, and boldly stated, "We are now in the brewing industry…". He discovered his talent as a brewer by accident, when his wife asked him to brew up a batch of ale from an old family recipe to help cure an illness. Word quickly spread and he soon found himself brewing the now world-famous Coopers Sparkling Ale and Extra Stout for a growing band of loyal customers. As his brewery flourished, Thomas delivered by horse and cart direct to the homes of his customers, a Coopers tradition that survived until the 1920’s. Today the prize winning Clydesdales can often be seen pulling the old brewery cart around the streets of Adelaide. They’ve been part of Coopers history, and now Coopers have ensured they’ll be part of the future for a long time to come. The continued success of Coopers meant that by 1997 the brewing operations at the original Leabrook brewery could no longer sustain further growth. The Regency Park site was purchased to enable the company to expand. Managing Director Dr Tim Cooper spent 3 years designing and then supervising the construction of the new state of the art brewery. By the end of 2001, Regency Park had become the new home of Coopers Brewery. With the brew house capacity increased by two and a half times that of Leabrook, the new $40 million brewery represents an intriguing fusion of modern innovation and Coopers’ brewing tradition.