Coopers Brewery had to destroy 13,000 kegs’ worth of beer when all the pubs shut down in March

Coopers’ boss is overjoyed to see people returning to pubs again – preparing to supply them with beer after dropping a staggering amount during the shutdown.

Pouring 13,000 kegs down the drain would be enough to break many a brewer’s heart, but Adelaide’s Coopers Brewery has been through plenty of ups and downs in its 150-plus year history, and is well placed to weather the storm.

Managing director Tim Cooper said the company was “overjoyed” to see pubs reopening recently, and was well-stocked to supply the nation with beer as taps began to be pulled and kegs tapped.

Unfortunately for many smaller brewers however, Dr Cooper predicts tough times ahead, with many of the myriad tiny beer brands which have sprung up in recent years likely to face difficulties in the hyper-competitive beer market.

Dr Cooper said the brewery was able to adapt well to COVID-19 social distancing, splitting teams to ensure their safety and having some office staff working from home.

There was the small matter of having to destroy a large amount of beer which was effectively stranded in kegs when the COVID-19 restrictions shut down every pub in the nation.

Tim Cooper, Coopers Brewery managing director, said they were overjoyed to see people return to pubs but tough times were ahead for smaller brewers.

“There were two things – where there were half kegs or kegs that had already been broached we want all of those kegs to come back ... to make sure there was no possibility of the beer being off when the pubs got back to business again.

“Also, the bigger proportion of kegs, if they haven’t been broached we would give them a full refund.’’

“A lot of effort went in to ensuring that we worked with the publicans and interstate the wholesalers, to de-stock as much as possible.

“Totally we brought back in excess of 13,000 kegs.’’

The beer had to be destroyed so the company could recoup the alcohol excise which is payable when the product leaves the company’s Regency Park brewery.

“The beer is worth a bit, but the tax is actually worth more,’’ Mr Cooper said.

Thankfully, with that many kegs to empty, it’s now a robotic process.

Dr Cooper said plenty of people volunteered to take the beer off their hands,

The company still had tens of thousands of kegs in stock however, and with ales keeping well for about six months, and regular tasting to ensure they were OK, the beer was ready to flow as needed.

In terms of consumption, Dr Cooper said industry data showed the beer market was down about 4.9 per cent year to date, but for the three months to end of may it was down 14 per cent.

While people may have been drinking more at home, on an anecdotal basis, overall consumption had fallen.

Dr Cooper said Coopers was in a slightly better position than other brewers, selling about 15 per cent of its beer in kegs, as opposed to 30 per cent across the industry.

“For the craft brewers, the little guys, we hear that more than 50 per cent of their volume is in kegs so this time would be affecting them quite badly,’’ he said.

Mr Cooper said while some craft brewers had been successful with selling their businesses in recent years, with Coopers occasionally having a look at what’s on offer, with many producing very small volumes, and COVID delivering a big hit, many could be expected to struggle.