Coopers Best Extra Stout

Living in America, and on the East Coast specifically (while putting in some time in the Midwest), I haven't encountered many beers from "Down Under." Really the only knowledge of Australian beer came from Grant who had some Foster's and said it tasted like, "kangaroo piss mixed with apple juice." Judging from that description, I hope to never crack open a Foster's. Even with this scathing review in mind, my curiosity overcame me when I saw an Australian stout for sale at the local Home Plus (local being still on my island). The bottle intrigued me as it said it was A) a stout, B) Australian, and C) the brewery in question claimed to have started in 1862. I looked the brewery up online and they encourage homebrewing which merits them major brew points.

It was a bit expensive (a good 1500 won more than Hoegaarden-next to be reviewed?), but not unreasonable, so I decided to give it a try. Besides, if it turned out to be a great stout, then I had essentially just found beer gold. Dark, rich, flavorful liquid gold. Since such a thing is especially scarce in Korea, I knew what I had to do.
Appearance: The beer had a nice dark brown color, about on average for most stouts. Low carbonation, especially when compared to the Black Beer "Stout" I've been drinking here. Thin head, which dissipates quickly, although there's good lacing on the glass. Due to the size of the glass, I had to pour twice, and in the second pour there was a ton of floating yeast residue. This is typical for beers that have been bottle conditioned, but I'm pretty sure there was more in this than any of the homebrews I've done. I would have poured more carefully if I'd known there would be that much (although I'm not adverse to drinking it).

Smell: Oh boy, this beer smelled delicious. There was a strong coffee smell and some good roasted malts. I think I also detected a honey or chocolate scent. I never pinned it down, but I'm leaning towards honey as it was a sweeter smell.

Taste: To be honest I was a bit disappointed by the taste. Perhaps my hopes were too high by the delicious smell. Regardless, I found the stout to be bitter, which is normal for stouts, but I thought this was perhaps more due to burnt malt. It had a fuller taste once I allowed it to warm to a proper temperature. There was a nice strong hops taste in the finish, and a coffee aftertaste (take it or leave it). 6.3% ABV.

Coopers Best is a decent stout. Nothing really special and nothing that really detracts from it since some might prefer the bitter taste. Definitely better than any stout made in Korea. I was really hoping for the coffee aroma to come through in the taste, and the same goes for the honey. I love bitterness when it's a hops bitter, but I thought this one was a bit more like burned malt. The copious bottle conditioning yeast might be a deterrent for some, although much of that might be easily solved by a careful pour. Overall, I'd say it's worth checking out, although I wouldn't put it near the top of my stouts list. I'll be trying it again as the weather cools outside, and perhaps I'll change my mind.

Extra Note: I hadn't noticed this until just now, but the bottle actually said "bottle fermented." I'm wagering this means the same thing as bottle conditioned, but if not, then 1) it explains the extra yeast, and 2) I'm severely confused.