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List of breweries in Australia

Beer production in Australia has traditionally been dominated by regional producers. Since the 1980s, there have been a steady stream of takeovers and amalgamations, and now the two major producers (who were once Australian-owned) are Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) and Lion.

In December 2011, CUB became a subsidiary of British multinational SABMiller (the world's then-second-largest international brewing company) and in October 2016 CUB became 100% owned by AB InBev the world's largest brewing company, based in Belgium. AB InBev then sold CUB to Japanese company Asahi Breweries on 1 June 2020.[1]

Since October 2009, Lion has been a subsidiary of Japanese brewer, Kirin Company a brewing company established in 1885. The largest remaining Australian owned brewer is Coopers Brewery[2] with a market share of about 4% of total beer volume sales in Australia.[3]

The two foreign-owned companies accounted for 89% of beer volume sales in 2011, with CUB's market share at 48% (declining from a 55% market share in 2006)[4] and Lion at 41% (increasing from 37%).[5]

In May 2012 the dominant Australian-produced beers were XXXX Gold, which accounted for 12.4% of all beer consumed in Australia, VB, with 12.3%, Carlton Draught 9.3%, Tooheys New 7.1%, Tooheys Extra Dry 4.4% and Carlton Mid 3.8%.[6]

Breweries owned by major companies

Microbreweries

A microbrewery, or craft brewery, is a modern brewery which produces a limited amount of beer, usually with an orientation toward distinctive and flavourful products. In Australia, there is no strict definition for a microbrewery; however, the definition for membership of the Independent Brewers Association provides a fair guide that could be considered appropriate. That is, a brewer sells less than 40 million litres of beer per annum and is not more than 20% owned by a brewer that produces more than 40 million litres of beer per annum anywhere in the world.[24]

The following is a list of notable microbreweries in Australia, listed alphabetically. In July 2017, there were approximately 500 small breweries in Australia.[25]

See also

  • Beer and breweries by region

External links

References

  1. AB InBev completes sale of Carlton & United Breweries to Asahi Group Holdings, Ltd. AB InBev, retrieved 20 June 2020^
  2. Coopers to become Australia's largest brewer Coopers', 22 September 2011^
  3. Rory Gibson. Lager louts are out in this ale nation The Courier-Mail, 10 December 2011, retrieved 5 March 2013^
  4. Robert Bryant. Brewing up a storm IBISWorld, 25 May 2011, retrieved 5 March 2013^
  5. Neil Wilson. Fight is brewing between the Boutique Beer Brigade and CUB's and Lion Herald Sun, 27 January 2012, retrieved 5 March 2013^
  6. Eli Greenblat. VB:the second best cold beer Sydney Morning Herald, 30 May 2012, retrieved 5 March 2013^
  7. Fat Yak births Lazy Yak; CUB revises craft beer strategy Brews News, 3 July 2015^
  8. CUB buys Balter Brewing Co 4 December 2019^
  9. AB InBev buys 4 Pines Beer Brews News, 22 September 2017^
  10. World's biggest brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev buys Pirate Life Australian Financial Review, 29 November 2017^
  11. Green Beacon sale rumours finally true 21 August 2019^
  12. Tom Richardson. End of the West End: tears flow for historic brewery as Lion quits SA InDaily, 13 October 2020, retrieved 13 December 2020^
  13. Lion plans to close SA's West End Brewery Brews News, 13 October 2020, retrieved 13 December 2020^
  14. Lion to close White Rabbit Brewery Brews News, 12 November 2014^
  15. Tam Allenby. 2017 AIBA winners announced 19 May 2017^
  16. Lion acquires Stone & Wood parent Fermentum Brews News, 2021-09-09, retrieved 2021-09-09^
  17. Good beer week set to showcase Melbourne strangest brews Herald Sun, retrieved 9 July 2017^
  18. AIBA 2016 Results Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Ltd, retrieved 14 June 2016^
  19. History of Australian Beer Co australianbeerco.com.au, retrieved 14 October 2017^
  20. Scott Rochfort. Coca-Cola Amatil craft beer brand Yenda yearns for growth The Courier-Mail, 29 March 2015, retrieved 14 October 2017^
  21. Deborah Jackson. Feral Brewing has been sold 12 October 2017^
  22. Fox Hat Brewing The Crafty Pint^
  23. The Bickford's Group acquires Vale Brewing Brews News, 12 October 2017^
  24. IBAE Summary gallery.mailchimp.com, retrieved 2019-07-06^
  25. Brewery List: Update No. 14 (July 2017) - 28 July 2017^
  26. Sunshine State shines at AIBA 2017 Australian Brews News, 19 May 2017, retrieved 9 July 2017^
  27. 2018 Australia's Best Brewery. 2018 Australia's Best Brewery Beer Cartel, 2018-09-12, retrieved 2019-07-06^
  28. Megan Sahli. Aussie breweries medal at International awards brewsnews.com.au, 19 March 2019, retrieved 3 March 2020^
  29. Lachlan Roberts. BentSpoke goes back to back at International Brewing & Cider Awards aboutregional.com.au, 23 March 2019, retrieved 3 March 2020^
  30. AUS GABS Hottest 100 – gabshottest100 gabshottest100.com, retrieved 2023-06-01^
  31. The Untappd Team. Untappd Untappd, retrieved 2023-06-01^
  32. 'We must be on the right track': Mountain Culture named best brewery venue in NSW Blue Mountains Gazette, 2023-04-12, retrieved 2023-06-01^
  33. Willie Simpson. Pure brew sells for $1850 a bottle Sydney Morning Herald, 14 December 2010, retrieved 5 March 2013^
  34. Champion Breweries Australia 2015 Winners List Australian Craft Beer, retrieved 17 July 2018^
  35. Archived copy retrieved 2014-01-25^
  36. World's Best Imperial Stout www.worldbeerawards.com, retrieved 2016-12-07^
  37. The Mill Brewery At The Bendigo Hotel Crafty Pint, retrieved 2026-01-31^
  38. AIBA 2014 Results Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Ltd, retrieved 16 June 2016^
  39. AIBA 2015 Results Royal Agricultural Society of Victoria Ltd, retrieved 16 June 2016^
  40. Craft beer industry to brew expansion for local farmers ABC News (Australia), retrieved 2026-01-31^
  41. Crafty Crawls: WA's Great Southern Crafty Pint, retrieved 2026-01-31^