Lion Brewing and Malting Company

Lion Brewing and Malting Company was a historic South Australian brewing and hospitality enterprise based on Jerningham Street in Lower North Adelaide. It belonged to the large group of nineteenth-century Australian breweries that combined beer production with ownership or management of hotels and associated property. The company’s name was connected with the Lion Hotel, built around 1881–1883 at the corner of Melbourne Street and Jerningham Street in North Adelaide. The hotel and its surrounding business interests provided the commercial setting from which the company developed. The enterprise was formally floated in 1888 to consolidate the brewing, hotel and property assets associated with Beaglehole and Johnston. The flotation involved 75,000 shares of £1 each, making the company a substantial corporate vehicle for a period in which breweries commonly expanded through tied hotels and real-estate holdings. Its portfolio included hotels in several parts of South Australia, among them the Cross Keys Hotel at Dry Creek, the Flagstaff Hotel at Darlington, the Oriental Hotel on Osmond Terrace in Norwood and the Bath Hotel at 91 King William Street in Adelaide. In 1912, land adjoining the Cross Keys Hotel was subdivided, illustrating the company’s continuing involvement in property as well as hospitality. The business was associated with the Johnston family of Oakbank. Brothers Andrew Galbraith Johnston and James Johnston had arrived in South Australia with their family in 1839 and became involved in the family’s brewing and malting activities. The Johnstons built broad commercial connections across the region, and members of the family participated in the management of the brewery and its related assets. John Disher Johnston, James Johnston’s son, was also a partner in the brewery. Over time, Lion Brewing and Malting moved away from a primary focus on brewing beer. Its later activities were concentrated on malting barley and manufacturing aerated waters and cordials. Malt produced by the company was sold to breweries in several Australian cities, with customers reported in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. This transition reflected the changing structure of the brewing trade and allowed the company to remain connected to the beverage industry without relying solely on the production and sale of finished beer. The company also maintained an important connection with hotel ownership. In the later twentieth century it became a shareholder in Knapman and Sons, another significant hotel-owning business, and bought out that company in 1973. The available historical material does not establish a definitive closure date or current corporate successor. Accordingly, Lion Brewing and Malting is best treated as a historic Australian brewing and malting company of uncertain present status rather than being assigned an unsupported active or defunct classification.

Lion Brewing and Malting Company emerged from the brewing and hospitality economy of nineteenth-century South Australia. Its historical setting was the Lion Hotel in North Adelaide, constructed around 1881–1883 at the intersection of Melbourne Street and Jerningham Street. The hotel’s name became associated with the company operating from Jerningham Street, where brewing, malting, hotel ownership and related commercial activities were brought together. The company was floated in 1888 to secure the brewing, hotel and property assets of Beaglehole and Johnston. It issued 75,000 shares at £1 each, reflecting the capital-intensive corporate model then used by expanding breweries. Unlike a modern beer brand focused principally on packaged products, Lion Brewing and Malting operated as a diversified enterprise. Its assets included hotels in Adelaide and surrounding districts, giving it access to accommodation, retail and tied-house revenue in addition to brewing income. Among the properties associated with the company were the Cross Keys Hotel at Dry Creek, the Flagstaff Hotel at Darlington, the Oriental Hotel in Norwood and the Bath Hotel on King William Street in Adelaide. The company’s property role continued into the twentieth century; approximately 20 acres next to the Cross Keys Hotel were subdivided in 1912. These activities demonstrate how brewery companies of the era used land and hotel holdings as an important part of their commercial strategy. The Johnston family formed a central part of the company’s history. Andrew Galbraith Johnston and James Johnston, who had arrived in South Australia from Scotland in 1839, became prominent figures in the region’s brewing and agricultural life. Their family had earlier connections with a malthouse at Oakbank, and the Johnston business developed substantial commercial relationships and hotel interests. James Johnston’s son, John Disher Johnston, became a partner in the brewery. The family’s wider public activities included involvement in local agricultural, racing and community institutions, although these activities were distinct from the company’s operating history. Frederick Arthur Chapman represented another important phase of management. He joined the Lion Brewery as an apprentice, worked through different branches of the trade and became a company secretary at the age of 25. By that point, the company had stopped concentrating on brewing beer and had shifted toward malt, aerated beverages and cordials. Chapman’s commercial responsibilities included contact with breweries in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth that purchased the company’s malt. His career illustrates the company’s transformation from a traditional brewer and hotel operator into a supplier serving the broader Australian beverage industry. The company’s later business was increasingly associated with malting barley and the production of soft drinks and cordials rather than with a major branded beer portfolio. It nevertheless remained connected to hotel ownership. During the later twentieth century, Lion Brewing and Malting became a shareholder in Knapman and Sons, a major hotel-owning company, and acquired that business in 1973. The available reference material does not provide a reliable date for final closure, dissolution or transfer of all assets. It therefore cannot establish whether the company formally survives as a legal entity, even though it is principally documented as a historic enterprise.

1. 1973Knapman and Sons bought out

   After becoming a shareholder in hotel owner Knapman and Sons, Lion Brewing and Malting bought out that company in 1973.

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2. 1912Land beside the Cross Keys Hotel subdivided

   Approximately 20 acres adjoining the Cross Keys Hotel at Dry Creek were subdivided, reflecting the company’s continuing property interests.

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3. 1888Company floated

   Lion Brewing and Malting Company was floated to acquire or consolidate the brewing, hotel and property assets of Beaglehole and Johnston, issuing 75,000 shares of £1 each.

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4. 1881Lion Hotel established in North Adelaide

   The Lion Hotel was built around 1881–1883 at the corner of Melbourne Street and Jerningham Street. Its name provided the basis for the later company identity.

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A regional South Australian brewing and hospitality enterprise that later emphasized malting and non-alcoholic beverage manufacture, supported by hotel and property interests.

• BeerBeer

  Beer was part of the company’s original brewing activity and corporate identity. The available historical account does not identify specific named beer brands, recipes or packaging formats associated with Lion Brewing and Malting.

• Malt and malted barleyBrewing ingredients

  Malt became the company’s principal industrial focus after it moved away from brewing beer. Its malt was supplied to breweries in multiple Australian cities, including reported customers in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

• Aerated watersNon-alcoholic beverages

  The company manufactured aerated waters as part of its later beverage activities. The sources do not specify product names, formulas or distribution volumes.

• CordialsNon-alcoholic beverages

  Cordials were another later product category alongside malt and aerated waters. No particular cordial brand or product range is identified in the available material.

1. Lion Brewing and Malting Company