Lion is an
alcoholic beverage
An alcoholic beverage (also called an alcoholic drink, adult beverage, or a drink) is a drink that contains ethanol, a type of alcohol that acts as a drug and is produced by fermentation of grains, fruits, or other sources of sugar. The c ...
company that operates in Australia and New Zealand, and a subsidiary of Japanese beverage conglomerate
Kirin. It produces and markets a range of
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
and cider in Australia, and
wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
in New Zealand and the United States through Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners. It acts as distributors for a range of
spirits
Spirit or spirits may refer to:
Liquor and other volatile liquids
* Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks
* Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol
* Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...
in New Zealand, but does not own any distilleries outright, although holding a 50% share of Four Pillars Gin in
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
.
Lion was formed in October 2009 under the name Lion Nathan National Foods when
Kirin Holdings Company Limited purchased brewer Lion Nathan and merged the business with
National Foods
Bega Dairy & Drinks is a subsidiary of Australian diversified food company Bega Cheese, having been purchased from the Japanese company Kirin (who owns Lion in Australia) in November 2020. While owned by Kirin, it was known as Lion Dairy & D ...
, which it had owned since 2007. In 2011, the company changed its name to Lion, one company with three businesses: Lion Beer, Spirits, and Wine Australia; Lion, Beer, Spirits and Wine NZ; with National Foods becoming a
Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
-based subsidiary called
Lion Dairy & Drinks
Bega Dairy & Drinks is a subsidiary of Australian diversified food company Bega Cheese, having been purchased from the Japanese company Kirin (who owns Lion in Australia) in November 2020. While owned by Kirin, it was known as Lion Dairy & D ...
. Lion Dairy & Drinks was acquired by
Bega in November 2020.
the Australian arm of the company is registered in
Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
as Lion-Beer Spirits & Wine Pty Ltd, a body corporate with multiple business names registered to it, including the Lion Nathan Australia,
South Australian Brewing Company
The South Australian Brewing Company, Limited is a brewery located in Thebarton, an inner-west suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Lion, which in turn is owned by Kirin, a Japan-based beverage company. It manufactures ...
,
James Boag Brewing, Byron Bay Brewery,
Hahn Brewing Company,
James Squire Brewery,
Castlemaine,
Little Creatures Brewery
Little Creatures is a brewery based in Fremantle, Western Australia, operating as a subsidiary of the Japanese firm Kirin Company. It is owned by Little World Beverages, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lion Nathan which is itself a wholly owned s ...
, and others.
Lion New Zealand is the largest alcoholic beverage company in the country, employing 1000 people. The company markets beers such as
Speight's
Speight's is a brewery located in Dunedin, New Zealand. The brewery is owned by the Japanese-controlled holding company Lion. It is best known for its Gold Medal Ale, one of the best-selling beers in New Zealand. The brewery also gave rise to ...
,
Steinlager, Mac's,
Emerson's,
Stella Artois
Stella Artois ( ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ire ...
and
Corona
Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to:
* Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star
* Corona (beer), a Mexican beer
* Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
, big names in spirits such as
Smirnoff
Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...
,
Baileys,
Bacardi
Bacardi Limited (; ) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 an ...
, and
Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Sc ...
, and many wines.
The company owns a number of breweries and contract bottling plants in Australia and New Zealand. The
Thebarton
Thebarton ( ), formerly Theberton, on Kaurna land, is an inner-western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia in the City of West Torrens. The suburb is bounded by the River Torrens to the north, Port Road and Bonython Park to the east, Kintore ...
brewery in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
operated by the
South Australian Brewing Company
The South Australian Brewing Company, Limited is a brewery located in Thebarton, an inner-west suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Lion, which in turn is owned by Kirin, a Japan-based beverage company. It manufactures ...
is sometimes referred to as the West End Brewery (for other uses of this name, see
West End Brewery).
History
Antecedents
The original forerunner of the company was Brown Campbell & Co, the company of
Logan Campbell and
William Brown who established the Hobson Bridge Brewery in
Auckland
Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...
in 1840. By 1897 it was the largest brewery in the North Island if not the country. In May 1897 Brown Campbell & Co amalgamated with Louis Ehrenfried's Albert Brewery, which he had bought in 1878, to form Campbell and Ehrenfried. The new company was managed by
Arthur Myers
Sir Arthur Mielziner Myers (19 May 1868 – 9 October 1926) was a New Zealand politician. He was Mayor of Auckland City from 1905 to 1909, Member of the House of Representatives from 1910 to 1921, and a Cabinet Minister. Today he is remembered ...
, Ehrenfried's nephew. In 1914 Campbell and Ehrenfried merged with the Great Northern Brewery, which owned the Lion brand. In 1923 ten breweries amalgamated to form
New Zealand Breweries. Campbell and Ehrenfried merged its breweries into New Zealand Breweries but remained a separate company.
Douglas Myers, grandson of Arthur Myers, became CEO of Campbell and Ehrenfried in 1965.
The northern division of New Zealand Breweries adopted the name Lion Breweries in 1977. Campbell and Ehrenfried bought 19.9 per cent of Lion Breweries in 1981. By the late 1980s, New Zealand Breweries had developed into one of New Zealand's largest companies. In 1988 Lion Breweries took over LD Nathan & Co, New Zealand's largest retailer, which at the time owned
Woolworths NZ
Woolworths New Zealand Limited (formerly Progressive Enterprises) is the second largest grocery company in New Zealand (behind Foodstuffs), with revenue of NZ$6.2 billion for the year to June 2018. Alongside Foodstuffs, Woolworths NZ forms part ...
, to form Lion Nathan, listed on both the Australian and New Zealand stock exchanges under the symbol LNN. The same year, Woolworths' general merchandise division was rebranded
DEKA, with ownership transferred to the
Farmers Trading Company
The Farmers Trading Company Ltd (branded as Farmers) is a New Zealand mid-market department store chain. Headquartered in Flat Bush, Auckland, Farmers operates 59 stores across New Zealand, specialising in family fashion, beauty, homewares, fur ...
in 1992. In 1990 it became an Australasian business when it established a major presence in Australia by securing management control of
Bond Corporation
Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s, and what was at the time ...
’s brewing assets, including the
Tooheys Brewery
Tooheys is a brewery in the suburb of Lidcombe, in Sydney, Australia. It produces beers and ciders under the ''Tooheys'' and ''Hahn Brewery'' trademarks, and is part of the Lion beverages group which was acquired by the Japanese Kirin Company in ...
in Sydney and
Castlemaine Perkins
Castlemaine Perkins is a brewery at 185 Milton Road, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a wholly owned entity of the Japanese-controlled Lion company. Operations began in 1878 and continue today. Castlemaine Perkins is the home of ...
in Brisbane. In 1998 Douglas Myers sold most of his 16 percent share in Lion Nathan to Kirin Brewery Company of Japan.
[
]
Foundation
In 2005, Lion Nathan made a takeover bid for the independent South Australian Coopers Brewery
Coopers Brewery Limited, the largest Australian-owned brewery, is based in the Adelaide suburb of Regency Park. Coopers is known for making a variety of beers, the most famous of which are its Pale Ale and Sparkling Ale. In the twelve month ...
. The takeover was strongly opposed by Coopers' management, and was rejected at an Extraordinary General Meeting when 93.4% of the shareholders voted in favour of permanently removing the "3rd tier purchasing rights" of Lion Nathan, effectively preventing any current or future takeover bid. In September 2009, shareholders voted in favour of a complete takeover by Kirin Holdings.[Lion Nathan shareholders approve Kirin takeover](_blank)
The Australian, 17 September 2009. Retrieved on 2009-09-17.
Forbes.com, 17 September 2009. Retrieved on 2009-09-17.
Sydney Morning Herald, 17 September 2009. Retrieved on 2009-09-17.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 17 September 2009. Retrieved on 2009-09-17.
Lion was established in October 2009 under the name Lion Nathan National Foods when Kirin purchased the brewer Lion Nathan and merged the business with National Foods
Bega Dairy & Drinks is a subsidiary of Australian diversified food company Bega Cheese, having been purchased from the Japanese company Kirin (who owns Lion in Australia) in November 2020. While owned by Kirin, it was known as Lion Dairy & D ...
, which it had owned since 2007.
The company was 46% owned by Kirin, with the difference made up by Australian and New Zealand share funds.
2010s
In 2011, the company changed its name to Lion, one company with three businesses: Lion Beer, Spirits, and Wine Australia; Lion, Beer, Spirits and Wine NZ; with National Foods becoming a Melbourne
Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...
-based subsidiary called Lion Dairy & Drinks
Bega Dairy & Drinks is a subsidiary of Australian diversified food company Bega Cheese, having been purchased from the Japanese company Kirin (who owns Lion in Australia) in November 2020. While owned by Kirin, it was known as Lion Dairy & D ...
. Lion Dairy & Drinks was acquired by Bega in November 2020.
In June 2013, the company launched the Tap King draught beer product that is sold with a CO2 gas chamber so that consumers can drink draught beer at home. Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...
appeared in a television commercial to promote the device and reportedly received A$$1.5 million to appear in the promotional campaign. The introduction of the Tap King caused controversy, due to the perceived impact upon alcohol venues. Concerns were raised in regard to lower patronage rates for venues due to a greater incentive for consumers to drink beer in home environments.
Present
the Australian arm of the company is registered in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
as Lion-Beer Spirits & Wine Pty Ltd, a body corporate with multiple business names registered to it, including the Lion Nathan Australia, South Australian Brewing Company
The South Australian Brewing Company, Limited is a brewery located in Thebarton, an inner-west suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Lion, which in turn is owned by Kirin, a Japan-based beverage company. It manufactures ...
, James Boag Brewing, Byron Bay Brewery, Hahn Brewing Company, James Squire Brewery, Castlemaine, Little Creatures Brewery
Little Creatures is a brewery based in Fremantle, Western Australia, operating as a subsidiary of the Japanese firm Kirin Company. It is owned by Little World Beverages, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lion Nathan which is itself a wholly owned s ...
, and others.
Lion New Zealand is the largest alcoholic beverage company in the country, employing 1000 people. The company markets beers such as Speight's
Speight's is a brewery located in Dunedin, New Zealand. The brewery is owned by the Japanese-controlled holding company Lion. It is best known for its Gold Medal Ale, one of the best-selling beers in New Zealand. The brewery also gave rise to ...
, Steinlager, Mac's, Emerson's, Stella Artois
Stella Artois ( ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ire ...
and Corona
Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to:
* Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star
* Corona (beer), a Mexican beer
* Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
, big names in spirits such as Smirnoff
Smirnoff (; ) is a brand of vodka owned and produced by the British company Diageo. The Smirnoff brand began with a vodka distillery founded in Moscow by Pyotr Arsenievich Smirnov (1831–1898). It is distributed in 130 countries. Smirnoff prod ...
, Baileys, Bacardi
Bacardi Limited (; ) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 an ...
, and Johnnie Walker
Johnnie Walker is a brand of Scotch whisky now owned by Diageo that originated in the Scottish burgh of Kilmarnock in East Ayrshire. The brand was first established by grocer John Walker. It is the most widely distributed brand of blended Sc ...
, and many wines.
Breweries and beers
Australia
Castlemaine Tooheys
Located in Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
, Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Castlemaine Perkins
Castlemaine Perkins is a brewery at 185 Milton Road, Milton, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is a wholly owned entity of the Japanese-controlled Lion company. Operations began in 1878 and continue today. Castlemaine Perkins is the home of ...
is the brewer of the XXXX brand of beers. In March 1980, Castlemaine Perkins merged with Tooheys
Tooheys is a brewery in the suburb of Lidcombe, in Sydney, Australia. It produces beers and ciders under the ''Tooheys'' and '' Hahn Brewery'' trademarks, and is part of the Lion beverages group which was acquired by the Japanese Kirin Company ...
to form Castlemaine Tooheys. Bond Corporation
Alan Bond (22 April 1938 – 5 June 2015) was an English-born Australian businessman noted for his high-profile and often corrupt business dealings. These included his central role in the WA Inc scandals of the 1980s, and what was at the time ...
purchased Castlemaine Tooheys in 1985. Castlemaine Tooheys was acquired in 1992 by Lion Nathan
Lion is an alcoholic beverage company that operates in Australia and New Zealand, and a subsidiary of Japanese beverage conglomerate Kirin. It produces and markets a range of beer and cider in Australia, and wine in New Zealand and the Unite ...
.
SA Brewing Company/West End
Prior to the acquisition of the brewing assets by Lion Nathan in 1993, the South Australian Brewing Company
The South Australian Brewing Company, Limited is a brewery located in Thebarton, an inner-west suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is a subsidiary of Lion, which in turn is owned by Kirin, a Japan-based beverage company. It manufactures ...
split its brewing assets into "SA Brewing Holdings", and its diversified operations were formed into a new listed company named Southcorp
Foster's Group Pty. Ltd. was an Australian beer group with interests in brewing and soft drinks, known for Foster's Lager, now called Carlton & United Breweries since the company was renamed in 2011. Foster's was founded in 1888 in Melbourne, ...
. The SA Brewing Company continued to trade under that name as an Australian private company until 1 May 2019, but from 21 January 2019 was subsumed as a registered business name under Lion-Beer Spirits & Wine Pty Ltd, being a body corporate registered in Sydney.[
the only beer brewed under the West End brand is West End Draught, a currently a 4.5% ]abv
Alcohol by volume (abbreviated as ABV, abv, or alc/vol) is a standard measure of how much alcohol (ethanol) is contained in a given volume of an alcoholic beverage (expressed as a volume percent). It is defined as the number of millilitres (mL) o ...
pale lager
Pale lager is a very pale-to- golden-colored lager beer with a well- attenuated body and a varying degree of noble hop bitterness.
The brewing process for this beer developed in the mid-19th century, when Gabriel Sedlmayr took pale ale brew ...
, first brewed in 1859. (West End Export, West End Gold, and West End Light are no longer produced.)
The Thebarton site finally closed on 17 June 2021, with about a third of the workforce, mainly those in sales and sponsorship roles, staying on with the company in South Australia. The company said that West End beer would be produced at its other breweries and that it would maintain the same recipe.
Malt Shovel/James Squire
James Squire beers are mostly produced by the Malt Shovel Brewery
The Malt Shovel Brewery is an Australian brewery owned by Lion, a subsidiary of the Japanese conglomerate Kirin. It is located in Camperdown, New South Wales. Malt Shovel is best known for its James Squire range of beers. The beer is named aft ...
in Sydney
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...
. The brewery has won various awards including: Champion Australasian Brewery, 2000 and 2003 (Australian International Beer Awards), and Best Bohemian-Style Pilsener, 2008 (World Beer Cup). Since 2017, Malt Shovel also brews the originally New Zealand Panhead range of beers.
Other Australian brands
Other Australian beer breweries and labels owned by Lion are Hahn, Emu
The emu () (''Dromaius novaehollandiae'') is the second-tallest living bird after its ratite relative the ostrich. It is endemic to Australia where it is the largest native bird and the only extant member of the genus '' Dromaius''. The emu ...
/Swan
Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
, James Boag, Little Creatures
''Little Creatures'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on June 10, 1985, by Sire Records. The album examines themes of Americana and incorporates elements of country music, with many songs featuring steel ...
, Iron Jack (Sydney), Furphy (brewed in Geelong
Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...
, Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
), Stone & Wood (brewed in Byron Bay
Byron Bay ( Minjungbal: ''Cavvanbah)'' is a beachside town located in the far-northeastern corner of the state of New South Wales, Australia on Bundjalung Country. It is located north of Sydney and south of Brisbane. Cape Byron, a hea ...
, New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
), White Rabbit, Byron Bay Brewery and Kosciuszko.
New Zealand
Mac's craft beers
Mac's craft beers were produced in New Zealand's first significant craft brewery
Craft beer is a beer that has been made by craft breweries. They produce smaller amounts of beer, typically less than large breweries, and are often independently owned. Such breweries are generally perceived and marketed as having an emphasis o ...
, McCashin's Brewery, in 1981, by Terry McCashin. Lion acquired the brand in 1999, but the original brewery continues to produce craft beers under a different name (Stoke).
A wide range of styles of beers in both bottles and cans continue to be sold under Mac's branding, including Mac's Gold (lager), Black Mac (a dark lager), and Hop Rocker (golden pilsener
Pilsner (also pilsener or simply pils) is a type of pale lager. It takes its name from the Bohemian city of Plzeň (german: Pilsen), where the world's first pale lager (now known as Pilsner Urquell) was produced in 1842 by Pilsner Urquell Brewe ...
). The website continues to list the back catalogue of Mac's beers as well.
Other NZ beers
, Lion owns the Emerson's Brewery, Speight's
Speight's is a brewery located in Dunedin, New Zealand. The brewery is owned by the Japanese-controlled holding company Lion. It is best known for its Gold Medal Ale, one of the best-selling beers in New Zealand. The brewery also gave rise to ...
, Steinlager, Lion Red
Lion Red is a New Zealand lager beer brewed by Lion Breweries in Auckland, part of Lion. The beer is 4.0% alcohol. Because of its relatively low alcohol content it is widely regarded as an excellent 'session' beer, that is, a beer that can be c ...
, Lion Brown, Panhead, Little Creatures, Waikato Draught, Black Ice, Rheineck and Lion Ice brands.
(Canterbury Draught, first brewed in 1854 as Ward's Beer after the brewer Hamilton Ward and rebranded as Canterbury Draught in 1990, was associated with the Canterbury Cricket Association through sponsorship by Lion. However, the Christchurch earthquakes
A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...
in 2011 put the brewery out of business.)
International brands
The following beer brands are brewed and/or marketed in Australia by Lion:
* Corona
Corona (from the Latin for 'crown') most commonly refers to:
* Stellar corona, the outer atmosphere of the Sun or another star
* Corona (beer), a Mexican beer
* Corona, informal term for the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the COVID-19 di ...
(March 2012 to present)
* Budweiser
Budweiser () is an American-style pale lager, part of AB InBev. Introduced in 1876 by Carl Conrad & Co. of St. Louis, Missouri, Budweiser has become a large selling beer company in the United States.
''Budweiser'' may also refer to an unrela ...
(December 2009 to present)
* Stella Artois
Stella Artois ( ) is a pilsner beer, first brewed in 1926 by Brouwerij Artois in Leuven, Belgium. In its original form, the beer is 5.2 per cent ABV, the country's standard for pilsners. The beer is also sold in other countries like the UK, Ire ...
* Beck's
* Guinness
Guinness () is an Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759. It is one of the most successful alcohol brands worldwide, brewed in almost 50 countries, and available in ove ...
(Draught and Extra Stout brewed in Australia)
* Kilkenny
Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512.
Kilken ...
(Draught brewed in Australia)
* Kirin Ichiban and Kirin Megumi
* Pacifico (brewed "mainly" in Mexico)
* Belle-Vue Kriek
Belle-Vue Brewery is a brewery founded in 1913 in Molenbeek, Brussels by Philémon Vandenstock from nearby Itterbeek, which lies in a region known for its lambic type of beer. A variety of Belle-Vue lambic and fruit beers are produced in Sint-P ...
* Hoegaarden
Hoegaarden () is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Hoegaarden proper, Meldert and Outgaarden. On January 1, 2006, Hoegaarden had a tota ...
* Leffe
Leffe () is a premium beer brand owned by InBev Belgium, the European operating arm of the global Anheuser–Busch InBev brewery giant. There are several beers in the range, and they are marketed as abbey beers. They are brewed in large quan ...
* Negra Modelo
A quarter note (American) or crotchet ( ) (British) is a musical note played for one quarter of the duration of a whole note (or semibreve). Quarter notes are notated with a filled-in oval note head and a straight, flagless stem. The stem u ...
* Boddington's
* Oranjeboom
Ciders
Lion owns 5 Seeds, James Squire
James Squire, alternatively known as James Squires, (18 December 1754 – 16 May 1822) was a First Fleet convict transported to Australia.
Squire is credited with the first successful cultivation of hops in Australia around the start of the 19t ...
, Kirin, and Pipsqueak (Little Creatures
''Little Creatures'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band Talking Heads, released on June 10, 1985, by Sire Records. The album examines themes of Americana and incorporates elements of country music, with many songs featuring steel ...
) ciders.
Wines
Lion does not have interests in any Australian wine brands.
In 2001 the Lion Nathan Wine group purchased a controlling interest in Australian wine
Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...
companies Petaluma and Banksia, adding New Zealand wine company Wither Hills in 2002. In 2005, Fine Wine Partners (FWP) was established as a joint venture between distributors Distinguished Vineyards and Tucker Seabrook, Robert Hirst's company. Lion bought out Tucker Seabrook in 2008, becoming sole owner of the company. FWP included the brands Petaluma, Croser, St Hallett, Knappstein, Stonier and Tatachilla, four wineries, and a large distribution network. In 2016, Accolade Wines
Accolade Wines is an international wine business with headquarters in South Australia and corporate offices in Melbourne. It has been owned by The Carlyle Group, an American private equity company, since 2018.
Accolade, which predominantly uses ...
acquired FWP, with Lion concentrating its core business of beer and cider in Australia, but continuing to hold wine businesses in New Zealand and the United States.
Distinguished Vineyards & Wine Partners was founded in 2008, and owns a number of wineries and brands in the US (including Markham Vineyards
Markham Vineyards is a US winery founded in Napa Valley, California, in 1874. Markham has operated continuously since its founding (though under different names), making it the fourth oldest continuously operating winery in Napa County.
it is ...
and Textbook Wines in the Napa Valley
Napa Valley is an American Viticultural Area (AVA) located in Napa County in California's Wine Country. It was established by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) on January 27, 1981. Napa Valley is considered one of the premier ...
of California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
[) as well as in New Zealand] (such as Wither Hills, Mt Difficulty, The Ned and Lindauer).
Spirits
In 2006, Lion bought ready-to-drink McKenna Bourbon from its parent company, Kirin. In 2007 it bought Inner Circle Rum
Inner Circle Rum is a dark rum produced in Australia. The ''Inner Circle Rum'' brand name was sold to Vok Beverages, a subsidiary of Adelaide based beverage company Bickford's Australia. As of 2011 the brand is still owned by the 100% Australia ...
, which included a distillery
Distillation, or classical distillation, is the process of separating the components or substances from a liquid mixture by using selective boiling and condensation, usually inside an apparatus known as a still. Dry distillation is the heati ...
in Beenleigh
Beenleigh is a town and suburb in the City of Logan, Queensland, Australia. In the , the suburb of Beenleigh had a population of 8,252 people.
A government survey for the new town was conducted in 1866. The town is the terminus for the Beenl ...
, Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
. While retaining ownership of the two brands, in a 2008 joint venture with Bacardi-Martini
Bacardi Limited (; ) is one of the largest privately held, family-owned Distilled beverage, spirits companies in the world. Originally known for its Bacardi brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founde ...
, Lion Bacardi would be marketing the two brands.
In 2020 McKenna Bourbon is owned by Heaven Hill
Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc. is a private, American family-owned and operated distillery founded in 1935 and headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, that produces and markets the Heaven Hill brand of Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey and a varie ...
distillers in the US. The only mention of this and a wide range of other spirits on the website is with regard to their distribution in New Zealand by Lion.
In March 2019, Lion acquired a 50% stake in Victorian small distillery Four Pillars Gin. In November 2020 Four Pillars were awarded as the World's best Gin producer for the second year running at the International Wine and Spirits Competition.
See also
* 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 & U ...
References
Further reading
*{{cite book , last= McLauchlan , first= Gordon , title= The Story of Beer: Beer and Brewing-A New Zealand History , location= Auckland, NZ , publisher= Penguin , date= 1994, type= Paperback , isbn= 0670860921
External links
Lion International Website
James Squire Website
1923 establishments in Australia
Food and drink companies established in 1923
Manufacturing companies based in Sydney
Kirin Group
Mitsubishi companies
Australian beer brands
Breweries of New Zealand
Australian subsidiaries of foreign companies