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 cer ...

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 Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) is an Australian brewing company based in Melbourne and owned by Japanese conglomerate Asahi Breweries. Its notable brands include Victoria Bitter, Carlton Draught, Foster's Lager, Great Northern, Resch's, ...

(CUB) and

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

. In December 2011, CUB became a subsidiary of British multinational

SABMiller SABMiller plc was a South African multinational brewing and beverage company headquartered in Woking, England on the outskirts of London until 10 October 2016 when it was acquired by Anheuser-Busch InBev. Prior to that date, it was the world ...

(the world's then-second-largest international brewing company) and in October 2016 CUB became 100% owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev ( AB InBev) the world's largest brewing company, based in Belgium. AB InBev then sold CUB to Japanese company

Asahi Breweries is a Japanese global beer, spirits, soft drinks and food business group headquartered in Sumida, Tokyo. In 2019, the group had revenue of JPY 2.1 trillion. Asahi's business portfolio can be segmented as follows: alcoholic beverage business ...

on 1 June 2020. Since October 2009, Lion has been a subsidiary of Japanese brewer, Kirin Holdings Company Limited a brewing company established in 1885. The largest remaining Australian owned brewer is

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 months ...

with a market share of about 4% of total beer volume sales in Australia. 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) and Lion at 41% (increasing from 37%). 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 Carlton Draught is a 4.6% (abv) beer made in Australia by Carlton & United Breweries. Description Carlton Draught is a draught Australian lager which is sold on tap in its home state of Victoria as well as in New South Wales, the Australian C ...

9.3%, Tooheys New 7.1%,

Tooheys Extra Dry Tooheys Extra Dry, commonly referred to as a TED (Tooheys Extra Dry), is a dry style lager brewed by Lion in the Tooheys Brewery at Lidcombe, New South Wales, Australia. Lion has been owned by Japanese conglomerate Kirin Holdings Company Li ...

4.4% and Carlton Mid 3.8%.

Breweries owned by major companies

Microbreweries

A microbrewery, or craft

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

, is a modern brewery which produces a limited amount 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 cer ...

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

References

Sources

External links

craftbeerreviewer.com: Comprehensive list of current and former Breweries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Breweries in Australia * Australia Lists of companies of Australia Australian cuisine-related lists

Breweries owned by major companies

Microbreweries

See also

References

Sources

External links