Ballarat Bitter is a 4.9% (abv) Australian beer, originally brewed in Ballarat, Australia by the Ballarat Brewing Company and now owned by the Japanese conglomerate Asahi Breweries.
Ballarat Bitter is a 4.9% (abv) Australian beer, originally brewed in Ballarat, Australia by the Ballarat Brewing Company and now owned by the Japanese conglomerate Asahi Breweries.
The beer is of the bitter top fermented ale variety, [1] and was traditionally sold in 750ml longnecked bottles, with the label featuring the character "Ballarat Bertie", who was conceived in 1926 on a train journey between Melbourne and Sydney by a Ballarat Brewing Company director and an advertising agency. [2]
The Ballarat Brewing Company beer division was bought out by Carlton & United Beverages (or Carlton & United Breweries as it was known at the time, commonly abbreviated to 'CUB') in 1989, and the Ballarat bottling operations subsequently closed. The Ballarat Brewing Company itself, board of directors and ownership of 160 pubs across Victoria continued until taken over by Foster's Group in 1997 with its buyout of remaining shares. [3]
In December 2006, following a request by the crew of the Anzac class frigate HMAS Ballarat (which uses the caricature of "Ballarat Bertie" from the label as a mascot [4] ) to Catherine King, the Member of Parliament representing the Division of Ballarat, Foster's Group (CUB's parent company) created a limited run of the beer. [5] An initial release of 40 pallets (4,800 slabs, 115,200 individual cans) sold out within days of release, with $1 from every slab donated to the United Way charities. [5] A second run of 50 pallets was released shortly after.
In November 2011 another limited edition release of the beer was brewed by CUB, with the 300 kegs being distributed between 26 licensed premises in Ballarat for the Ballarat Cup weekend. A limited supply of cans was available the following month. [6]
Foster's Lager is an internationally distributed brand of Australian lager. It is owned by the Japanese brewing group Asahi Group Holdings, and is brewed under licence in a number of countries, including its biggest market, the UK, where the European rights to the brand are owned by Heineken International.
Victoria Bitter (VB) is a lager produced by Carlton & United Breweries, a subsidiary of Asahi, in Melbourne, Victoria. It was first brewed by Thomas Aitken at Victoria Brewery in 1854 and is one of the best selling beers in Australia.
Newcastle Brown Ale is a brown ale, originally brewed in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Launched in 1927 by Colonel Jim Porter after three years of development, the 1960 merger of Newcastle Breweries with Scottish Brewers afforded the beer national distribution and sales peaked in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s. The beer underwent a resurgence in the late 1980s and early 1990s with student unions selling it. By the late 1990s, the beer was the most widely distributed alcoholic product in the UK. By the 2000s, the majority of sales were in the United States, although it still sells 100 million bottles annually in the UK. Brewing moved in 2005 from Newcastle to Dunston, Tyne and Wear, and in 2010 to Tadcaster. In 2017, the Heineken Brewery in Zoeterwoude, the Netherlands, also began production. As of 2019, it is brewed as well by Lagunitas Brewing Company in Petaluma, California, and Chicago, Illinois, for the American market.
John Smith's Brewery in Tadcaster, North Yorkshire, England, produces beers including John Smith's, the highest selling bitter in the United Kingdom since the mid-1990s.
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, Victoria by two American brothers, who sold the brewery a year later.
HMAS Ballarat is an Anzac-class frigate of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). The frigate was laid down in 2000 and commissioned into the RAN in mid-2004. Since entering service, Ballarat has been involved in border protection as part of Operation Relex II, was deployed to the Gulf for Operation Catalyst, and was one of the two ships involved in the Operation Northern Trident 2009 round-the-world voyage. Ballarat has undergone the Anti-Ship Missile Defence (ASMD) upgrade, completing in 2015.
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, Pure Blonde and Melbourne Bitter.
Beer has been brewed in England for thousands of years. As a beer brewing country, it is known for top fermented cask beer which finishes maturing in the cellar of the pub rather than at the brewery and is served with only natural carbonation.
Beer arrived in Australia at the beginning of British colonisation. In 2004 Australia was ranked fourth internationally in per capita beer consumption, at around 110 litres per year; although, the nation ranked considerably lower in a World Health Organization report of alcohol consumption per capita of 12.2 litres. Lager is by far the most popular type of beer consumed in Australia.
The Matilda Bay Brewing Company was a West Australian brewery. It was the first new brewery opened in Australia since World War II and Australia's first craft brewery. Originating from small batches brewed for the Sail and Anchor Hotel in 1984, their main brewery opened in 1989 in a prominent building on the Stirling Highway occupied by Ford Motor Company. The company was purchased by Carlton & United Breweries in the early 1990s.
Tooth and Co was the major brewer of beer in New South Wales, Australia. The company owned a large brewery on Broadway in Sydney from 1835 until 1985, known as the Kent Brewery. It was historically one of Australia's oldest companies, having been established as a partnership in 1835 and listed on the then Sydney Stock Exchange in July 1961. The brand has undergone a revival in 2015.
Courage Brewery was an English brewery, founded by John Courage in 1787 in London, England.
Crown Lager is a 4.9% premium Australian beer originally made by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), a subsidiary of Foster's Group. The beer was first brewed in 1919 under its former name, "Foster's Crown Lager".
Melbourne Bitter is a beer brewed by Carlton & United Breweries, a subsidiary of Asahi. While originally having an ABV of 4.9%, it has since been reduced to 4.6% ABV. Melbourne bitter is available in 375 mL bottles ("stubbies"), 375 mL cans ("tinnies") and 750 mL bottles ("longnecks/longies/tallies").
Wells & Young's Brewery was formed in 2006 from a merger of the brewing operations of Charles Wells Ltd and Young's Brewery. Charles Wells initially had a 60% stake and Young's 40%. In 2011, Charles Wells took full control when it bought Young's 40% stake. Wells & Young's is now responsible for brewing, distributing and marketing Charles Wells' and Young & Co's brands at the Eagle Brewery in Bedford.
Resch's is a brand of beer produced by Carlton & United Breweries, available in New South Wales, Australia. It was also the name of the Sydney brewing company who produced the beer brand and were based in Redfern until taken over by Tooth & Co in 1929.
Nail Brewing is an Australian brewery and the producer of the world's most expensive beer, the Antarctic Nail Ale.
NT Draught is a lager produced by Carlton & United Breweries (CUB), a subsidiary of Asahi Breweries. NT Draught are the makers of the Darwin Stubby. A Darwin Stubby refers to several large beer bottle sizes in Australia. It was first introduced in April 1958 with an 80-imperial-fluid-ounce capacity. The 2.25-litre Darwin Stubby has an iconic, if kitsch status in Australian folklore. In May 2015 Carlton & United Breweries announced that they will no longer brew NT Draught on a regular basis.
Thunder Road Brewing Company is an independent brewery operating in the Melbourne inner suburb of Brunswick, Australia. Since opening its doors for business in 2011, the brewery’s beers have been distributed for sale in Melbourne and distribution is now expanding throughout Australia. Thunder Road Brewing Company brews year-round flagship beers including Full Steam Pale Lager, Collingwood Draught, Hop Star, Brunswick Bitter, as well as limited release seasonal beers, for on-tap sales. In 2015, the company also introduced its first line of packaged beer, the Double Fermentation Series, and began a range of barrel aged beers known as the "President's Reserve" series.
