Cascade Brewery facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Cascade Brewery

Location	South Hobart Tasmania, Australia
Opened	1824; 201 years ago (1824)
Key people	Peter Degraves, Major McIntosh
Annual production volume	360,000 hectolitres (310,000 US bbl)
Owned by	SAB Miller
Active beers
Name Type Cascade Premium Lager Lager Cascade Premium Light Low-alcohol Lager Cascade Pale Ale Pale Ale Cascade Blonde Wheat Beer Cascade Draught Lager Cascade Lager (Blue) Lager Cascade Bitter (Red) Bitter Lager Cascade Stout Stout Cascade Bright Bright Ale
Seasonal beers
Name Type Cascade First Harvest (discontinued) Special Ale

The Cascade Brewery is a famous place in South Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. It started in 1824 and is the oldest brewery in Australia that has been working non-stop.

Besides making beer, the Cascade site also creates many non-alcoholic drinks. It has a special area for events and offers tours for visitors. There is also a shop where people can buy products.

History of Cascade Brewery

The land where Cascade Brewery stands was first used for sawmills. These mills started in 1825. The brewery itself was built next to the Hobart Rivulet in 1832. It was founded by Hugh Macintosh and his nephews, Henry and Charles Degraves.

For a long time, people thought Peter Degraves started the brewery. But new research shows that Hugh Macintosh was the main partner. He was a retired officer who came from England in 1824.

After Hugh Macintosh passed away in 1834, Peter Degraves took over. He helped the brewery and sawmills grow a lot. They sent timber and beer to other parts of Australia, especially during the gold rush in Victoria.

Later, the brewery was managed by Peter Degraves' family. Today, it is owned by Anheuser-Busch InBev. They make many different drinks, including beer, apple cider (called 'Mercury Cider'), and non-alcoholic drinks. These include apple juice, blackcurrant syrup, and fizzy drinks.

In 1967, a big bushfire almost destroyed the brewery building. But it was rebuilt very quickly. The brewery was back in action just three months later!

Since 1987, the brewery's label has shown a picture of the Tasmanian tiger. This animal is now extinct. The picture comes from a famous book called The Mammals of Australia by John Gould.

Cascade Brewery is special because it makes its own malt. Malt is an important ingredient for beer. They use barley grown nearby for their main beers.

Beers Made at Cascade

The Tasmanian Tiger, featured on the label, from Mammals of Australia, 1841.

Premium Range Beers

• Cascade Premium Lager is an Australian-style lager. It uses special hops that give it a unique spicy taste.
• Cascade Premium Light is a lager with less alcohol. It is currently the most popular light beer in Australia.

Degrave's Collection

• Cascade Pale Ale is actually an Australian-style lager, even though it's called an "ale." The name has been used since the brewery began. It has a good balance of hops and malt, giving it a fruity and spicy taste.
• Cascade Stout is a dark beer. It is made with different malts and grains, including roasted barley. This gives the beer flavors of chocolate and coffee.
• Cascade Blonde is a premium lager. It is brewed with barley and wheat malts. It uses "Cascade" hops for a light bitter taste. The wheat malt gives it a citrus flavor.
• Cascade Pure was first called "Cascade Green" Carbon Neutral Beer. It is a beer with low carbohydrates and no preservatives. Cascade uses special ways to make sure its production doesn't harm the environment. They also use vegetable inks on the label and light bottles. In 2008, it won an award for climate action.

This range of beers was updated in 2005 with new marketing and labels. There was another big change to the brand in 2010.

Tasmanian Range Beers

• Cascade Draught is a traditional full-strength lager. It is the best-selling beer in Tasmania. You can often find it on tap in pubs there.
• Cascade Lager is also known as "blue." It is a traditional full-strength lager. Many university students especially like it.
• Cascade Bitter is also called "red." It is a bitter lager.
• Cascade Export Stout is similar to the Cascade Stout. It is brewed for a shorter time, which gives it a slightly stronger flavor. Only a small amount of this beer is made.

These special beers are only sold in Tasmania.

Seasonal and Limited Edition Beers

Since 2002, Cascade has made a special beer each year called "First Harvest." Only a very small amount is produced. "First Harvest" means they use the first hops picked from Tasmania for this beer. It is brewed as an ale, and the recipe changes every year.

Between 2003 and 2005, Cascade also made seasonal beers:

• Cascade Summer Blonde (now Cascade Blonde)
• Cascade Autumn Amber (now Cascade Amber)
• Cascade Winter Warmer (a dark wheat beer, available on tap for many years)
• Cascade Spring Fest (a Bavarian-style lager)

Homebrew Range

Cascade also offers kits for making beer at home, including:

• Spicy Ghost Draught
• Golden Harvest Lager
• Imperial Voyage Pale Ale
• Chocolate Mahogany Porter

Non-alcoholic Beverages

The non-alcoholic drinks from Cascade are now part of Coca-Cola Amatil. This happened in 2013.

• Fruit Syrups - These include Raspberry and Ultra-C Blackcurrant Syrup. They are made from blackcurrants grown in Tasmania.
• Apple Isle Sparkling Apple Juice - A fizzy apple juice.
• Quality Mixers - These include Lime & Soda, Tonic Water, Soda Water, Cranberry, and Dry Ginger Ale.
• Classic Adult Sparkling Flavours - These are fizzy drinks like Sarsaparilla, Lemon, Ginger, and Lemon Lime & Bitters.
• Cordials - Concentrated syrups in Lemon, Raspberry, and Lime flavors.
• Traditional Flavours - These include Raspberry, Sarsaparilla, and Ice Cream flavors.

Images for kids

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  Peter Degraves