List of breweries in Australia facts for kids

Australia is a big country, and it makes a lot of beer! For a long time, different parts of Australia had their own local beer makers. But since the 1980s, many of these smaller companies have joined together or been bought by bigger ones. Now, two main companies make most of the beer in Australia: Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) and Lion.

These two big companies used to be Australian-owned, but now they are part of much larger international businesses. In 2020, CUB became part of a Japanese company called Asahi Breweries. Lion has been part of another Japanese company, Kirin Company, since 2009. The biggest Australian-owned beer company left is Coopers Brewery. They make about 4% of all the beer sold in Australia.

In 2011, these two foreign-owned companies sold 89% of all the beer in Australia. CUB sold 48% of the beer, and Lion sold 41%. Some of the most popular beers in Australia in 2012 included XXXX Gold, VB, Carlton Draught, and Tooheys New.

Who Owns the Breweries?

Many famous Australian breweries are now owned by big international companies. Here's a look at some of them:

What are Microbreweries?

A microbrewery, also called a craft brewery, is a smaller brewery that makes a limited amount of beer. They often focus on making unique and tasty beers. In Australia, there isn't one strict rule for what counts as a microbrewery. However, the Independent Brewers Association says that a microbrewer sells less than 40 million litres of beer each year. Also, a bigger company can't own more than 20% of it.

In July 2017, there were about 500 small breweries in Australia! Here are some of the well-known ones:

See also

• Beer and breweries by region