Australia: Craft beer industry expected to receive further boost from SABMiller-Foster’s deal

Australia's booming craft beer industry is hoping to receive a further boost in sales in the wake of SABMiller's takeover bid for Foster's, Silobreaker.com reported on September, 26.

Boutique and craft beer producers make up less than 2 per cent of the domestic beer market, but they are also the fastest growing segment.

They are hoping consumer backlash against Foster's and a growing awareness among beer drinkers about who owns the beer they drink will see more consumers turn to locally owned and produced craft beer brands.

“Already on Twitter, people are saying, 'If you want to drink Aussie beer, you'd better start drinking small craft beer because that's pretty much all there is that's Australian,” says Ben Kraus from Bridge Road Brewers in Beechworth.

The number of craft beer brewers in Australia has tripled in the past 10 years. Kraus adds that while there may no longer be the state-based loyalty of decades past that saw Queenslanders drinking XXXX and Victorians guzzling VB, there is still national and even regional-based loyalty. Dave Brough from 3 Ravens Brewing Company in Thornbury agrees.

“I think the patriotic beer drinker still exists and we find that people want to drink locally produced beer, too. We have a lot of venues around the inner northern suburbs who stock our product because people like to drink beer that they have some connection to.”

Mornington Peninsula brewer Kent Grogan is banking on patriotic Australian beer drinkers to help drive sales of his Australian made and owned Broo beer. His became the first Australian company to change its constitution to guarantee it would never be sold into foreign hands.

“Economically and emotionally it's very sad news for Australia. But from our perspective it's a great day because I believe that Australians are very passionate about drinking Australian beer.”

28 September, 2011