Beer in Australia
[4] Within an alcoholic beverage market worth some $16.3 billion, beer comprises about 48% compared to wine at 29% and spirits at 21%.
Captain James Cook brought beer with him on his ship HMS Endeavour as a means of preserving drinking water.
On 1 August 1768, as Cook was fitting out the Endeavour for its voyage, Nathaniel Hulme wrote to Joseph Banks with a recommendation: "a quantity of Molasses and Turpentine, in order to brew Beer with, for your daily drink, when your Water becomes bad.
"Beer was still being consumed on-board two years later in 1770, when Cook was the first European to discover the east coast of Australia.
On Sundays, men and women might be observed standing round the public-house doors, waiting for the expiration of the hours of public worship in order to continue their carousing.
Men and women were found intoxicated together, and a bottle of brandy was considered to be cheaply bought for 20 lashes... All that the vilest and most bestial of human creatures could invent and practise, was in this unhappy country invented and practised without restraint and without shame"As a means of reducing drunkenness, beer was promoted as a safer and healthier alternative to rum: "The introduction of beer into general use among the inhabitants would certainly lessen the consumption of spirituous liquors.
I have therefore in conformity with your suggestion taken measures for furnishing the colony with a supply of ten tons of Porter, six bags of hops, and two complete sets of brewing materials.
[citation needed] Notable events from this period include: Tasmania was the first Australian colony to tax beer.
[citation needed] Since 2011, Kirin-owned Lion Co and AB InBev-owned Foster's Group own every major brewery in Australia, with the exception of Coopers.
[11] Boag's Brewery, previously owned by San Miguel, was sold to Lion Nathan for A$325 million in November 2007.
[12] The introduction of the Tap King product by Lion Nathan in mid-2013 caused controversy due to the perceived impact upon alcohol venues.
[15] Before federation in 1901, Australia was a patchwork of separate colonies, each with different laws regulating the production and sale of alcohol.
In addition, until the late 1880s when the rail network began to link the capital cities together, the only means of transporting foods in bulk between the colonies was by sea.
[17] Speciality brews in Australia are produced by both major brewers and microbreweries, and include a wide variety of ales.
Microbreweries exist throughout the country, including small towns, but the availability of such beers on-tap in venues is often limited.
Microbrewery Nail Brewing, from Perth, Western Australia, produced a beer in 2010 using water from an Antarctic iceberg, and sold it at auction for US$1,850.
The batch of 30 bottles was created to raise money for the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which assisted with the procuring of the ice.
[28] The two Australian corporate brewers responded to this by signing licence agreements with foreign brands to brew their beers here.
However, groups such as the Australian Consumers Association say that such beers should have clearer, more prominent labels to inform drinkers.
Larger serving measurements have become increasingly popular, such as Jugs, 1 fluid litre Maß (pronounced like "mass", normally in German-themed bars) and beer towers (although technically illegal due to strict self-service of alcohol laws, these are in some Asian bars/karaoke parlours) have grown in popularity around Australia in tourist spots.
