He was joined in the business by his brother Nicholas Fitzgerald in 1859, after which the firm spread rapidly, opening breweries in Melbourne, Newcastle, Sydney and Brisbane, along with smaller breweries at Daylesford and Newbridge.
It was closed and the company wound up in 1925, at which time it was reportedly the oldest industry in the district, with many employees who had worked there for much of their careers.
[1][7] In 1878, the Fitzgerald brothers partnered with the Brisbane business and shipping firm Quinlan & Co to form a new company, Fitzgerald, Quinlan & Co., for the purposes of opening a brewery in the Brisbane suburb of Milton.
[15] In 1869, Edward Fitzgerald and partner Robert Prendergast built a brewery in Hay Street, Sydney, near Darling Harbour.
[16] The brewery was floated as the public Castlemaine Brewery and Malting Company in 1881 and reconstituted as the Castlemaine Brewing, Malting, Wine and Spirit Company Ltd. in 1885.