Australian Breweries History: Castlemaine Brewery
In 1859 Nicholas and Edwin Fitzgerald, sons of an Irish brewer, established
the Castlemaine Brewery in Castlemaine, Victoria. In 1866 Paddy and Thomas
Perkins establish the Perkins Brewery in Toowoomba, Queensland, and later
expanding to Brisbane. In 1872 the Perkins brothers purchased the Brisbane
City Brewery in Mary Street, Brisbane, that had been established in the
early 1860's.
In 1877 the Fitzgerald brothers formed a partnership with Kate
Quinlan, George Gray and Robert Prendergast to establish Fitzgerald Quinlan
& Company with the intent to build a brewery in Brisbane. They purchased
the failing Milton Distillery and much of the surrounding land from Robert
Forsyth in September. The first brew produced in the Castlemaine Milton
Brewery was made to the same formula as the Castlemaine Brewery in Victoria.
It was called Castlemaine XXX Sparkling Ale and was ready for sale on
Friday 13 September. The then "Brisbane Courier" described the brew as a
"delicious ale of the brightest amber, pleasant to taste, with a peculiarity
of flavour not easily described and an aroma of an appetising nature by itself".
The X's date back to medieval times when brewing was confined mainly to
monasteries. The monks used X (the sign of the cross) as a standard symbol
of quality for alcoholic beverages. The number of X's represented the
strength and quality of the brew.
In 1928 the Castlemaine Brewery bought out major rival Perkins & Co
which included the City Brewery in Mary St, a wines and spirits department
on the opposite side of the street, the Toowoomba Brewery, the Toowoomba
Maltings and a number of hotels. The new company became known as Castlemaine
Perkins Limited. In 1980 Castlemaine Perkins and NSW brewer Tooheys merge to
form Castlemaine Tooheys Limited. In 1985 Castlemaine Tooheys and Swan
Brewery bought by Bond Corporation. In 1992 Castlemaine Perkins was aquired by
Lion Nathan Limited, together with Tooheys and Swan.
In 2000, Castlemaine opened the most high tech Brewhouse in Australia
(Castlemaine's fifth brewhouse) and won a Gold Medal for reducing greenhouse
gas emissions.
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