Castlemaine Brewery at beer Collections

Australian Breweries History: Castlemaine Brewery

Fosters

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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