It’s no secret that Australians love beer. According to the latest alcohol consumption data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, Aussies consume about 18 million litres of beer every year. This makes Australians roughly 19th for beer consumption per capita in the world.

But where did Australia’s love for beer begin? While it is likely that indigenous people had been fermenting drinks in Australia for many thousands of years, it wasn’t until European colonisation that beer was introduced. In this article we’ll look at the history of beer in the sunburned country including early brewing attempts, some of our unique tastes and the major players in Australian brewing (past and present).

Rum and beer

There was undoubtedly beer on Captain Cook’s vessel when he landed at Botany bay in 1770. It is likely that weak beer was used as a kind of substitute for water which was of questionable quality and often hard to come by on a long sea voyage.

While there was beer on board The Endeavour, the first European settlers had more of a taste for rum in the first hundred years of the colony in Sydney. Rum was being distilled from sugar and molasses sourced from Britain’s colonial plantations and had a terrible reputation. Drunkenness and rum fuelled violence was common. At one point men of the New South Wales Corps marched against Governor William Bligh in a coup attempt known as the rum rebellion. Rum was so popular that it became a common currency in Sydney and remained so for many years.

“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.”

 Lord Hobart in a letter to Governor Philip King on 29 August 1802

Developing alongside the unquenchable thirst for rum was a fledgling beer industry. Unfortunately, the core ingredients of beer (malted barley and hops) were hard to come by. As a result, the first recorded beer brewed in Australia by John Boston was made from corn imported from India and Gooseberry leaves for bitterness. Thankfully, things started to improve in the following years.

By the time the first pub (The Mason Arms) opened in Parramatta in 1796, people in the colony were experimenting with brewing ales. However, like John Boston’s corn brew, these often had questionable or even dangerous adjuncts. It wasn’t until James Squire successfully harvested the first Australian-grown hops in 1808 that we started to see the beer industry gain momentum. Without refrigeration or cold European caves in which to lager beer, ale remained the beer of choice in Australia for many years.

Breweries

In the 1800’s the familiar names in Australian brewing began to emerge. In 1832, Cascade brewery was established in Hobart, Tasmania and holds the title of oldest operating brewery in Australia. Tooth’s in Sydney followed soon after in 1835, followed by Torrens (Adelaide, 1838), Cooper’s Brewery (Adelaide, 1862) and Carlton (Melbourne, 1864). The first lager was brewed at the Cohn Brothers Brewery in Bendigo in 1882.

While many of these breweries are now either defunct or owned by the behemoths of alcohol production (Lion, AB InBev), Coopers in South Australia remains independent and family owned. There are also many smaller independent breweries in Australia that make great beers!

Australian beer styles

There is much conversation and debate about what can be called an “official” style of beer by the various bodies governing beer around the world. Regardless of whether they’re officially recognised or not, there are a few distinct Australian styles of beer. 

A Sparkling Ale might be the most traditional and famous Australian style of beer. This beer was first brewed in the mid 1800’s and is made famous by the Coopers “Red” product which has remained mostly unchanged since its inception in 1862. Typically this style is 5-6% ABV and light to medium gold in colour. Sparkling ales are always highly carbonated and typically bottle conditioned. If you’ve ever brewed this beer you’ll know that cane sugar is added to the brew to boost the ABV. It is believed that the addition of sugar dates back to a time (19th century) when cane sugar was easier to come by than malted barley – so it was added to reduce production costs while still getting an acceptable level of alcohol. This style of beer usually uses the Australian grown “Pride of Ringwood” hops.

The Australian Pale Ale is the saucy cousin of the English Ale. It exhibits a light straw to light amber colour and a lower maltiness and bitterness. ABV varies by brand but will typically fall into the 4 – 6% range. Hops will usually be on the fruitier side. Popular examples of the Australian Pale Ale include James Squire’s 150 Lashes, Little Creatures Pale Ale and Coopers “Green”.

A newer Australian style of beer is the Pacific Ale which was first conceived by Stone and Wood brewery in 2011. The beer was brewed to suit Australian conditions (hot) and tastes. Since its release, the Pacific Ale has had runaway success with many other breweries emulating the style. The beer itself has alcohol on the lower side, light maltiness and strong bitterness characterised citrus and fruit flavours. This beer is great  if you are at the pub on a hot Australian day looking for an alternative to lager.

Also a quick and honourable mention to what some people call Australian light lagers. For years before the current trend toward lower alcohol beers, Australians have been enjoying low alcohol lagers (usually between 3 – 4% ABV). In the Australian heat it makes sense to drink something that won’t dehydrate you too much. It should be said that a lower alcohol lager isn’t an Australian concept although it is extremely popular there. While Great Northern brews a fairly good low alcohol lager, XXXX Gold remains the flagship for this style of beer (and one of my personal favourites!)

From the time Captain Cook set foot on Botany until today, Australians have loved beer. Whether it’s a light lager in the sun or a glass of Sparkling Ale at the pub, Aussies have always enjoyed a brew. Australian brewers have come a long way since John Boston made his corn beer all those years ago – these days we see a multitude of great breweries all over the country where you can sample great Australian beer styles.