Brooklyn shifts contract from Coopers to Lion

The contract to brew Brooklyn Lager and distribute its beers has been taken away from Adelaide’s Coopers Brewery and given to – guess who? – Lion. As of 18 December 2018, Brooklyn’s range of beers will be distributed by the Malt Shovel Brewery, Lion’s craft division. Brooklyn Lager will be brewed by Little Creatures in Geelong (Melbourne), which is a craft brewer also owned by Lion.

The move does not come as a surprise. In 2016 Kirin bought a 24.5 percent stake in Brooklyn, while Kirin owns Australia’s Big Brewer Lion outright.

The move sees an end to the brewing and distribution agreement with Coopers, which was signed in June 2015.

The size of the Kirin’s shareholding enabled Brooklyn to remain within the US Brewers Association’s definition of “independent” and to bear the Brewers Association’s independence seal.

Incidentally, Brooklyn’s other international partner is Carlsberg. Although Carlsberg does not own a stake in Brooklyn, the two jointly operate a series of craft breweries in Europe (the latest one opened in Lithuania this summer), and Carlsberg distributes Brooklyn’s beers. Besides, the two are in cohorts in Malaysia, where Carlsberg has marketed Brooklyn Lager and IPA since the end of 2017.

Approximately half of Brooklyn’s volume is sold in export markets, which saw the business post growth of 8 percent in 2017.