AB-InBev turns Cascade Brewery into its craft beer hub

So they have given the Cascade Brewery a new lease on life. After an AUD 10.3 million (USD 8 million) upgrade, supported by a AUD one million contribution from the local government, AB-InBev’s Tasmanian brewery will increase its production capacity by 65 percent to probably over 350,000 hl and become the brewer’s Australian craft beer hub.

Founded in Hobart in 1824, Cascade is Australia’s oldest operating brewery and famous for its landmark façade.

Already, AB-InBev’s local unit CUB is brewing the Goose Island brand at Cascade, plus all the Cascade brands, although the volumes of the latter have diminished dramatically over the years.

“We are thrilled that Cascade will become CUB’s craft brewing hub for the Asia Pacific region. It is testimony to our long-term confidence in Cascade, Hobart and Tasmania”, Jan Craps, CEO of CUB, was quoted as saying.

The expansion is expected to create 20 jobs and secure 86 existing ones.

Neither CUB nor SABMiller had much luck with their craft beer brands, which is probably down to SABMiller not establishing a dedicated brand marketing or structure within CUB.

Worse still, they abandoned the Matilda Bay name, one of Australia’s earliest craft breweries which was acquired by CUB in the early 1990s, and called their craft unit the Yak Company. And contrary to the general craft beer rule book which underlines provenance, they sold Matilda Bay’s shop front brewery – Matilda Bay Garage – which means the domestic craft beer brand no longer has a tangible presence.

Insiders wonder where AB-InBev will brew their recently acquired craft beer brands 4 Pines (Sydney) and Pirate Life (Adelaide), once they will have outgrown the original breweries’ capacities – especially in view of the contradictory demands of provenance and efficiency/cost. At the moment 4 Pines has contracted out those volumes which are packaged in cans because they do not have a canning line.