The
D raught beer. Once upon a time it almost counted as one of the staples of Australian life. In news bulletins, the price of a schooner was often the key economic indicator, together with a litre of milk or a loaf of bread, used to demonstrate the cost of living effects of any new government impost or the rate of infl ation.
Those days are over. For a host of reasons the ‘schooner index’ is much less important these days. It’s no coincidence that beer’s decline as a personal fi nancial measure mirrors the declining consumption of beer itself.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics shocked many in January this year when it revealed that beer consumption was at levels not seen since the rationing of the Second World War. Beer consumption has almost halved since 1979, despite overall alcohol consumption staying roughly static during that period.
But why has the great Aussie shout fallen out of favour and what is being offered to shore up beer’s position as Australia’s unoffi cial national drink?
Peter McLoughlin is CEO of Pacifi c Beverages, the joint venture between soft drink maker Coca Cola Amatil and SABMiller, the world’s second largest brewer. Perhaps a clue to beer’s decline in
Australia is that, such is the state of the Australian market, he can refer to his company as a ‘small player’ without any trace of irony.
The Australian beer market – and especially the draught market
– has long been shared between two major players, Lion Nathan

and Foster’s. While McLoughlin says ‘the big guys’ have been making high quality beers, he points to the huge growth of bottled beer available these days and contrasts it with draught.
He argues that with more than 650 bottled beers currently available in Australia there has been a huge amount of innovation is some areas of beer, but the draught space beer has not seen much at all. This lack of competition and innovation may have led to draught beer becoming a little stale.
“The category has to be interesting,” McLoughlin says.
“If the category grows and performs well against other categories, we all benefi t. I think in certain categories we have been at risk of boring the consumer to death.”
McLoughlin believes this may be a driving force behind the craft and
‘boutique’ movements occurring in places like Victoria at the moment.
“Because the consumer is saying ‘what used to be good
enough is not good enough anymore’. The consumer is saying,
‘I want choice and I want a wider variety on offer’.”
This view is echoed by Ross Jurisich, one of the founders of dynamic Byron Bay craft brewery, Stone & Wood. Jurisich sees that tastes are changing, but also that the sheer dominance of the biggest breweries might be slowing down the growth of diversity.
“Victoria is a great example,” he says. “For want of a better term, you have a freer market there because you don’t have the same level of tap agreements in Victoria.
“The reason for that is Foster’s have had such a signifi cant slice of the market, it hasn’t seen the need to tie up taps the way breweries have had to in other places.
“Then you go to Sydney where there’s more emphasis on tap agreements with the big brewers which limits the chance for smaller brewers like us to have a placement.”
It may be no surprise that Victoria has one of the most vibrant tap markets nationally at the moment.
McLoughlin agrees, saying that publicans are moving away from being tied in to primarily one supplier.
“They’re saying, ‘I need to run my business for the consumers,
I’m only as good as the consumers that are coming into my pub and they want something different’,” he explains.
“So the smart ones are saying, ‘I’m not going to contract to you at a 90 per cent level. I’ll contract in at a certain level but I want more space for some of these other things that are coming along.’
“That’s where we have started to capitalise, on the changing sentiment of the publicans.”
But if beer drinkers and publicans are looking for something different, what are the ‘alternative’ brewers serving up?
In the case of McLoughlin’s Pacifi c Beverages, they have their stable

of international brands, including Peroni, but they have also talked with publicans and developed something they see as different.
Bruers Bright is unusual for a draught beer in that it is unpasteurised.
“Bright beer is supplied exactly as a brewer would intend. Because of our sterile fi ltration, we don’t have to pasteurise or heat treat our beer, so we are able to fi ll directly from the bright beer tanks into the kegs and lock in that special taste for the consumer.”
They are not the fi rst brewery to do this, it is almost unheard of for the smaller craft breweries to do this, even with their lagers, but it is unique amongst the larger breweries.
Last year’s launch of Bruer’s Bright, which is now pouring in 200 venues nationally, is being backed up with an innovation in the traditional beer jug - a jug with an ice-fi lled chamber to keep the beer cold til the end.
While attracting consumers, the new jugs work well for publicans. Their sheer distinctiveness make them attractive while also being practical.
Publicans are reporting strong take-up of the beer for these reasons.
Pacifi c Beverages’ new beer can be compared to the recent
introductions from Lion Nathan and Fosters, who have released
Hahn White and Pure Blonde White respectively. Both beers take the Belgian-style wit beer, made with wheat and spices, and move them into the growing low-carb space. They are both fl avoursome and interesting offerings on draught and represent a refreshing addition to beer taps. Their simultaneous release holds the promise of something interesting happening in mainstream tap beer, but also highlights the lockstep that the two largest brewers have gotten into.
The genuinely interesting area in tap beer is the growth of the craft and microbrewing sector. Lion Nathan and Foster’s both have very strong offerings in the craft space, with Foster’s Matilda Bay particularly kicking goals through Fat Yak, well on the way to be the nation’s leading craft beer.
The microbrewing industry, too small yet to be even regarded as minnow in the beer ocean, is also throwing up some exciting beers. Importantly, a growing number of small breweries are coming along that have the focus on consistency and customer service needed to succeed in more mainstream hotels.
Stone & Wood’s Pacifi c Ale, a highly fl avoursome – yet very sessionable – ale, was recently named Best Beer in Australia in an extensive poll of beer critics and industry identities. The brewery’s approach bundles the business-savvy approach that interesting draught beer needs to succeed in the changing market.
According to Stone & Wood’s Ross Jurisich, craft is an area that publicans should be looking at exploring.
“If you’re in an area where you have a more discerning consumer, I think that you can differentiate your venue by what you have on tap,” he says.
“It’s important to have something that not everyone has.
Consumers are willing to pay a premium for quality and fl avour.”
But he also sounds an important word of caution to both publicans and brewers.
“There’s no point just shoving a craft beer on and thinking people will drink it. Hotels need a genuine interest in beer and to be knowledgeable enough about what they are serving, because the drinker will want to know,” he explains.
“It’s like what’s happened in wine, where the more sophisticated wine drinker wants to know the varietal, beer drinkers will want to know what malts are in it, what hops, whether it’s an ale or a lager. They expect the people serving the beer to have the same interest in it as they do.”
And this is where the brewer comes in.
“The onus is on the craft brewer to spend time in the venue educating the staff so that the staff have the confi dence to talk to the drinker.
“From a brewer’s perspective, you can’t just put the beer on and hope for the best. It takes effort and activity on the brewer’s part to make sure that venues know what they’re selling.”
Despite the declining consumption and the challenges facing draught beer, it is a very interesting and dynamic time to be making and selling it. But with beer being the most sociable of beverages, the thought of standing at the pub and enjoying a jar with good friends isn’t a hard idea to sell to most people. So long as the beer and the experience live up to the promise.
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