Castlemaine Perkins is a

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

at 185 Milton Road, Milton,

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. It is a wholly owned entity of the Japanese-controlled

Lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...

company. Operations began in 1878 and continue today. Castlemaine Perkins is the home of the XXXX beer brand.

History

StateLibQld 2 182083 Brewer and politician Patrick Perkins, 1879

In 1877, brothers

Nicholas Fitzgerald Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the name and it ...

and Edward Fitzgerald partnered with a

commercial firm to buy the site of a failing distillery and establish a brewery, named for the Fitzgeralds' existing

Castlemaine Brewery The Castlemaine Brewery was an Australian brewery and brewing company established in 1857 by Edward Fitzgerald. He was joined in the business by his brother Nicholas Fitzgerald in 1859, after which the firm spread rapidly, opening breweries in ...

. They began to brew beer there in the following year and the brewery continues production to this day. The first beverage was called XXX Sparkling Ale. In 1866, Patrick Perkins started the Perkins Brewery in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

. In 1872, he later extended his operations to

with the purchase of the City Brewery in 1872. The company restricted its operations entirely to brewing by 1916. XXXX was introduced with new advertising campaign in 1924 after the brewery employed German brewer, Alhois William Leitner. The advertising included a depiction of a little man wearing a suit with a smile, a wink and a boater hat. The so-called 'Fourex Man' soon became one of the most recognised symbols in Queensland. In 1928 (long after the death of Patrick Perkins in 1901), the Perkins brewing company was bought by the Castlemaine Brewery with new company being known as Castlemaine Perkins Limited. In March 1980, Castlemaine Perkins merged with Tooheys to form Castlemaine Tooheys. Bond Corporation purchased Castlemaine Tooheys in 1985. Castlemaine Tooheys was acquired in 1992 by Lion Nathan.

Building

The large, brick brewery is located on Milton Road opposite the Milton railway station, and is a prominent landmark visible in the surrounding suburbs. In particular the XXXX red neon sign is mounted on the top of the building. The side of the building also a neon XXXX man on the side (visible on Milton Road when travelling out of the city). The brewery building, Milton Railway Station and trains feature on almost all XXXX packaging directly below the XXXX logo. Over the years bottle labels have depicted steam, diesel and electric trains. Tours of the brewery are regularly run for groups.

Awards

In 2009 as part of the

Q150 Q150 was the sesquicentenary (150th anniversary) of the Separation of Queensland from New South Wales in 1859. Separation established the Colony of Queensland which became the State of Queensland in 1901 as part of the Federation of Australia. ...

celebrations, the XXXX Brewery was announced as one of the Q150 Icons of Queensland for its role as a "structure and engineering feat". Castlemaine Perkins was inducted into the Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame in 2009, for its significant contribution to economic development in Queensland.

Beverages

Castlemaine's signature beer, '' XXXX Bitter'' (despite its name a

lager Lager () is beer which has been brewed and conditioned at low temperature. Lagers can be pale, amber, or dark. Pale lager is the most widely consumed and commercially available style of beer. The term "lager" comes from the German for "stora ...

), was introduced in 1924. The XXXX had been used for a sparkling ale since 1878. '' XXXX Summer Bright Lager'' is a 4.2% abv low carb pale lager.

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

Queensland Business Leaders Hall of Fame

{{Brisbane landmarks Australian companies established in 1878 Food and drink companies established in 1878 Buildings and structures in Brisbane Kirin Group Australian beer brands Manufacturing companies based in Brisbane Beer brewing companies based in Queensland Breweries in Australia Q150 Icons