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DARWIN'S most famous export the iconic
Darwin Stubby celebrated its 50th birthday back in 2008.
The 2.25L
Darwin Stubby was conceived by Carlton and
United Brewery in 1958 to satisfy the hearty appetite of Territory beer drinkers, whose love of the amber fluid could not be confined to 750ml, the largest grog vessel at the time. It quickly became the drink of choice for thirsty locals and tourists alike who were quick to get on board.
Although the NT Draught
Darwin Stubby has had many incarnations over the years, it continues to be a much sought-after product and sells around 24,000 bottles each year.
The
Darwin Stubby gives us a presence around the world, everyone knows about it. No one else has anything that big - it's as big as the Territory and everyone mentions it wherever you go, It’s now sold largely as a tourist gimmick, but very successfully.
Although no longer brewed in the Territory, many old-time
Darwin locals can remember the days when the old Bishop St site pumped out hangovers as big as the bottle - by the dozen.
Beer has not been brewed in the Territory since Carlton
United made NT Draught.
The brewery closed in the late 1980s, taking the iconic
Darwin Stubby to Queensland.
Below is some history about beer and the brewers.
The oldest brewery still in operation is the Cascade Brewery, established in Tasmania in 1824.
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With exception of the family owned Coopers Brewery, all of the large Australian breweries are now owned by either the
Foster's Group or Lion Nathan.
The first (official) brewer in Australia was
John Boston who brewed a beverage from Indian corn bittered with cape gooseberry leaves.
By 1871 there were 126 breweries in Victoria alone which at the time had a
population of only 800,000.
1824 – Peter Degraves starts the Cascade brewery in Tasmania.
The brewery is still operating and is Australia’s oldest surviving brewery.
1835 – Tooth brewery is established in
Sydney
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1859 The South Australian Brewing Company was founded . There were two breweries, one in the West End of the
Adelaide city centre (producing "West End" beers), and the other at Thebarton on the banks of the River Torrens north-west of the city centre (producing "Southwark" beers , The West End brewery was closed between the wars, and the operations consolidated with the Southwark brewery operations at the Thebarton site.
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1837 – James Stokes establishes The Swan Brewery in central
Perth, Australia . From 1879, it occupied riverside premises below Mount Eliza, This later became the Emu brewery.
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1838 – Mr Moss establishes the first brewery in
Melbourne.
1862 – Thomas Cooper establishes the Coopers Brewery.
The brewery is still owned and operated by the Cooper family and is Australia’s largest independent brewery.
1864 – Carlton brewery opens in
Melbourne
1881 - James Boag and his son James Boag II open the Esk Brewery (Aka Boag's Brewery) in
Launceston.
1885 – Gambrinus brewery in
Melbourne becomes the first brewery in Australia to brew Lager.
1886 – Fosters It was founded in
Melbourne by two American brothers, William and Ralph
Foster of New
York, who happened to own a refrigeration plant, which was necessary to brew beer in Australia's hot climate. They sold
the brewery the following year and returned to the
United States 1889 – Lager is first brewed in Queensland at the
Castlemaine and Quinlan brewery.
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Sorry if I missed your favorite drop of amber fluid.
.