We pride ourselves on being a global organization here at The Session, so let’s take a trip to the Land Down Under to discover some interesting facts about the impressive Australian beer culture. We travel back to the 18th century, when rum was still the poison of choice for the people colonizing and developing the new lands. The magnificent arrival of beer to the land is credited to Captain James Cook, who brought beer on his ship, the HMS Endeavour in 1770.
The beer was not taken to immediately, and had actually been used on the ship as a means of preserving the drinking water for the sailors. Aside from the sailors themselves, not many people took to drinking the new beverage, instead sticking to the effective rum. This all changed though in the early 1800s, when the newly installed Australian government proactively began promoting beer as a superior choice to rum. Why, you ask? Because the citizens were getting too drunk on the rum to function in a budding society!
The government pushed for beer to be a more widely drank beverage, with the benefits we all know: relaxing after a hard working day, fraternizing with peers, giving an edge to sleep better before bed, and more! Fast forward to today, beer has found its place at the top of the Australian beverage mountain. Craft beer, especially, hosts a great culture here, with the latest data showing an annual economic contribution of 4.6 Billion AUD. Now, that’s a lot of craft beer! Over the past decade, the number of breweries and brands of craft brew have exploded, with a total of over 300 brands currently in the marketplace.
CHEERS to the Australians who have replaced the rum with fresh, tasty, refreshing craft beer!
Reference and data:
“https://www.statista.com/topics/5984/beer-and-craft-beer-in-australia/”
