BREWING
Matilda Bay brews fresh future with original founder
CUB Sales VP - Australia and NZ, Rose Scott said: “We are committed to being the best beverage company in Australia and expanding our portfolio to meet the evolving needs of Australian drinkers. Riot Wine Co will help us do that. Riot Wine Co is a truly innovative company and CUB shares its commitment to quality and sustainability. Its rapid expansion in just three years shows venues and retailers agree that it can deliver great things for consumers. “We plan to accelerate the expansion of this growing business through our large on-tap network and more than 100 years of draught experience. “The Riot Wine Co team won’t change and management will stay on to ensure the elements that have helped drive the busi- ness’ success – a focus on quality wine from grape to glass, disruption and innovation, and the quality of its people and outstanding customer relationships – remain in place.”
Riot co-founder and general manager Joe Cook said: “We launched Riot Wine Co to start a wine revolution in Australia by getting venues and consumers to switch from bottles to steel kegs and aluminium cans. Wine drank this way is fresher and easier plus it’s more sustainable because one keg saves roughly 23,000 bottles from entering the environment. Our kegs prevent wine oxidising and our wine has a fun and fresh taste prole, with less sulphur making it cleaner than traditional wine.” Riot produces high-quality wine from South Australian grapes, supporting local producers in premium wine regions. The new investment by CUB will also see Riot’s urban cellar door upgraded in the Adelaide suburb of Brompton, creating a revamped hospitality space where wine lovers can sample and enjoy Riot products and food. The partnership continues CUB’s invest- ment into SA and follows the building of a new Pirate Life brewery in Port Adelaide last year. will oversee everything from brewery construction to brewing and marketing. He is a craft beer visionary who revo- lutionised Australia’s beer landscape. There is no one in the world more suited to delivering this venture than him. “We’re meeting the changing needs of consumers by creating beautiful new beers in pristine surroundings that live up to Matilda Bay and Phil’s original vision. We couldn’t be more excited about this opportunity and we know beer drinkers will love it.” The Matilda Bay brewery and pub will be built on the site currently occupied by Giant Steps winery and restaurant, which is owned by Phil. Construction is expected to start in coming weeks and the brewery is expected to be operational by the end of the year. More than 20 new jobs will be created. lovers. It’s the right label to nish what I started and re-afrm what artisanal brewing should stand for: sessionable, a- vourful beers that stand the test of time.” Phil is one of Australia’s leading brewers and winemakers. In addition to Matilda Bay, he founded Little Creatures and launched Giant Steps and Innocent Bystander wineries. He said sustainabil- ity is a critical part of the new project, with solar panels supplying power and all waste to be recycled. The brewery will use pristine Healesville water. “This is also about creating a beauti- ful new attraction in the town I love and live in,” he said. “There is something special about drinking great small-batch beer where it’s brewed.” CUB’s CEO Peter Filipovic said: “Phil
CUB snaps up canned wine company Riot The keg and canned wine revolution led by Adelaide-based Riot Wine Co is gather- ing pace, with Carlton & United Breweries acquiring the company. Riot Wine Co is the only company in Australia that sells wine exclusively in kegs and cans, with its range of quality wines – led by its agship rosé – helping it to become the leader in the eld. Its innovative and disruptive model gives wine lovers a superior and more sustainable product. This has seen it land in hundreds of venues and retail stores nationwide despite only launching in 2016. Riot co-founder and chief winemaker Tom O’Donnell said: “We are incred- Australia’s original craft brewer Phil Sexton is returning to the label he founded more than 35 years ago to reinvigorate the coun- try’s original craft beer. This will see Phil partner with Carlton & United Breweries, which fully acquired Matilda Bay in 1990, to build a new small-batch brewery in country Victoria that Phil and his team will run. The brewery will be in Healesville in the Yarra Valley, an hour east of Melbourne, and will have a pub attached. It will exclusively develop and brew a new Matilda Bay range and some Matilda Bay classics such as Redback and Dogbolter. Phil said the timing was perfect to re-launch Matilda Bay and help craft beer reach its potential in Australia. “Restoring Matilda Bay to its rightful place as Australia’s leading craft beer is unnished business for me,” he said. “I want to grow craft beer by showing people how special good small batch beer can be. “I founded Matilda Bay in 1983 to give drinkers beautiful craft beer. And as the original craft brewery, it still has a special spot in the consciousness of Aussie beer
AB InBev cleared to produce Guinness in South Africa
Anheuser-Busch InBev has received the approval from South African regulatory authorities to start producing Guinness stout and Smirnoff ready-to-drink (RTDs) in South Africa. The Competition Tribunal of South Africa announced recently that it has granted South African Breweries (SAB), the local unit of Anheuser-Busch InBev the approval to produce, distribute, market and sell Guinness stout and Smirnoff RTDs – Storm, Guarana, Spin, Pine Twist and Berry Twist in South Africa in exchange for royalty fees paid to Diageo, owners of the brands. The nancial details of the transaction were not disclosed. According to the deal, Guinness stout will continue to be imported from Nigeria until local sales volume reach a certain level before SAB can start local production. Speaking on the deal, Andrew Murray, vice-president for nance at SAB and AB InBev Africa, said the licensing agreement is a “great opportunity” that will allow the group’s “distribution capabilities to increase the avail- ability of these brands for consumers and to drive protable growth for these brands”. Also commenting on the deal, Diageo said the deal with SAB “represents the next chapter in the development of our many well-established RTDs as well as the beginning of a chapter for Guinness in South Africa, which will now be sold through a dedicated beer route to market”. SAB and Diageo began discussions on the deal about one year ago. Diageo wanted to focus on its spirits portfolio in South Africa. The RTDs and Guinness were previously part of a joint venture between Heineken, Namibia Breweries and Diageo, which was dissolved in 2015.
ibly excited to be joining Carlton & United Breweries. Their investment, expertise and customer relation- ships will help us continue our rapid expansion.”
16 ● BREWER AND DISTILLER INTERNATIONAL I november 2019
i bd.org.uk
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