Boag's Brewery

Infobox Brewery
name = Boag's Brewery


caption =
location = flagicon|AustraliaLaunceston
Australia
owner = Lion Nathan Ltd
opened = 1883
production =
active_beers =
seasonal_beers =
other_beers =

Boag's Brewery (J. Boag & Son) is an Australian brewery company founded in 1883 by James Boag and son, also named James, in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. It is owned by the Trans-Tasman company Lion Nathan Ltd.

Establishment and history

James Boag I arrived in Australia with his wife, Janet, and their four children in 1853. The family spent three months in the Victorian goldfields then came to Tasmania under engagement to John Fawns. James I and his son, James Boag II, left the Cornwall Brewery in 1878. James II went into partnership with John Glenwright at the "Cataract Brewery". James I became the licensee of the "All Year Round Hotel".

In 1881 the Esk Brewery was established on the banks of the North Esk River in Launceston by Charles Stammers Button. John Fawns died, and James Boag III was born.

In 1883, James I and his son, James II, took over the Esk Brewery. J. Boag & Son was officially formed in 1883, as the partnership between James Boag I and his son, to operate the brewery. The companies' initial output was seven hogsheads of beer weekly. At the time of take over, it was said to be the most complete in Tasmania. The name Esk Brewery was retained although Boag's Brewery became a frequent reference.

Under the leadership of James Boag the brewery quickly established a reputation for brewing the highest quality beers.

In 1887 James Boag II began management of the company on the retirement of his father. A new malthouse was built and weekly production had increased to more than 500 hogsheads with the brewery employing a constant 30 members of staff.

James Boag I died in 1890.

In 1898 J. Boag & Son purchased the "Cornwall Brewery" and amalgamated it with the "Esk Brewery". James Boag II died in 1919 and was succeeded by James Boag III who had been training at Tooth and Co.'s brewery in Sydney.

In 1924 James Boag III retired temporarily from the company, and returned in 1930 as Managing Director, a position he held until his death in 1944. His obituary in the Examiner reported: "Having been closely connected with business and sporting activities, Mr Boag was known and respected by a wide circle of friends. At the time of his death, he was Managing Director of J. Boag & Son Limited and a Director of Tasmanian Breweries Pty Limited."

George Boag, James III's second son, took over James' seat on the Board of J. Boag & Son.

In 1959 the first "Pride of Ringwood" hops were planted, which are now used for all Boag's beers.

George Boag was the last Boag working in the business, when he retired to Victoria with his wife Gwen.

In the 1990s Boag's launched two new lines of beer - James Boag's Premium Lager in 1994, and Boag's Strongarm Bitter in 1997.

In 2000 San Miguel Corporation acquired J. Boag & Son (previously a publicly listed company) for $92 million.cite web |url=http://www.atimes.com/bizasia/BD21Aa01.html |accessdate=2007-11-08 |publisher=Asia Times | title=San Miguel to bid for Australian brewer] The existing Tasmanian management is retained to continue running the company. Production has increased annually for the past 3 years and this growth is planned to continue.

In 2002 James Boag's Premium Light was launched nationally and won "New Beer of the Year" at the Australian Liquor Industry Awards. James Boag's Premium Lager was awarded "Best Marketed Beer" at the Australian Liquor Industry Awards. The Boag's Centre for Beer Lovers opened in the historic Tamar Hotel.

In 2004 Boag's Brewery was expanded to occupy the complete block enclosed by William, Tamar and Shield Streets and The Esplanade.

J. Boag and Son employs 142 people and produces over 46,000,000 litres of beer annually.

San Miguel sells J. Boag & Son to Lion Nathan Ltd in November 2007 for $325 million.cite web |url=http://www.theage.com.au/news/Business/San-Miguel-farewells-Australia/2007/11/08/1194329390060.html |accessdate=2007-11-08 |publisher=The Age| title=San Miguel farewells Australia]

Beers

*"James Boag's Premium Lager" - a European style lager brewed from the finest quality pilsener malts.
*"James Boag's Premium Light" - a full flavoured light beer with a smooth, pleasant bitterness.
*"Boag's Draught" - Brewed to a century old recipe, Boag's Draught is a full-bodied lager with smooth hop bitterness and a crisp, refreshing aftertaste.
*"Boag's St George" - Boag's St George is an aromatic premium beer brewed with a distinctive citrus hop flavour to create a less bitter, highly refreshing style of premium beer.
*"Boag's Classic Blonde" - the low carbohydrate offering from Boag’s, specifically brewed to reduce the carbohydrate content of the beer. It offers drinkers a full strength blonde lager at 4.5% alcohol that is less bitter than regular beers. *"Boag's 1881 Traditional Ale" - a limited edition pale ale.
*"Boag's Wizard Smith ale" - a traditional English ale, brewed with the finest quality East Kent Golding hops and a range of specialised malts.
*"Boag's Draught Light" - Two batches of full strength Boag's Draught beer are brewed and filtered to bright beer stage. This process ensures the 2.7% product retains full beer flavour, exhibiting pleasing body with a slight crystal malt flavour and a pleasant bitter finish.
*"Boag's Strongarm Bitter" - as strong in flavour as the name suggests. A full strength beer that delivers genuine malt flavours and rich hop characters with a refreshingly bitter finish.
*"Boag's XXX Ale" - a light golden beer full of flavour. It has a clean, crisp character with a moderate estery aroma balanced with a good hop bitterness. Only available in Tasmania.
*"Boag's Honey Porter" - a limited edition porter brewed with leatherwood honey all gather from the same farm.
*"Boag's Classic Bitter" - a cold filtered pale lager sold only in Tasmania and metropolitan Melbourne in 500ml cans.
*"Boag's Original Bitter" - this brand has been deleted from the portfolio.
*"Tasman Bitter" - produced under contract for the Liquorland chain. It is a unique brew.
*"Hammer 'n Tongs" - produced under contract for the Liquorland chain. It is a unique brew.

Boag's Centre for Beer Lovers

In 1826 the Lame Dog Hotel (later to be known as the Tamar Hotel) was constructed and by the 1930s this imposing Georgian-style building had become one of Launceston's most pre-eminent hotels. George Radford and his family were the first to operate a hotel on this site and were here for 26 years. Mary Radford was the first female licensee. In the nineteenth century, it was not unusual for women to run family hotels after the deaths of their husbands. For half of its 150 years, the Tamar Hotel was owned by women. Today the building has been restored to house the Boag's Centre for Beer Lovers.

References

External links

* [http://myfavouritebeer.com/boags-draught Boag's Draught Review]
* [http://www.boags.com.au J Boag & Son]
* [http://au.geocities.com/sportandhistory/boags.html Boag's history evidence]