Foster's Australian For Beer? July 18, 2022

What's up peeps. I like to live by the adage of "When in Rome..." For today's post, I'm at the Outback Steakhouse in Pelham Bay Mall and referring to the "When in Rome..." I'm ordering a big frosty mug of Foster's with a side of the Bloomin' Fried Shrimp. 

Delish. But ordering the brew made me wonder...Is Foster's really Australian for beer? Well its a bit more complicated than that.

The origins of the beer that we know today as Foster's Pale Lager start in the Australian city of Melbourne. In 1889, a pair of Irish American brothers William and Ralph Foster's started brewing and selling a European style lager. By 1909, a series of mergers of breweries in Australia, the Brothers Foster's brewery was now under the Carlton & United Breweries (CUB) Umbrella.

By the 1970s Foster's was made available in both the UK and the US. Now here is where it gets complicated. In 1981, Foster's started being brewed in the UK. A series of mergers and purchases of the brand led to SABMiller (2011,) Anheuser-Busch INBev (2016,) and then Asahi Breweries (2020) owning the Foster's brand. The beer is predominantly brewed in the city of Manchester, UK but also brewed here in the U.S., Fort Worth, TX to be specific. Basically Fosters is an Australian brand not an Australin product. I know, that's one confusing origin story. 🤔🤷🏽‍♂️

But you might be asking yourself...The commercial said "Foster's...Australian For Beer" and "How to speak Australian."

According to sources, the two main popular beer brands that are consumed in Australia are the Carlton Draught and Victoria Bitters beer brands. There was even a lawsuit in 2015 where a man from New York sued that he was deceived into thinking Foster's was an Australian beer though it was brewed in the aforementioned Fort Worth, TX brewery. in 2020, CUB announced that they would be reintroducing Foster's in Australia as Fosters Classic. 

While Foster's roots lay in Melbourne, it has more international reach and legacy in a number of countries. Now obviously I'm simplifying things for the sake of the post. There's more information on the whole Foster's brand saga depending on the market that each brewing conglomerate is located in.

For me it doesn't matter. I find that its hard to find Foster's Pale Lager on draft. But I know where I can find a nice frosty mug of it...Outback Steakhouse.

Whatcha think about Fosters. Like it? Hate it? Don't really care about it? Let me know. Drop me a comment in the box below. See you around for the next post.

Until Then May You Have Some Happy, Safe and Responsible Drinking, 

SiscoVanilla 

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For Further Reading: 

• Foster's may be 'the Australian for lager' but it is brewed in Britain by Simon Bowers from the Guardian dated 21 June 2011
• Foster's: 'Australian for beer' around the world will soon be introduced to Australians by Aleksandra Bliszczyk from the Guardian dated 1 December 2020