Carlton & United Breweries
Melbourne, Australia · Est. 1907
Tally's Take
Why this matters
Australia's biggest brewer, and the source of the country's longest-running joke: Foster's is an export product Australians largely do not drink.
The Museum
Timeline
- 1907Founded
Carlton & United Breweries begins brewing in Melbourne.
- 2020Sold
Sold to Asahi in 2020 for around sixteen billion dollars.
The People
Behind the beer
Historic Australian brewing titan founded in Melbourne.
The Beer Library
Beers
Victoria Bitter
Year-RoundPale Lager
'A hard-earned thirst needs a big cold beer' — the ad ran, barely changed, for decades. For a long stretch, one in every four beers sold in Australia was a VB.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Foster's Lager
Year-RoundPale Lager
Two American brothers from New York opened a brewery in Melbourne in 1888 and sold it within a year. The beer they left behind became a marketing juggernaut everywhere except home — it hasn't even been brewed in Australia since 2011, and most Australians barely drink it, but 'Foster's: Australian for Beer' turned it into one of the most internationally famous Australian beers that Australia doesn't really claim.
Drank this? Add it to your passport →Follow the money
How it changed hands
1 recorded move- 1907Founded
- 2020Sold
Sold to Asahi in 2020 for around sixteen billion dollars.
Today the chain tops out at Asahi Group Holdings.
Show your working
Sources
- controlConfirmed
Carlton & United Breweries is controlled by Public company.
Asahi Group Holdings — Stock Information · Asahi Group Holdings · 2025-12
BreweryHigh reliabilityAccessed 2026-08-05Reviewed 2026-08-05
Only the claims above are sourced. Everything else on this page is the archive's own research and has not yet been tied to a document — which is worth knowing rather than hiding.
Straight answers
Common questions about Carlton & United Breweries
- Who owns Carlton & United Breweries?
- Carlton & United Breweries is owned by Asahi Group Holdings. Carlton & United Breweries is based in Melbourne, Australia.
- Is Carlton & United Breweries still independent?
- No. Carlton & United Breweries is owned by Asahi Group Holdings and is no longer independent.
- When was Carlton & United Breweries acquired?
- 2020. Sold to Asahi in 2020 for around sixteen billion dollars.
- When was Carlton & United Breweries founded?
- Carlton & United Breweries was founded in 1907 in Melbourne, Australia.
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