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Presidents PageI was very pleased to have recently participated inactivities to celebrate “100 years of Cheer” at theAbbotsford Brewery in July. In 1904 a group ofprominent Melbourne hoteliers bought an olddistillery on the banks of the Yarra River atAbbotsford and built a “modern brewery”. In July1904 the new company - Melbourne Co-operativeBrewery Company - was formed. In 1925 thebusiness amalgamated with Carlton and UnitedBreweries to become the largest brewery in theSouthern Hemisphere from the 1970s to early1990s. To celebrate the “100 years of Cheers” anEmployee Family Day was held, the production of aspecial brew of Abbots Lager was made, a VIPdinner held, the production of an in-house AbbotsLager label made and a commercial release of acommemorative can issued. This made allcollectors happy. Your Society was able to get oneof the limited label issues. The Sparkling Ale labelseen of the cover of the July newsletter was for aspecial bottling and tasting at a dinner. The bottleswere also used as invitations to the dinner so thelabel and bottle were not available for general issue.A collection of photographs, artefacts and“interactive computer brewing” in the form of anexhibition of Melbourne Breweries is on at theMelbourne Town Hall up to October 10. Theexhibition has been put together by Charles Pickett,curator of Australian history at the PowerhouseMuseum in Sydney. I strongly recommend to thosepeople interested in Melbourne breweries and theirhistory to take a trip to the City Gallery in the TownHall. Why not then drop in at Young and Jacksonsand meet Chloe and enjoy pint of Naked Ale or aBeez Neez. Alternatively if travelling up town popin to the 3 Degrees brewery recently opened on theold Queen Victoria Hospital site. Now there is apleasant way to spend Saturday afternoon. Take afriend.We also note the significant changes that are withinthe brewing industry and within CUB. Over the last10 years we note the consolidation of RTD’s, yesyour mixed drinks, wines, soft drinks, water, fruitjuices, home brew kits and ciders. CUB is now amajor player in the beverage industry. Hence thename change to Carlton and United Beverages. Yesthe changes have already started to come throughon the labels. Keep an eye out.We recently mentioned that your Society hasacquired a collection of Breweriana books foraccess to members to read and enjoy. To acceleratetheir availability we require a “library officer” tomanage the affairs. This will require drawing up apolicy and procedures for storing, handling anddistributing these books. Freight and insurance alsoneeds to be included. Is there any one interested? Amember in Victoria or Melbourne or one that couldattend our bi-monthly meetings would be preferred.Please let your committee or me know of yourwillingness to be involved. I think it would be aninteresting task. Your committee does a lot of hardwork behind the scenes; we need to share thatworkload. Please call.Until next meeting in October, cheers and happycollecting.Rob Greenaway

AUGUST MEETING NOTES:The meeting was held at the Club Tivoli on the 8th.of August 2004.The meeting opened at approximatly 12.30.Apologies:Ray Everingham and Alan Richards.Alan Richards stated that he had not missed ameeting for 12 years!Finance:Alex Freer reports that our finances are in excellentshape.Correspondence:The newsletter from the Bottle Collectors Societywas received and the new address for the secretarywas noted.Steve Greenwood noted that the MaryboroughBottle Show is to be held during the last weekendof August.Alex Freer and I reported that several members hadincluded complementary comments regarding theclub with their annual subscriptions.General Business:Alex Freer showed examples of several beers thatwere to be found at the beer festival awards. Healso showed a rather dubious bottle of "MandalayRum".Rob Greenaway tabled an article featuring memberAl Graham presenting the Major Brewery labelaward to Cascade Breweries head brewer, MaxBurslem and Sales and marketing manager,Dominic Baker.Rob Greenaway also spoke of the 100 yearsanniversary celebrations of the AbbotsfordBrewery.The commitee called for a volunteer librarian tolook after our collection of approximatly 200books.Thanks to member Colin Rich for his donation ofpackets of labels from New Zealand.The Slovak Beer Label Collectors Societynewsletter was tabled by George Crompton.Unfortunately no one in the room could readSlovakian!John Long has requested copies of hotel labels fromWoodville and Port Adelaide.John also tabled two great finds of old labels onbottles.The first one was found under a woolshed and isfrom the Bendigo and Northern District Co-opBrewery.The second one was found under a hotel in Glenelgand is from the 1870's. It is a Strutton & Co. XXXstout.The Raffles were then drawn and the lucky winnerswere -1st. C21 David Joseph2nd. C37 Bob Kendall3rd. C45 Simon AalbarsA special raffle of a commemorative AbbotsSparkling Ale bottle was won by Peter Grabaschwith ticket no. C44.The meeting closed at 1.30 pm. and membersretired to the bar or indulged in label swapping.Angus MacEwan.From the EditorPlease see “Ooops! I almost forgot”From the TreasurerAnnual subscriptions were due on 1 July. To helpsome of you folks who have been on holidays orjust too busy with other things, a reminder notice isincluded with this newsletter.John BlackwellP.O. Box 43LauraSouth Australia 5480Address changeForthcoming Meeting Dates10 October,12 December,and, for next year, as yet unconfirmed:13 February 2005,10 April 2005,12 June 2005,14 August 2005,9 October 2005,11 December 2005.

August 2004 Mini Brewery ReportBy Alan RichardsThe four labels from Braidwood Traditional Ales(Braidwood NSW) have arrived and will be issuedto members in the near future. The brewery alsoenclosed some order forms for the beer which areavailable at this meeting. Details will be reproducedin the next newsletter so that members not at themeeting can order some of the beer if they wish.Some labels have been received from LawrenceVictor Estate however the may not be enough forall members. These labels are identical to those thathave been available off bottle for some time somany members will already have them.Unfortunately the special they issued some time agodid not arrive however the brewer will continuelooking for them and will hopefully advise in a fewweeks they have been found. Members will be keptinformed of progress.Contrary to what was in the last report, the secondissue of Old Surefoot Stout from the MountainGoat Brewery (Richmond Vic) is different fromlast years label. The difference is a cut in thevolume from 660ml to 640ml and so a fall in thenumber of standard drinks. Unfortunately thoughwe might regard this as a difference, breweriesdon’t; so Dave Bonnington (brewer) said they wereidentical. Very few of the bottles are/were availablebut the club is making efforts to get any unusedlabels. If we get any there will only be enough to beused as raffle prizes.The Blue Tongue Brewery (Pokolbin NSW)continues to issue labels in rapid succession. Theclub is in contact with them and most are specialsreleased under contract brewing arrangements. Twoexamples are labels for the Bondi Beer Co and theByron Bay Brewing Co. As these labels are notowned by Blue Tongue, but by the Bondi/ByronBay Brewing Cos, they cannot release labels to theclub. Unfortunate but we have come across thisbefore.staff are under “very strict orders about giving awaylabels”. In fact they stated that the brewery is in the“Camden Valley” so there may be no labelsavailable at the café in any case. The beersavailable are mainly in the Belgian style and thebottled delicacies are a blackberry unfiltered wheatbeer, a Framboise Foment (raspberry), a Belgianchoc-cheery stout, and a Belgian chocolate stout.Draft beers are along more conventional lines –Vienna Lager, Bavarian Pilsner, Organic Pale AleetcThe Bintara Brewery (Rutherglen) has releasedthe latest in their seasonal beers, this being theirBlack Beer. As with their other seasonal beers it isonly available at the brewery in Rutherglen.However their four regular beers (Pale Ale, Lager,Light Lager and Wheat) are now available at Kingand Godfreys, Purvis Cellars and Highgate Cellars,all in Melbourne. Bintara will not be supplying theclub with labels so members must come to theirown arrangements to get these.The Hopping Mad Brewery (Orange NSW) willsoon be releasing their third label and the club isconfident of getting supplies. The beer is nowavailable at the Greensborough Hotel if Melbournemembers wish to try it.The Stockade Brewery (Dandenong Vic) has beenadvertised as being for sale. As well as producingbeer under their own name, they also produced forBrewtopia of Sydney, Chopper Reid, the latestPikes and BlowFly. A good part of the company’sbusiness is in the ready-to-drink spirits market.The Three Ravens Brewery (Thornbury Vic) willrelease their bottled beers “in a few weeks”.Members will be kept informed of progress.Sydney has seen the opening of the RedoakBoutique Beer Cafe in Clarence St. 10 (ten) beersare available; four of them being bottled.Unfortunately they do not have a take-away licenceso any bottled beer bought there must be consumedin the café. There are no other retail outlets and the

Melbourne Co-Operative BreweryArticle and labels contributed by Mike BannenbergIn 1903 a meeting of free (not brewery tied orowned) hotel keepers decided to start a new cooperativebrewery and, in 1904, the Melbourne Co-Operative Brewery Limited came into existence.The new brewery started operations on the bank ofthe Yarra in Bent Street, Abbotsford, and came tobe popularly known as the Abbotsford Brewery.It was a company with a capital of £A300,000comprising 1,200,000 5/- shares and the totalamount paid up was £A11,262.The directors were Henry Skinner (Chairman), JohnD. Calhoun, Joseph Dillon, William H Higgins,Stephen J. Morell, Frederick Wimpole and HenryYoung.The brewery was in instant success, so much so,that as much as 110% dividend was paid toshareholders and a discount of 2% on purchase tooperating hotel keepers.The impact on other operating breweries by theirlatest competitor was terrific. There were 37breweries operating in Victoria in 1907 and a hotelfor every 350 persons in the state.In 1907 the Carlton & United Breweries wasestablished by an amalgamation of Carlton,Castlemaine, Fosters, McCrackens, Shamrock andVictoria Breweries.The new company was founded with a capital of£A1,000,000 comprising 1,000,000 £A1 shares.Notwithstanding the combine's stern competition,Melbourne Co-Operative kept on expanding andpaying big dividends, but in 1925, after muchnegotiating with CUB, a new company was formedby amalgamation of CUB and Melbourne Co-op. Inthe new company, an allocation of 650,000 sharesto Melbourne Co-op made it the largest unit in thenew company.Before the amalgamation was ratified, a meeting ofMelbourne Co-op shareholders was held inAthenaeum Hall to agree to the deal, but on a showof hands was over-whelmingly defeated. HenryYoung (Chairman) told the meeting (mostly smallholding hotel-keepers) that the Directors heldsufficient proxies to carry the motion. The proxieswere mostly from big interstate shareholders.However, a sop was offered by Directors agreeingto pay the rebate on purchases to hotel-keepers for aperiod of 5 years from date of amalgamation.In 1920, Melbourne Co-op was reconstructed, andthe shareholders received a £A1 share for every 5/-share held.Early in 1928, the company converted 650,000 £A1shares into 1,300,000 10/- shares and, in November1928, there was a bonus issue; one new 10/- sharefor every two 10/- shares.During 1934, following Federal legislation, underwhich certain reserves on which taxation hadalready been paid were liable for income taxation ifcapitalised after the end of 1934, CUB made abonus issue of one new CUB share for each twoshares held, which increased Melbourne's Co-op'sholding in CUB from £A650,000 to £A975,000 infully paid £A1 shares.In 1951, a new bonus issue of one for 3 shares heldwas made.In January 1955, a new issue of 2 shares for every 5shares at par, anda later bonus (after 1966) of one for 2 shares heldbrought the total to 7,000,257 one dollar shares.The first brewer was James P. Breheny, father ofMr. Brian Breheny, present (1969) Manager ofCarlton & United Breweries.The second brewer was Mr. Thomas Breheny wholeft in 1916 to become head brewer for Tooth'sBrewery in Sydney. The third brewer was Mr. PeterBreheny; the latter two were both brothers of Mr.J.P. Breheny.The first Secretary was Mr. Neil McLean, whosefamily conducted a well known wholesale wine andspirit business.The Chairman, Henry Skinner, was licensee of theGolden Gate Hotel, South Melbourne, and was thelargest caterer in Australia. He catered for theVictoria Racing Club, most racecourses and manyof the leading football and sports grounds. One ofhis biggest jobs was catering for the visit of the

American fleet in 1908 at Flemington and later thatday at the Exhibition Building. He was president ofSouth Melbourne Football Club, and pioneeredinterstate football trips by "shouting" the SMFC1909 premiership side a trip to Sydney. He racedseveral horses trained by I.T. Carslake, father ofAustralian International jockey, Brownie Carslake.Stephen J. Morell was originally licensee ofMorells Hotel, Cnr. Bourke and Russell Streets,which he sold in 1892 to James Richardson. Mr.Morell then became licensee of the Orient Hotel,now Foys Woolworths (1969), Cnr. Bourke andSwanston Streets. Later still, he became licensee ofYoung & Jacksons.Mr. Morell, with a fellow city councillor succeededHenry Skinner as caterers at Flemington. He wasknighted by His Majesty during his term of officeas Lord Mayor of Melbourne. He was a great patronof rowing.Frederick Wimpole was owner-licensee of theGeorge Hotel, St Kilda.Henry Young was for many years, licensee of thePrinces Bridge Hotel, popularly know as Young &Jacksons.(Ed. Note that the above labels will all be available, in full color, on the next CD version of the catalog)

The Wineglass Bay Brewing CompanyThe club has been fortunate enough to obtainenough copies of the New Hazards Dark Label forall members to receive a copy. This was madepossible thanks to the generosity of Partner andHead Brewer, Ken Holmes. Ken also gave of histime for this chat with club member, Rod Hogan.Rod Hogan: Wineglass Bay and the HazardsMountain Range are both at Coles Bay onTasmania’s East Coast. What is the connectionwith the Brewery?Ken Holmes: The original Hazards Ale started lifeas a home brew developed by winemaker, ClaudioRadenti. It was first introduced to the public at theJazz Festival at Freycinet Vineyard on the EastCoast. Claudio’s friend, Mathew Robinson (aBicheno ship’s captain) suggested that the brew hada commercial future. Mathew later left forQueensland and Ken joined the company as partnerand head brewer.RH: What market was Hazards Ale initially aimedat?KH: Australians have become more adventurous intheir tastes and the beer they drink is no exception.There were very few ales at the time and it was feltthis would attract those seeking a new taste withoutbeing too obscure. The initial output was 10 x 50litre kegs.RH: When was Hazards Dark first introduced andare there plans for further new brews?KH: The main testing grounds for the productshave traditionally been the two extremelysuccessful annual food and drink festivals, Festivalein Launceston and the Taste of Tasmania in Hobart.Hazards Dark has been available at the Taste ofTasmania for the past 2 years under the name“Valley Dark”. It was launched as Hazards Dark inAugust this year. As for other new brews, checkout Festivale and The Taste.RH: What are some of the problems facing smallerbreweries?KH: It’s obviously very labour intensive. I bottlearound 20 bottles a minute whereas the largerbreweries would turn out 1,00 bottles in the sametime. All costs, bottles, labels, materials etc aredearer due to economies of scale. This of coursemeans that the end product is much dearer and thismakes it harder to compete in the open market.Excise duties are a real concern with breweries notenjoying the same benefits as wineries.Ken was studying for a Batchelor of Science(Environmental) when he began working in the labat Cascade in 1973. He moved to the St IvesBrewery, Battery Point in 1993 where the Hazardsproducts are contract brewed. In addition to hisinvolvement with the brewery, Ken holds down afull time job as the OH&S manager for thePasminco smelter in Hobart’s northern suburbs.Please respect Ken’s lack of spare time and notpester him with requests for labels. Rod will act asliaison officer for the club.CLUB RAFFLESAs at 19 th August 2004, the following membershave credit as listed:David Ellison Dec 2006Allister Graham Oct 2005Larry Ross Oct 2005Tony Elliot Oct 2005Jim Halsall Oct 2005Jim Colclough Aug 2005Don King Apr 2005Craig Pelton Dec 2004Spyros Repousos Oct 2004In the October raffle, 1 st prize will contain aBallarat Brewing Co. Limited barrel label.This label is round, 7 ½ inches in diameter (19cmsapprox.) and is over 65 years old,(pre WWII).All prizes will contain over 200 labels includingsome 20-25 year old Australian labels plus a varietyof overseas labels.Tickets are $1.00 each with a maximum of twotickets ( $2.00 ) per member.Available from Jack Wilks, 65 Tiverton Drive,Mulgrave, Victoria, 3170.

Labels issued with the September 2004 magazine.VictoriaAbbots Lager 800ml CommemorativeAbbotsford Invalid Stout 375mlVictoria Bitter 285mlMelbourne Bitter 800mlTasmaniaBoags Strongarm with neck and backBoags Honey Porter with neck and backBoags 1881 Ale with neck and backCascade Premium Lager with neck and backCascade Premium Light with neck and backTasmanian Team of the Century back label. BeerunknownQueenslandXXXX Gold 375mlNew South WalesSheaf Stout export to USATooheys Extra Dry 375mlWestern AustraliaRedback Original cap sealBootleg Amber Light with neckBootleg Settlers Pale with neckBootleg Wils Pils with neckBootleg Stout with neckBootleg Sou' West Wheat with neckBootleg Tom's Brown with neckBootleg Raging Bull (no neck with this one)South AustraliaCoopers DB with neck 375mlCoopers Best Extra Stout with neck 375mlCoopers Sparkling Ale with neck 375mlCoopers Regency Light with neck 375mlCoopers Regency Draught with neck 375mlCoopers Birell with neck and back 375mlCoopers Dark Ale with neck 375mlCoopers Heritage with neck 375mlCoopers Pale Ale with neck 375mlCoopers Sparkling Ale 750mlCoopers Pale Ale 750mlCoopers Best Extra Stout 750mlForeignAssorted Norwegian and New Zealand plus bonusextra labels from Club stocks.Please note that because of occasional shortages of minor and micro-brewery labels, the individual issue maynot exactly match the published list.For ExchangeJim Whittle has some micro brewery labels toexchange.Sunshine CoastBitter Body & Neck version 2Noosa Premium Ale (B&N)Chilli B&N, version 1Noosa Premium Wheat AleMarketing ResultsOld Dark AleColeman Drainage BeerCast AwayKanga Hop.comPacific LacrosseDamon Engineering BeerGold Coast BrewpubPacific BlondeGoldBlack AleLifesaver Lager, Bitter & Honey AleJim also has some no-volume labels from:Buy, Swap & SellBulimba, Grafton, Bunbury, Golden Horseshoe,No.1, XXXX, Carlton, Fosters, Kalgoorlie, Nathan,Tooths, Reschs etc.He is seeking No-volume labels of similar qualityfrom the same era.Phone: (07) 3285 5596Write:21 Melinda StreetKallangur, Qld., 4503Exchange Partner WantedClive Windley received a letter from a collector inThe Czech Republic. He is looking for exchangepartners and can offer a wide assortment of Czechand Bohemian labels. His details are as follows:-Ing. Jaroslav BubenicekJecna 679CZ 500 03 Hradec KraloveCzech Republic