Carlton & United Breweries and Lion have secured thousands of litres of tap beer from being tipped down the drain as pubs begin to sell the beer to consumers in resealable bottles, known as squealers and growlers.
The Federal Government's decision not to apply double excise for businesses in the $20+ billion pub and club industry during the current pandemic, meaning pubs can sell classic tap beers direct to consumers in one and two litre takeaway bottles.
CUB is donating 20,000 resealable bottles to around 100 pubs in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth to help businesses take advantage of federal and state government concessions, while Lion has partnered with the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) NSW for 10,000 bottles, as well as 500 dispensers to be affixed to taps to help fill the bottles.
Lion managing director James Brindley said the company will continue to do everything it can to support licences venues during this time.
“On 23 March we announced immediate support for pubs, in the form of credits for all unused and capped kegs, but we knew many pubs would have tapped kegs sitting in their cool rooms they would still need to get through, and this initiative will make that possible,” Brindley said.
“We have also supported pubs with cleaning procedures for their draught beer systems to keep them in working order, ready and able to open up quickly again when the time comes. Our draught quality team has now cleaned 10,000 couplers and taps for our on-premise customers, and this number will keep growing.”
CUB CEO Peter Filipovic said offering the resealble bottles will mean beer lovers can enjoy tap beer and support their local pub in its hour of need.
“What makes tap beer so great is its freshness, which is also why it has a relatively short best before date and why publicans would otherwise soon be disposing of it,” said Filipovic.
“It’ll also give many people their first taste of tap beer from the comfort of their own home.
“This is a great example of how business and government can work together to overcome this crisis. The federal treasurer immediately understood the importance of this initiative to support pubs and clubs at this time. Likewise, state governments have been quick to support small businesses to innovate and adapt their business.”
The “squealers and growlers” are available from participating pubs free of charge and no deposit is required, with people only having to buy the beer itself.
A full list of participating CUB partner pubs can be accessed here.
