An iconic Aussie beer has become a victim of a new age that has produced unusual young people, yuppies, who are unusual, and an unusual US President. Usually, this enough to drive us to drink, but it’s not!
It’s a sign of the times when an iconic beer brand that was founded in 1881 in Launceston, James Boag, is closing up shop in the Apple Isle and will now be brewed on the mainland with rising shipping costs seen as a critical issue for the decision. But it is more than that with young people largely to blame for the demise of many once old-world beer businesses.
In fact, they are not alone in being blamed for taking away 42 jobs from Tasmania’s second biggest city and closing down of this historic brewery, as I think the yuppification of Aussies and the global ambitions of Donald Trump have not helped!
Right now, the owner of James Boag is the Lion Australia, which is a subsidiary of the mega-brewer of Japan called Kirin.
And while news.com.au reports that the recent trigger for this move to brew James Boag to mainland, was due to higher shipping costs and that’s where Trump’s Iran war and its impact on oil prices has a role to play. However, there are greater culprits on this demise of a brand that Tasmanians were historically proud of.
The company did explain that before shipping costs spiked on higher oil prices, the national beer market has been in decline and that’s where young people have been big contributors to lower sales for a company that produces, wait for it, XXXX, Tooheys, Hahn, Little Creatures, Furphy, Swan and West End.
Yep, young people have become famous for being historically speaking lower consumers of alcohol, they also inexplicably have a newfound passion for craft beer.
Personally, I have given the new age beers a fair go, but they still taste like the home brew my dad used to make in a clean plastic garbage bin in our garage, which was an idea promoted by Australia’s original craft beer company — SA’s Coopers Brewery.
I recall giving dad honest feedback, which was: “It’s good but I prefer Crown Lager.” Call me anti-amateur but history has taught me that professionals tend to be better deliverers over time but I guess my father then thought: “Bloody young people!”
And it’s the same thought I have now as fail to understand why younger Aussies are in love with craft beers. A report on the industry from Deloitte found that the craft beer segment has been growing at 10% a year and now accounts for $370 million of sales or 3% of the market.
There are 350 brewers and microbreweries, up from 200 in 2013 and it comes as the Aussie yuppy has grown a preference for imported beers such as Peroni, Asahi, Stella Artois and so on.
According to theshout.com.au “imported beers are significant in Australia, accounting for one in every six dollars spent on beer, contributing approximately $1.1 billion in retail sales.”
All of these changing tastes are understandable — the world changes, economics and social trends often magnified by the media and the online world means things that were popular decades ago can become a thing of the past.
Think the ‘six o’clock swill’ when men would call into the pub for a quick booze up because pubs closed at 6 pm to make sure blokes went home! South Australia did not drop this madness until 1967 but other states went to 10 pm closing before that year and it proved to be a socially sensible move.
But the real threat to the beer and overall alcohol industry is the new age young person.
A Flinders University study found: “Younger generations are turning away from alcohol at unprecedented rates, with Generation Z driving a cultural shift that could reshape Australia’s drinking landscape and deliver major public health gains if the trend continues, say researchers.”
The study analysed two decades of data from more than 23,000 Australians, finding that abstention from alcohol is on the rise, and weekly alcohol consumption is declining, particularly among younger cohorts.
“Our research shows that over the course of their lives, Gen Z are nearly 20 times more likely to choose not to drink alcohol compared to Baby Boomers, even after adjusting for sociodemographic factors,” Dr Gian Di Censo explained. “This isn’t just a phase; it appears to be a sustained change in behaviour that could have long-term public health benefits.”
Millennials are also drinking less, though more than Gen Zers, but they still have a different attitude to libation than Baby Boomers.
“Interestingly, while Millennials and Generation X reported drinking more per occasion than Baby Boomers, their overall weekly consumption was lower, indicating that binge drinking may still be a concern, but regular heavy drinking is declining,” Dr Di Censo revealed.
What I find encouraging is that even though young people are being pressured by: high house prices; losing 12% of their salaries to super which makes home ownership hard; and governments not helping with the supply of properties; and now the threat of AI taking their jobs, they still aren’t being driven to drink!
