Japanese brewer Asahi has acquired all of the shares of Melbourne craft beer maker Mountain Goat Brewery, making it the second Australian brewer to be taken over by the Tokyo-based giant in just two years.
Announcing the sale on Facebook, Mountain Goat co-founders Cam Hines and David Bonighton said that they would continue to be involved with the business, and that the takeover would help them to increase their focus on the beer making process and getting involved with more members of the craft beer community.
In 2013, Asahi bought Melbourne-based microbrewer Cricketers Arms. Financial terms of the latest deal have not yet been made public.
“Over the past 18 years we’ve been on a determined exploration of good beer,” Hines and Bonighton said in the statement. “A lot has changed since 1997. Back then we knew that Australian beer lovers deserved more than just bland, yellow fizzy lager, but it was so difficult to find. It’s the very reason we started the brewery.
“We are so proud that our loyal supporters believed in us and proved us right, and we’re genuinely excited about how the Australian craft beer scene is growing.
“We’ve been contract partners with Asahi for three years now, and with their expert help our beer has grown in demand, expanded nationally, and found a special place with beer lovers. We are confident that with Asahi on board, we will be able to convert many more people to craft beer than we could do on our own.”
The news was announced as Asahi launched its Soukai beer in Australia, the first premium Japanese brew that it has produced in the country. Featuring “the same crisp taste with the added benefit of a lower-carb” level, Soukai will be available at bars and select retail outlets across Australia in 330ml bottles from the start of next month.
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