Cascade Brewery
Australia's oldest continually operating brewery, founded in 1824.
Cascade Brewery is a brewery in South Hobart, Tasmania, established in 1824. It is the oldest continually operating brewery in Australia. The site also produces non-alcoholic beverages, operates a function centre, and offers guided tours and a retail outlet.
Quick Facts
- Location
- South Hobart Tasmania, Australia
- Owner
- Asahi
- Opened
- 1824
- Key People
- Peter Degraves, Major McIntosh
- Production
- 360000 hL
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Cascade estate began as a sawmilling operation run by Macintosh and Degraves Sawmills in 1825. The brewery was founded beside the Hobart Rivulet in 1832 by Hugh Macintosh with his nephews Henry and Charles Degraves, while Peter Degraves was in Hobart prison. Until 2011, the conventional history credited Peter Degraves as founder, but research showed that Hugh Macintosh was the major partner and that Degraves had falsified the history after Macintosh's death in 1834. Macintosh was a retired East India Company officer who emigrated from England in 1824 with Degraves, an undischarged bankrupt and convicted thief. After Macintosh's death, Degraves expanded both milling and brewing, exporting timber and beer to mainland Australia. The brewery was almost completely destroyed by bushfires in 1967 but was rebuilt and running again three months later. Cascade operates its own maltings, producing malt from locally grown barley for its mainstream beers. The label features Henry Constantine Richter's illustration of the Tasmanian Tiger from John Gould's The Mammals of Australia, adopted in 1987.
Reader's Guide
Cascade Brewery holds a unique place in Australian brewing as the oldest continually operating brewery in the country, with a history that involves disputed origins and a complex early partnership. Its survival and growth through the 19th century, including supplying beer and timber to Victoria during the gold rush, established it as a significant Tasmanian enterprise. The brewery's resilience was demonstrated after the 1967 bushfires, when it was rebuilt and operational within three months. Cascade is rare among breweries worldwide in operating its own maltings, using local barley for its mainstream beers. Its product range includes the Premium Lager, Pale Ale (an Australian-style lager despite its name), Stout, Blonde, and Pure (formerly Cascade Green, a carbon-neutral beer). The Tasmanian range, available only in Tasmania, includes Draught, Lager, Bitter, and Export Stout. The brewery also produces seasonal beers, including the annual First Harvest ale made from unkilned Tasmanian hops. The non-alcoholic beverage range was acquired by Coca-Cola Amatil in 2013. The Cascade name is also given to the sporting event 'The Cascade Cup'.
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