Why fears are growing for iconic Aussie beers as Japanese owners plan a SHOCKING new rebrand

Fears are growing that some of Australia’s most loved and iconic beers will be rebranded amid a Japanese drive to re-educate Australians.

Carlton & United Breweries is known nationwide for its Australian ‘session’ beers such as Carlton Draft and Victoria Bitter.

But a new push from the brewer’s foreign owners has seen the local brand reduced to just a mention under the Asahi brand logo in a recent advertising campaign.

The marketing blitz is aimed at raising awareness of the Japanese giant, which is now the power behind the daily frothing among Australian drinkers.

CUB was sold to Asahi Group Holdings for $16 billion in 2019, after previously being a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch InBev, the world’s largest beer company.

Asahi’s move to Australia to acquire CUB – which also produces Crown Lager and Great Northern – means Japanese companies now own both of the country’s major brewers.

Kirin bought Lion, brewer of XXXX and Tooheys, in 2009.

Now Asahi is purposefully boosting its profile in Australia, sparking fears that the local feel of products may soon be lost forever.

A Google search reveals little about Kirin’s commitment to its Australian beers, with advertisements on their websites proudly preserving Australian heritage.

But Carlton and United’s product tells a different story, with Asahi proudly positioning itself ahead of the Australian brewer.

Marketing experts told Daily Mail Australia the bold changes are the first step of a potentially wider plan to wipe out the once-proud CUB brand.

“In the coming years, you’ll see the Japanese brand make it big on a can of VB,” said an industry insider.

They seem to think that their brand could outsell the traditional one. They will be changing the logo outside the Abbotsford Brewery soon.”

The move comes amid a dramatic change in attitudes towards drinking among young Australians.

Beer sales in Australia have fallen sharply in recent years, with the medium-strength Great Northern Super Crisp Lager being Australia’s best-selling beer last year.

Total beer consumption fell another four percent, while prices continued to rise.

The disparity is largely a product of the federal government’s excise taxes, which impose more than $25 per pint and up to $4 per pint at full strength.

In addition, costs have skyrocketed for brewers, who have seen inflation of up to 20 percent for key ingredients such as barley and hops.

By the end of 2023, the typical beer drinker will now be over 40, while younger drinkers are abandoning their parents’ drink choices.

Sources suggest younger people are moving toward trendy pre-mixed drinks, including sugar-free alcoholic mineral water seltzers.

Hard Solo proved to be a huge hit for CUB and Asahi when it launched last July.

A backlash-inspired order to change the name to Hard Rated – to break the link with the similarly named and similarly tasting soft drink – couldn’t even stop sales.

A new sugar-free version has only increased sales among weight-watching young people.

Asahi Beverages urged Daily Mail Australia on Friday that the company would remain committed to the CUB brand.

“Carlton & United Breweries became a proud part of Asahi Beverages in 2020,” a spokesperson said.

“As part of a recent Asahi global rebrand across all Asahi companies, we have updated the CUB logo.

“Our beer stable includes iconic Australian brands such as VB and Carlton Draft. We are not changing their branding as part of the global corporate rebrand.

“We’re proud that more than 95 percent of the drinks we sell in Australia are made here by Australian workers.”

But entrenched booze hound Paul Callahan called the potential move to rebrand CUB beers a “disaster.”

“If this is true, I don’t know how I’ll ever guzzle a CUB beer again. It’s a very sad day. It feels like a good friend has passed away,” Callahan said.

Mr Callahan, who has been drinking CUB beer for more than 30 years, said he may have to “reconsider his options” – and even switch his allegiance to a NSW brand.

“Maybe I should drink Tooheys, I don’t want to, I never thought I would, but the situation is so dire that I might end up drinking Tooheys, which will be very sad,” he said.

The purchase of CUB came amid a buying spree for Asahi, following 14 straight years of declining beer shipments.

In 2016, it bought Peroni, Grolsch and Pilsner Urquell bearings from Anheuser-Busch and SAB Miller in two separate deals worth about $11 billion.

The deal gave Asahi a big boost in Australia, which is already the company’s second-largest overseas market after Europe.

Headquartered in Melbourne and founded in 1903, CUB has been a staple of Australian beer for more than a century.

It’s clear the Japanese company is reluctant to tamper with the iconic Melbourne brewery building facade itself, regardless of rebranding elsewhere.

Elsewhere IXL, which would become Foster’s Group in 1990, originally acquired the company in 1983 before SABMiller acquired Foster’s in 2011.

The South African brewer acquired Carlton as part of the deal, but five years later Anheuser-Bush InBev bought SABMiller and took control.

Despite recent foreign ownership, CUB beers have always maintained a proud Australian image.

The brewer became world famous in the 1980s thanks to some classic advertisements featuring Australian legend Paul Hogan.

The now iconic 1968 advert for CUB’s Victoria Bitter, which emphasized that ‘a hard-earned thirst needs a good cold beer’, was only a few days ago added to the National Film and Sound Archive’s Sounds of Australia registry .

Marko from Newport, who once left his dog tied up at the local slot machine while on a CUB bender, urged Asahi to keep his hands off his beer.

“These brews are iconic Australian products. The labels are sacred places. When will this erosion of the things we hold dear end?,” he said.