villagenews – which means that he could sell any beer he wished in his pubs, unlike the vast majority of licensed hotels in that era. The two main breweries, CUB (Carlton United Brewery) and Castlemaine Tooheys (up to 1980 it was the original fully Queensland company Castlemaine Perkins and brewed XXXX) owned hundreds of these pubs, which were “tied” houses, which meant that their publicans on leases and tenancies were to sell only one draught beer, their respective beer. There was no freedom of choice as is the case today. In 1984 publicans everywhere were put on immediate notice that their terms of payment were reduced to seven days. “Within days, CUB followed suit,” said Bernie. “Many were on their knees, as they had enjoyed a 30-day agreement. It was near the busy Christmas trading period when Castlemaine had in previous years granted 30 (even 60, nearing Christmas) days credit to their lessees to allow for more freshly brewed beer to be stored on the brewery’s premises. I could see the urgent need for a new brewery to rival the two big boys, who enjoyed quite a monopoly in both Queensland and New South Wales.” In 1985 an even more momentous change enveloped the industry when America’s Cup yachting hero Alan Bond most ambitiously took over huge companies including Channel Nine and Queensland’s own brewery Castlemaine XXXX. Bond found that the banks were queuing up to lend him capital, so he bought Nine from Kerry Packer for much more than it was worth, then offered Castlemaine Tooheys shareholders more than twice what the shares were worth. Bond soon owned the jewel in Queensland’s crown. He had paid a then massive $1.2 billion in Australia’s biggest corporate takeover. This company Bond bought was four times the size of Bond Corporation. Bernard said: “Bond soon realised his bank interest bill was excessive, and he had to find funds quickly. Bond saw the need to call in his hotels’ tenancies, and re-sell for higher cash revenue, so delivered notices to the brewery hoteliers. Dire straits - but Bond underestimated the extensive fight on his hands. “I could also see that the public were furious with Bond for not only taking down the famous XXXX sign on the Milton Rd brewery and replacing it with Bond Brewing, but also every time a Queensland XXXX drinker raised a can or stubby to his lips he could see his beloved brewery logo removed from the label and in its place were the words ‘Head Office Perth’.” The Castlemaine brewery’s loyal
hoteliers had been squeezed to their knees, the long-time local brewing chiefs such as CEO Frank Burnett had been quietly unhappy in their home office and the Queensland drinkers of XXXX had been insulted. Bond was running out of friends and money. Within an insufferable time the Bond empire crashed, and was left with empty coffers. Leaseholders’ notices to quit had been withdrawn. In 1992, after two years of acquiring 50 per cent of Bond Brewing, Lion Nathan purchased the brewery outright. But by now Power Brewing had taken a 22 per cent slice of the Queensland market and had moved to sell the beer in Sydney. Bernard had the brewing operations up and running in 1988, and seemingly
Bernie agreed to sponsor the new club, offering a record $1 million a year. “Actually, what we ended up spending was $2 million per annum,” Bernard told me. “There was another million spent by us in support and staffing of our beer product. “That equates to a much bigger amount in 2012 terms.” “I recall we gave you a quarter million in cash in 1987 before a beer was even poured” Bernard added. “Was it a wise step, in retrospect?” I asked. I knew of course that the Broncos became set financially as soon as Power Brewing came aboard, as several other secondary sponsors followed. “In retrospect, we spent too much in total sponsorship,” Bernard
marvellous catch-phrases in his advertising videos for television, such as the ‘Ah – that’s better!’ following a deep draught of the cold, clean-tasting beer, and the even more momentous words by the Broncos founding captain Wally Lewis: ‘Sorry, Bondy’. The latter statement by Queensland’s famous son King Wally was viewed as a direct challenge to Bond’s Castlemaine supremacy.” The beer itself became an overnight sensation for its taste and natural fermentation process. Bernard and his brewers had employed the expert consultants of Anheuser-Busch, of St Louis, Missouri, makers of Budweiser, and the biggest and most competent in
“The even more momentous words by the Broncos founding captain Wally Lewis: ‘Sorry, Bondy’. The latter statement by Queensland’s famous son King Wally was viewed as a direct challenge to Bond’s Castlemaine supremacy.” was set to at least maintain growth. However Lion Nathan and CUB were seeking a ruthless realignment. The rise of Power Brewing had coincided with the birth of the Brisbane Broncos RLFC. I was a founding part-owner of the Brisbane Broncos from its establishment in 1986-87 and the team was set to compete in Brisbane’s World Expo ’88 year. We were looking for sponsors, in particular a main sponsor, one that would carry their name on the team jerseys. I had asked my friend and former landlord, Frank Burnett, about the possibility of Castlemaine XXXX being that sponsor but that was a most difficult ask considering Bond was desperate to not just keep his cash but rake more in, with his huge debt commitment. Burnett could nominate only a comparatively meagre dollar amount. However, the good news for the Broncos was about to happen. A fellow part-owner of the Broncos, Paul (Porky) Morgan, was the stockbroker chosen by Bernard to form a public company for his brewing operation, and he suggested that the Broncos would be the perfect branding partner, as both businesses had captured the public imagination. Both were fully Queensland-owned, and although there were obstacles such as Lang Park’s then commitment to Castlemaine as a ‘tied’ house,
replied. “There were other bigger factors that led to our having eventually to sell to CUB. We should have focussed on our Queensland market by distributing Powers to all of Queensland first, before entering the NSW market,” he said. “We ran out of beer on day one – we couldn’t meet demand. When we caught up somewhat with demand we should have ventured more to the country outlets instead of venturing into Sydney – publicans everywhere in Queensland country were begging for our product. “If we could have produced enough, we may have continued our way upwards in the beer market share. Possibly, at the time we realised that Frank Burnett was very unhappy with Bond’s way of doing business. We should have approached him to join us, as he was a most valuable man to have on side.” The business plan Bernard adopted initially was to secure the services of other great men who helped steer the Castlemaine ship and who shared his vision. Head brewers past and present had been Ian Chant and Andrew Crook, while accountant and strategist Ian Jensen and CEO Malcolm Davies were key management of the floated Power Brewing. “Another special marketing adviser was Tony Halliday,” Bernard added. “He came up with some
the world at that time. AnheuserBusch endorsed this magnificent Australian beer. The two Queensland breweries Lion Nathan (XXXX) and CUB (Carlton) now began an aggressive sales pitch to certain favoured big outlets, giving bonus discounts, and this “conspiracy” weighed heavily against Power Brewing. The concentrated drive began to take effect. Sadly, some of these hoteliers were amongst a select band that Bernard had granted rights to secure Power Brewing shares at the outset, because Power shareholding was becoming over-subscribed. Some of these people sold the shares for a good profit soon after the launch. And now some of them were minimising the presence of Power’s beer in their outlets, welcoming the bigger breweries’ advances. CUB came to the table with the best offer to merge Power Brewing with their own company beers, but tragically for drinkers the agreement did not last long before CUB in Queensland ceased brewing the famous Powers Bitter. They had achieved their main objective by taking over the well-sited Power Brewing plant at Yatala and expanding it. Sadly, even to this day, many Queenslanders lament the demise of “the best beer they have ever tasted”. November 2012 villagenews
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