Tasmanian brewery James Boag's will cease operations in Launceston by the end of the year as the beer market faces increasing costs. The 145-year-old brewery, which opened in the city in 1881, will stop beer production by November, it announced on Tuesday.
Operations to Shift to Mainland
Its operations will be shifted to Queensland and New South Wales. 'Long-term decline in the national beer market has caused the brewery to run significantly under capacity for many years,' James Boag's said in a statement. 'It is currently operating at about a fifth of its capacity. This, combined with significant cost inflation, means the brewery is no longer viable.'
Most of Boag's production had already moved to mainland Australia, but the brewery continued supplying locally until now.
Community Reaction
Launceston Chamber of Commerce chief executive Alina Bain said the loss would be 'felt very deeply' while acknowledging beer market conditions were declining. 'It's really difficult news, and we're just processing it now,' she told the ABC. 'And then of course, increasing costs are causing difficulty.'
