‘Iconic’ Foster’s makes a comeback

I honestly don't remember the last time I tried it or what it tastes like.

 

The US, of course, has not gotten Australia-brewed Foster's for decades - I can never remember exactly - late 80s- early 90s - and it's all mixed in with Elders IXL (Australian parent of CUB and Canadian Carling-O'Keefe at the time), Molson and Miller making deals for export rights and licensing brands in the early 90s. C-O, of course, was eventually folded into Molson.

Anyway, the US-marketed Foster's was coming from Molson breweries up to around 2011, when MillerCoors started brewing it for domestic market in their Ft. Worth TX and Georgia breweries, using the dba of Oil Can Breweries.

CUB/Foster's by that time was a SABMiller subsidiary.

After the ABInBev deal to buy SABMiller (which saw MC continuing to own the US import rights to all the former SABMiller brands, no matter who eventually owned them), Asahi bought CUB (along with Peroni, Pilsner Urquell and other Euro brewers). So, at this point it'd be up to Asahi and Molson Coors to agree to either import the Aussie Foster's or continue the US-brewed version.

According to at least one account in the late 1970s, the concept of the 25 oz. can for Foster's was the idea of US importer, All Brands - inspired by Schlitz's 24 oz./3/4 quart "Tall Boy" can, which had very different dimensions of course. (S = 7.5" h, 3" dia / F = 6.25" h, 3.25" dia)

Always found that claim by the US importer surprising because, in the US at least, the 25 oz. (labeled "25/32 Quart - 25.0 U.S. Fl. Ozs.; 26 Imp. Fl. Ozs., 740 ml." in the US) was viewed as an Australian product. So was the 25 oz. can sold in their home market previous to the boom in the export trade to the US in the 1970s? Did All Brands simply choose the package for export or did they create it?

 

I would choose it in a heartbeat over the mass produced adjunct lagers back in the day but have not had one in years. So long, Iike others have said, I couldn't describe the taste.

 

Interesting that all of the commentary is from the US. Also interesting that the article quoted states that “CUB never totally gave up on the brand, and in 2015 attempts were made to revamp it as Foster’s Classic”. I have a photograph of a bottle (stubbie) of Fosters Classic that I bought in 2016 in my home city, Brisbane, Australia, maybe as part of that revamp. It was very average, typical Australian big brand lager. I will never complain about anyone brewing beer, but there are better options!

 

I never saw Foster's when I lived in Australia. Of course back in the early 70s, when I lived there, each state had their own beers and the ones on draught, at least, were from their own states. Unless there was a strike. Not sure if packaged beers were always available at various hotels in NSW; I just noticed and bought them when the strike occurred in NSW.

I had some imported Foster's when I first moved to Casper. Steel cans and yeah, they tasted like it. Horrible. I still drink the occasional Foster's on draught at The Outback.