{"id":709489,"date":"2026-06-02T02:39:15","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T02:39:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/709489\/"},"modified":"2026-06-02T02:39:15","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T02:39:15","slug":"james-boag-to-cease-beer-production-in-tasmania-as-it-completes-move-to-mainland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/709489\/","title":{"rendered":"James Boag to cease beer production in Tasmania as it completes move to mainland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Renowned northern Tasmanian brewer James Boag has announced it will cease production in the state by November.<\/p>\n

Parent company Lion Australia had shifted production to the mainland for Boag’s products sold in those states, but kept brewing in Tasmania for local supply.<\/p>\n

The company branded itself as “from the pure waters of Tasmania” but that history now comes to an end.<\/p>\n

“Long-term decline in the national beer market has caused the brewery to run significantly under capacity for many years. It is currently operating at about a fifth of its capacity,” the company said in a statement.<\/p>\n

“This, combined with significant cost inflation, means the brewery is no longer viable.”<\/p>\n

The brewery first opened in Launceston in 1881.<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

Boag’s beers will still be available in Tasmania but they won’t be brewed here. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)<\/p>\n

Launceston Mayor Matthew Garwood said the brand’s departure from the city after 145 years was a “real kick in the guts”.<\/p>\n

“The Boag’s story is Launceston’s story,” he told ABC Mornings.<\/p>\n

“It is very much aligned to Launceston and very much aligned to Tasmania.”<\/p>\n

Mr Garwood said he felt for the affected workers, describing Lion’s decision as a “blow to the Launceston and Tasmanian economies”.<\/p>\n

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The company says the redeveloped Boag’s Brewhouse will remain open. (ABC News: Emily Smith)<\/p>\n

Tasmania will get its Boag’s from the mainland<\/p>\n

Lion chief executive and managing director Anubha Sahasrabuddhe said consultations were now underway with the company’s 42 Launceston employees.<\/p>\n

She said redevelopment opportunities would be explored.<\/p>\n

Loading…<\/p>\n

“The James Boag’s brand will continue to be brewed in other world-class breweries in Lion’s network in line with stringent quality standards,” Ms Sahasrabuddhe said.<\/p>\n

She said the newly redeveloped Boag’s Brewhouse in Launceston would continue to operate and mainland-brewed Boag’s beer would be offered in Tasmania.<\/p>\n

The brewer also announced it would repay a $1 million Tasmanian government loan given in 2023<\/a> to help keep the Launceston brewery visitor centre and tours open.<\/p>\n

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The brewery first started in 1881. (ABC News: Emily Smith)<\/p>\n

Government had been ‘strong supporter’ of brewery<\/p>\n

Tasmanian Premier Jeremy Rockliff said the government was “extremely disappointed” with Lion’s decision.<\/p>\n

In a statement, he said the government had been a “strong supporter of the business” for years.<\/p>\n

“Our immediate priority is the wellbeing of the workforce,” Mr Rockliff said.<\/p>\n

“We will engage closely with Lion, the union, workers and the hospitality industry to support those impacted.”<\/p>\n

\"Aerial<\/p>\n

You can still book tours at the James Boag Brewery in Launceston. (Facebook: James Boag Brewery Experience)<\/p>\n

Federal Labor MP for Bass Jess Teesdale said she expected Lion to “honour all entitlements” for workers.<\/p>\n

“Retrenched workers will have access to supports offered through the Department of Employment and Workplace Relations to assist in finding new employment as quickly as possible,” she said.<\/p>\n

“I am pleased to see that Boag’s Brewhouse will remain open and that the company will work closely with all levels of government about the future of the brewery site.”‘Difficult news’ for Launceston<\/p>\n

Launceston Chamber of Commerce chief executive Alina Bain told ABC Mornings the news was “devastating” for Tasmania’s north.<\/p>\n

“It’s such an iconic brand in Launceston, and it’s going to be felt very deeply,” she said.<\/p>\n

“It’s really difficult news, and we’re just processing it now.”<\/p>\n

\"James<\/p>\n

Tasmania’s two iconic beer brands, Boag’s and Cascade, have had a heated north-south rivalry among Tasmanians. (ABC News: Kate Nickels)<\/p>\n

She said that market conditions for beer had “been in decline”.<\/p>\n

“And then of course, increasing costs are causing difficulty,” Ms Bain said.<\/p>\n

She said it would be “incredibly challenging” for the 42 local employees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Renowned northern Tasmanian brewer James Boag has announced it will cease production in the state by November. Parent…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":709490,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[33773,345003,176097,43,297702,44,8539,248039,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-709489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-beer","tag-boags","tag-brewery","tag-headlines","tag-lion-australia","tag-news","tag-tas","tag-tasmanian","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=709489"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/709489\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/709490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=709489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=709489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=709489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}