Crown Lager
Encyclopedia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n beer originally made by Carlton & United Breweries
Carlton & United Breweries
Carlton & United Breweries is an Australian brewing company based in Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. In 1983 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Elders IXL and CUB was delisted. In 1990, Elders IXL renamed to the Foster's Group, and in July 2004, CUB changed its name to Carlton and...
(CUB).
Crown Lager (known colloquially as a "crownie") was originally brewed in 1919 as "Fosters Crown Lager" and was initially only available to visiting dignitaries that visited Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. During the first royal visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Australia in 1954, Carlton & United Breweries
Carlton & United Breweries
Carlton & United Breweries is an Australian brewing company based in Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. In 1983 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Elders IXL and CUB was delisted. In 1990, Elders IXL renamed to the Foster's Group, and in July 2004, CUB changed its name to Carlton and...
marked the occasion releasing Crown Lager.
Crown lager is recognizable by its uniquely shaped bottle and by its 1954-trademarked logo that has only changed four times in the history of the beer, and remains one of Australia's most popular premium lagers.
The unique bottle shape and label was designed by Eveline Annie Harvey (22/5/1910 - 5/8/2008), a commercial artist working in Melbourne who was also responsible for many other well known labels during the period such as Monbulk Jam and others. Eveline was the artist chosen by General Douglas McArthur to draw critical and highly secretive maps during the war.
Eveline produced the Crown Lager artwork at print size using only a (single haired) paintbrush and exceptional skill as were the methods of the time.
Crown Lager was originally produced as an export beer—the current bottle shape and label remain mostly identical to Eveline's original artwork except that the word 'Export' has been removed.
Varieties
In 2006 CUBCarlton & United Beverages
Carlton & United Breweries is an Australian brewing company based in Abbotsford, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria. In 1983 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Elders IXL and CUB was delisted. In 1990, Elders IXL renamed to the Foster's Group, and in July 2004, CUB changed its name to Carlton and...
released two alternative types of beer under the crown banner.
- "Crown Gold" – Australia's first premium mid-strength beer, available only in QueenslandQueenslandQueensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
, Western AustraliaWestern AustraliaWestern Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
and the Northern TerritoryNorthern TerritoryThe Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
,
- "Crown Pilsner" – a limited release European-style beer available at selected venues.