Lion and CUB (Carlton United Beverages) have offered their help to local venues during the COVID-19 crisis.
The Federal Government’s decision not to apply double excise means that pubs can sell tap beers straight from the tap into resealable bottles, so Lion and CUB are providing pubs and hotels with the necessary bottles to do so.
Lion has partnered with AHA NSW to allow venues to sell take-away draught beer as part of the Support Your Local campaign.
Lion has committed to deliver as many amber 1.25L bottles and caps, as well as dispensers to be affixed to the tap to fill the bottles, as required to help pubs sell their draught beer across Australia.
10,000 growlers and caps, and 500 dispensers, are now on their way to pubs in NSW, free of charge.
“Hotels across NSW have been shut for almost a month now and I know many people are missing a draught beer down at their local with mate,” comments John Whelan, AHA NSW CEO.
“We can’t quite do that yet, but a cold draught beer to take away is certainly next best.”
Similarly, CUB is donating 20,000 resealable bottles to more than 100 pubs in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth.
The takeaway bottles are either 1L squealers or 2L growlers.
“What makes tap beer so great is its freshness, which is also why it has a relatively short best-before-date and why publicans would otherwise soon be disposing of it,” says CUB CEO Peter Filipovic.
“This is a great example of how business and government can work together to overcome this crisis.”
The move follows Lion’s announcement that it would offer closed credit for any unused kegs for pubs forced to close.
Lion has now credited more than 4,000 customers nationally a total of $23.5 million for over 85,000 unused and capped kegs.