History of bottle labels

The history of Carlton and United Beverages or CUB began when Carlton, Fosters, Victoria, Shamrock, Castlemaine and McCracken breweries formed into a cartel known as the Society of Melbourne Brewers in 1903. This allowed them to raise prices and remain profitable in what had been an unprofitable market. In 1907 this group merged into a single company known as the Carlton and United Breweries. The company became public in 1913 with the issue of 100,000 shares.

Over time it has bought out many other brewers, such as Abbotsford Co-operative Brewery in 1924 (a company set up by independent hoteliers to combat the anti-competitive nature of the Society of Melbourne Brewers.) Their first interstate acquisition was Northern Australian Breweries and the Cairns Brewery in 1931. Further acquisitions were the Ballarat Brewing Company, Queensland Brewery Ltd, Thos McLauchlin & Co Pty Ltd, Richmond Brewery and Tooth & Co.

In 1983 as an ironic twist of fate, CUB was wholly bought by Elders IXL, a giant Australian diversified conglomerate with Pastoral, Financial, Materials and Food interests. Elders Brewing Group (as it then became known as) continued to acquire brewing companies in the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States. Finally in 1990 Elders Brewing Group changed its name to Foster's Group, to reflect the name of their most internationally recognised product.

In July 2004, Carlton and United Breweries changed its name to Carlton and United Beverages (retaining CUB acronym), citing the company's diversification into pre-mixed drinks, juices, ciders and non-alcoholic drinks

Products

Beer	ABV	Available
Victoria Bitter	4.8%	Tap, 375ml Bottles, 375ml Cans, 750ml Bottles
Carlton Draught	4.6%	Tap, 375ml Bottles, 375ml Cans, 750ml Bottles
Melbourne Bitter	4.9%	375ml Bottles, 375ml Cans, 750ml Bottles
Carlton Cold	4.6%	375ml Bottles, 375ml Cans
Carlton Midstrength	3.5%	Tap, 375ml Bottles, 375ml Cans
Carlton Black	4.4%	Tap, 375ml Bottles
Crown Lager	4.9%	Tap, 375ml Bottles, 700ml Bottles
Carlton Sterling	2.5%	Tap, 375ml Bottles, 375ml Cans
Pure Blonde	4.6%	Tap, 355ml Bottles, 375ml Cans
Sheaf Stout	5.7%	375ml Bottles, 750ml Bottles
Abbotsford Invalid Stout	5.2%	375ml Bottles
Crown Pilsner	5.4%	355ml Bottles
Carlton Dry	4.6%	355ml Bottles